Plan to use cameras to catch uninsured motorists appears dead

By David McGrath Schwartz

Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2010 | 11:41 a.m.

Proposals to set up cameras to catch uninsured motorists appears to have died in the Assembly today, after Speaker Barbara Buckley called for a show of hands on the idea and only one or two lawmakers raised their hand.

Killing the proposal to enter an agreement with the Chicago-based InsureNet means lawmakers will have to come up with another $30 million to close the $887 million budget gap. Gibbons' staff had said the company would guarantee that the state would make money from fines to uninsured motorists and unregistered vehicles. Gibbons' staff said the company would agree to put $30 million in a trust and guarantee Nevada at least that amount.

Legislators have been skeptical of the idea, which no U.S. state has attempted, citing privacy concerns and questioning whether the company could deliver. Additionally, the Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles has been developing technology in-house to better capture uninsured drivers.

InsureNet and the governor's staff said their proposal would capture out-of-state drivers without insurance. They said the idea was risk-free for the state, and would help lower the number of uninsured drivers on the road, which they said is estimated at 22 percent of all drivers.

A proposal to enter into an agreement with the company also failed during the 2009 session.