I was not aware that my car insurance was canceled and I reinstated as soon as I became aware. I did not have insurance for 12 days in Pennsylvania. What will be the penalty for this?

Joe

Bethlehem, PA

You will have to contact PennDOT to know what is next with them but I can tell you what likely the penalties will be for your lapse in car insurance is in Pennsylvania.

Even though your lapse was only 12 days if you drove the car during this time normally PennDOT would suspend both your driver’s license and vehicle’s registration for 3 months.

If you drove the vehicle during the period of your car insurance lapse you may want to contact either PennDOT directly or seek legal advice to check if since your lapse was short and you reinstated your coverage as soon as your realized that it was canceled if there is any way to obtain a hearing and try to keep your registration and driver’s license from being suspended for the normal three month term.

If I got involved in a car accident without insurance and driver’s license in Pennsylvania however it is not my fault. Could I be charged with a crime if someone got killed in the accident?

Fred

Pittsburgh, PA

Operating a vehicle without insurance and without a valid license are both against the law in the state of Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania laws states that every car that is required to be registered should be covered by financial responsibility (FR). Most motorists choose to get Financial Responsibility in the way of auto insurance.

The penalties for not having auto insurance, or another form of FR, can include:

1. A three month suspension of your driver’s license
2. A minimum of $300 fine
3. $50 reinstatement fee to restore your driver’s license
4. A three month suspension of your vehicle registration
5. $50 reinstatement fee to restore your vehicle registration
6. That the car may not be driven by anyone while the registration is revoked or suspended.

Since you were driving without the required state insurance and without a valid license you will likely received some of the penalties above if you were convicted by the responding law enforcement officer. There might be other penalties too if you get involved in an accident and if a death occurred.