If you are charged with knowingly driving an uninsured vehicle in Maryland, you may be facing trouble from more than one direction at once. The criminal case can carry jail time, fines, and 5 points, while the MVA can impose its own penalties for an insurance lapse. Even in cases that look bad at first, there are often ways to fight the charge, reduce the damage, or both.
Knowingly driving an uninsured vehicle can mean criminal charges in court and separate MVA penalties, even if you thought the insurance issue was just an administrative problem.
If you are charged with driving an uninsured vehicle, call me now at (301) 556-8709. I can help protect you from the jail, the fines, and the points.
Penalties for Driving an Uninsured Vehicle or Knowingly Allowing an Uninsured Vehicle to be Driven
- First Uninsured Vehicle Offense: misdemeanor, 5 points, up to 1 year in jail and a $1,000 fine
- Second or Subsequent Uninsured Vehicle Offense: misdemeanor, 5 points, up to 2 years in jail and a $2,000 fine
If you are accused of driving an uninsured vehicle or knowingly allowing an uninsured vehicle to be driven, one of the ways that I can defend you as your lawyer is by putting forth evidence that you did not know that the car was uninsured. Also, the government may not always be able to prove that you were driving if you are charged with actually driving the uninsured vehicle. If you are charged with allowing someone else to drive the uninsured vehicle, they may have trouble proving that you are the owner.
Driving an uninsured vehicle is usually written on your ticket as TA 17-107(a), “knowingly driving uninsured vehicle”.
People are charged with knowingly allowing another person to drive an uninsured vehicle, and while it is also against the law and carries the same penalties as driving the vehicle uninsured yourself, the charge is much less common. To be guilty of knowingly allowing another person to drive an uninsured vehicle, the government has to prove that you own the vehicle.
In Maryland, the driver or owner of a car without an MVA insurance record is assumed to know that the car is uninsured without evidence to the contrary. However, I can still offer evidence that the car was insured, or that you were unaware that the car was not insured, and use it to secure a verdict in your favor. I can also sometimes stop the government from proving that the car you were driving was in fact uninsured, using the right legal tactics.
Even if you are in fact guilty, and the government can prove it, I can often still get the charges against you dropped. There are a multitude of ways that I can win your case, many of which can be effective even if you were knowingly driving an uninsured vehicle and the government can prove it.
Administrative Penalties for Insurance Lapse
Allowing the insurance to lapse on your car can also lead to administrative fines assessed through the Motor Vehicle Administration (MVA), which are entirely independent of the criminal charges discussed above. These fines may apply even if you are never caught driving and you are never charged with a crime. The fine is $150 for the first 30 days, and then an additional $7 each additional day that the car remains uninsured, up to a maximum of $2,500 dollars for each violation in a 12-month period. The fines may apply even if you did not know that the car was uninsured. Make sure that you either get new insurance or return your tags to the MVA as soon as possible.
Call (301) 556-8709 now, because driving without insurance charges are important and you deserve an effective defense.
