The Answer Is Always A More Intrusive State
Radley Balko linked this article about Virginia drivers being fined for not having proof of insurance, something that is actually not illegal in the state. Apparently, it is illegal to drive without having insurance coverage, but there is no requirement to carry proof of insurance or any crime defined in law for not carrying such proof.
SO there is some "confusion", but note that the only confusion is in the mind of state law enforcement officers, who are attempting to exceed the law. The obvious solution, to me, would be to educate the officers and prosecutors on the damn law. Of course, agents of the state have a different solution (emphasis added)
Lynchburg Commonwealth's Attorney Michael R. Doucette agreed that failure to have proof of insurance while driving is not illegal.
"Rather, the offense is having an uninsured motor vehicle and not paying the uninsured motorist fee of $500 per year," Doucette said.
Doucette said requiring drivers to present either proof of insurance or proof of payment of the uninsured vehicle fee would go a long way to clear up the confusion. The General Assembly has considered such a mandate at least three times, but has never passed it.
Get it? The best way to solve the problem of the state exceeding its authority is to just give the state new powers and criminalize more things so its actual authority matches it's desired powers. I fear that this will also be the state's answer for the fact that photography is not a crime.
