When University Police Capt. Scott Brown pulls students over at Cal State Long Beach, they often don’t have one very important piece of paper on them: proof of driver’s insurance.
“Plenty of people don’t have insurance, or they have the old card, or they can’t find it,” Brown said. “It’s a common occurrence.”
So common that last month assemblyman Mike Gatto (D-Los Angeles) introduced Assembly Bill 1708.
This bill would allow California drivers to show proof of insurance on mobile electronic devices such as tablets or smart phones if it’s passed.
Loria Oum, a junior health care administration major, said she thinks AB 1708 could be very beneficial to students who have misplaced their paper proof of insurance but are in fact insured.
“I have to print out my insurance thing every six months and sometimes I forget and, if I did, I don’t want to get fined for that because I do have insurance and I do pay for it,” Oum said.
Tyler Streeter, a sophomore kinesiology major, pointed out that if AB 1708 passes, people could no longer pretend that they’ve misplaced their proof of insurance when they’re not insured at all.
“I think it would be better for everybody because everyone pretty much has a smart phone,” Streeter said.
“It would be easier for everyone to provide information and no one can say that they don’t have it or that it’s not accessible because it’s accessible for everyone,” he said.
Brown said University Police would accept proof of insurance on smart phones if AB 1078 were to become a law.
However, even if it does pass, he still recommends that students keep their paper proof of insurance, just in case.
“I would recommend it because what if they can’t access their phone?” Brown said.
“You should always keep the paper with you, at least for the time being, while we figure out how everything works,” he continued.
AB 1708 is expected to go before the Assembly Insurance Committee later this month.
Current law requires every driver or owner of a motor vehicle to provide written evidence of financial responsibility upon request by a law enforcement officer.