Committee hears bill to require insurance, proof of daily driver for collector vehicle plates

The House Transportation Committee heard House Bill 1194, a Department of Licensing request bill that would repeal the existing exemption for collector vehicles from mandatory motor-vehicle liability requirements and require applicants for collector plates to provide proof of insurance and ownership/registration of a second vehicle for daily use.

The bill matters, agency staff said, because a higher share of collisions involving collector-plate vehicles involve uninsured drivers than the general driving population, and because the current collector-plate program can be used by some drivers as a lower-cost way to avoid annual registration and insurance obligations.

Sandy Meyer, staff to the committee, summarized current law: a typical motor vehicle liability policy must provide minimum coverage levels of $25,000 for bodily injury or death of a single person, $50,000 for two or more people, and $10,000 for injury or property damage. Meyer told the committee collector vehicles and horseless carriages are currently exempt from those requirements and…