Just got a call from a police officer who has a gentleman pulled over. The officer was looking at the registration card the driver provided and in the police computer connected to the Oregon DMV and both sources clearly show the driver to be the registered owner. The problem is the owner of the vehicle had purchased a NON-OWNER POLICY. It doesn't cover a car owned by the insured. A non-owner policy only covers the driver while driving other people's cars on a secondary basis. It is not meant to be a BROAD FORM POLICY available in some states which covers the driver in ANY car, owned or not. And the officer stated that the driver had a suspended license. Both the suspended license and the uninsured vehicles are cause for the arresting officer to have his car towed and to confiscate the license.

If you are on SR22 Non-owner policy and own a car, convert the policy IMMEDIATELY to an OWNER-OPERATOR policy. Put the car on the policy! And, if you are required to carry SR22 on a policy, please check periodically with the Oregon DMV to be sure your license is not suspended. It could be they threw out his SR22 on his Non-owner Policy as invalid because the DMV saw that he owned a car. There may be other reasons for the suspension such as unpaid fines or child support, unpaid reinstatement fees and additional driving while suspended tickets while on hardship permit.

Yes! A driver convicted of driving under the influence (DUI) must file an SR22 as part of the process to regain driving privileges. The driver can purchase an auto insurance policy at the end of any mandatory suspension period and have the agent print off an SR22 certificate. The DMV of Oregon will usually require that the certificate be turned in at the time the driver wishes to pay the fee to reinstate his license. A valid SR22 certificate must usually be kept active and on file with the DMV for a period of at least three years.

If the driver fails to maintain an active insurance policy with a corresponding SR22 certificate on file with the State of Oregon during the three year requirement, the DMV may re-suspend the driver's privileges. If the driver is caught driving after his privileges of been suspended again and the officer cites him for driving while suspended and no insurance, the three year requirement may start over and the time he has had one on file be lost.

It's the responsibility of every car owner in Oregon to maintain insurance and most companies don't charge extra or very little, why not just comply with the law and maintain the SR22? It's just that easy. The cost of the insurance doesn't come close, no matter the age or the driving record, to what it costs for a driving while suspended conviction, fines and additional penalties a driver could get if he doesn't maintain the insurance.