Maryland Driving Without Insurance Lawyer

The legislature in the State of Maryland has determined that insurance is essential for any driver on the road in Maryland. The benefit of everyone having insurance makes a lot of sense since everyone involved in an accident knows the damages will be covered. No one will be left facing large medical bills, high property damage bills or be without a car due to no fault of their own. That is the theory, but in practice, the reason that you have to have insurance is because the Maryland legislature has required that everyone driving is required to have insurance. A Maryland traffic lawyer can help you understand the charges and prepare a defense.

Penalties

If a person is convicted of driving without insurance, they can face jail time, a fine or even points on one’s license. The maximum penalty for driving without insurance is one year of incarceration, $500 fine and 5 points on your driver’s license. Although being sentenced for a year for driving without insurance is extremely rare, it is important to have a driving without insurance  attorney by your side to help prepare a strong defense.

Reasons for Strict Penalties

The state of Maryland has imposed strict penalties for driving without insurance because of public policy. The state does not want people driving, and getting into an accident where they are not at fault at all and risk being financially ruined by the process. Having enormous medical bills can force a person into bankruptcy, lose their vehicle and be unable to acquire a new one, or lose a job. These are only a few reasons that Maryland takes these type of cases so seriously.

Defenses

Sometimes, a person’s insurance has lapsed and the individual genuinely was unaware that their insurance had lapsed. It could be an insurance lapse that occurred for maybe a day prior to the stop while other issues may be related to actual driving. Sometimes driving without insurance is charged in hit and run cases. The biggest mitigating factor in a driving without insurance case is how quickly you corrected this situation. Getting insurance and getting it fixed that day or the next day is going to look much better than going to court still not having any kind of insurance on the vehicle. Those are possible defenses for mitigating factors in a case like this. A Maryland driving without insurance attorney can review your facts and help determine what defense best fits your case’s needs.

Benefit of Maryland Driving without Insurance Lawyer

While the process of getting the citation from the police officer may not have been significantly different than getting a speeding ticket from a police officer, the criminal penalties associated with driving without insurance means that there is a possibility of incarceration. Any time that there is a possibility of going to jail, it is extremely important to work with an attorney who knows the law as it relates to driving without insurance, who knows the jurisdiction, and who can get you the best possible outcome in the case.