As a Texas driver, what should be your biggest concerns on the road? Drunk drivers? Right up there. Speeding drivers? Certainly. But don’t forget drivers of 4.1 million more vehicles. That’s how many are uninsured, says the Texas Department of Insurance.

This is not to say all 4.1 million uninsured vehicles are driven recklessly and may hit you. But if one does, you’re in big trouble — even if you weren’t to blame. That’s because it can be hard to collect car accident damages when the at-fault driver has no insurance. Your own insurance company won’t want to pay, and the other driver probably won’t be able to pay. Checkmate.

Those millions of uninsured vehicles represent 22 per cent of all cars and trucks on Texas’ roads. If that doesn’t make them Texas’ biggest road menace, what does? In fact, it’s staggering to think that nearly a fourth of all vehicles in Texas are in clear violation of a law which mandates drivers be financially responsible for the damages they cause in a collision.

What’s being done about it? Not nearly enough. But some steps are being taken.

One is that the state of Texas soon will issue warning letters to uninsured drivers, as identified by a cross-check of an auto insurance database with state vehicle registrations. To be mailed this spring, those warning letters will affirm that these persons appear to be violating the law and must provide proof of insurance.

Violators can be fined up to $350 for their first conviction and up to $1,000 for later ones, with possible suspension of their driver’s license. Also, thanks to the new database, law officers are less likely to be fooled by a bogus proof of insurance provided by drivers. They can quickly confirm or dispute that on their own.

Even better is a solution devised by the Houston-area cities of Richmond and Pasadena. You say you have no insurance, as required by law? Say bye-bye to your car. It will be impounded in those cities until the driver gets it insured properly. And why not? Every inch those vehicles roll is a violation of state law.

Houston doesn’t bother doing that, and Houston pays a price. The city records up to 15,000 such violations per year, though that’s clearly a small fraction of total uninsured drivers in the nation’s fourth largest city. But those traffic citations lack teeth. Want proof? More than 100 persons in a recent year were ticketed five times for driving uninsured — yet they kept on driving anyway.

What can you do about it? First, tell your elected representatives what you think. Also, consider buying uninsured motorists coverage from your car insurance provider. This can protect you if you are hit by an uninsured vehicle.

Meanwhile, watch out for those drunk and speeding drivers, too. Of course, many are probably uninsured as well. Some people have no respect for the law.

And if you are injured by another driver — whether they’re insured or not — alert a car accident lawyer with Jim S. Adler & Associates. In many cases, insurance won’t be all you’ll need to protect your financial well being.

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