DPS to check liability auto insurance
The Department of Public Safety will have check point stations starting end of March to ensure that all vehicles in the CNMI are in compliance with the Mandatory Liability Auto Insurance Act.
According to a press statement, penalties for non-compliance include suspension of the driver’s license and fines ranging from $100 to $350, depending on the violation.
Signed into law last January 29, 1999, it requires motor vehicle owners in the CNMI to have their vehicles insured within sixty days.
Its provision stated that the minimum liability coverage shall not be less than $15,000 for bodily injury or death in accident; $30,000 for bodily injuries or death of all persons in any accident; and $15,000 for injury, destruction of property.
Officials hope that mandating auto insurance will help victims of vehicular accidents since the number of car mishaps has increased over the years.
Based on the statistics prepared by the traffic division of DPS, since 1986 to 1998, there were 109 deaths due to vehicular accidents.
Last year alone, eight fatalities were recorded, which counted deaths of five Filipinos. The highest number of death was reported in 1991 which totaled to 15 fatalities. The lowest was recorded in 1997, three deaths for the entire year.
From the total 109 deaths, there were 37 Chamorros, 23 Filipinos, 10 Koreans, 10 Chinese, 8 Carolinians, 3 Japanese, 2 Palauan, 2 Ponapean, one Bangladeshi and one Marshallese.
