Broward Deputies Check Drivers For Insurance

TAMARAC (CBS4) – Accidents happen. And while no one likes being involved in one, getting hit by a driver who doesn't have insurance is even worse.

On Wednesday, the Broward Sheriff's Office conducted a one day crackdown on drivers who don't have proper vehicle insurance.

While it can be a lengthy process to verify a driver's proof of insurance, BSO deputies got help during the crackdown from the insurance industry.

Representatives from more than two dozen auto insurance companies filled a room at the sheriff's office Tamarac district office to field calls from deputies throughout the county as they make traffic stops and work accidents.

Florida has the third highest auto insurance rates in the country; drivers pay, on average, about a thousand dollars a year for coverage. Part of the reason for the higher than average rates is because many drivers are in the state are uninsured; also Florida has a high instance of insurance fraud.

Arnold Milstein was stopped today by a deputy. His insurance checked out. He knew it would, he's been paying for years.

"I've been driving since I'm 12 years old, in upstate New York," he said. "I began with horse and wagon. I've been paying insurance since that time."

Anyone caught with a phony 'proof of insurance' card on Wednesday can expect to pay.

"If you're making your own insurance card and presenting that to law enforcement when you're stopped, or involved in an accident, that's a felony, that's a serious offense," said the BSO's Marty Chastain.

Florida law states that any person who presents a fraudulent proof of motor vehicle insurance commits a third-degree felony.

BSO and officials in Miami Dade plan to hold more of these insurance checks in the coming months.