Some controversy has arisen in Dallas about a proposal by the mayor in which uninsured drivers involved in accidents would have their vehicles towed to the pound. A recent story in the Dallas Morning News provides details.
The argument for the proposal, obviously, is that it would force drivers to get auto insurance in order to retrieve their vehicles from the pound. The argument against, is that such an ordinance would unfairly target poor and minority drivers. Several Dallas suburbs already have such a law, and are now towing uninsured vehicles.
Here are some interesting numbers from the newspaper story:
- 28,000 – Estimated number of car accidents in Dallas per year
- 57,400 – Estimated number of drivers involved in these accidents
- 30 – Percentage of these drivers who don’t have insurance (or 17,220 drivers)
- 69,384 – Total number of tickets written in Dallas in 2004 for failure to have insurance
