Drivers who get stopped by police this holiday weekend can forget rummaging through their glove compartments for an insurance card. Arkansas is one of 42 states that allows digital proof of insurance.
Insurance does not have to be a digital card, but can simply be a screen shot of the paper card, provided it shows all the necessary information, said Col. Bill Bryant, director of the Arkansas State Police.
Vehicle deaths
In 2014, 21,022 Americans died in vehicles, the lowest number since 1975, when data collection began. Nearly 50 percent of those who died in passenger vehicles were not wearing seat belts. That percentage increased to 57 percent from 6 p.m. to 5:59 a.m.
Source: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System 2014 data
There is no data on how many people use a digital copy versus a paper one. It is more a factor of personal comfort, said Ryan James, communications director for Arkansas Insurance Department.
"We encourage all people to have ready access to their information," James said. "That would include having it on their phones."
"Myself, I try to put everything humanly possible on my iPhone," he said. "I asked my insurance for a digital copy, and they sent a PDF. I just saved it."
Drivers in Northwest Arkansas may need to keep that proof of insurance handy. The annual Click It or Ticket campaign runs through June 15. Officers from Arkansas State Police to many local departments will give added enforcement to seat belt laws during the campaign that started May 16.
Anyone in the front seats in Arkansas must be buckled in, and all children under 15 must wear a seat belt.
The Washington County Sheriff's Office is participating, but business has gone on pretty much the same as usual because of its year-round Seat Belt STEP grant and program, said Lt. Scott Young.
"Memorial Day will be the same as it's been," Young said. "We've been pretty short handed, but there should be a few extra people out."
Deputies do not see as many people with digital forms of insurance as they do paper, but it is becoming more common, Young said.
Cpl. Dallas Brashears of the Fayetteville Police Department, who worked patrol for 12 years before taking another position two months ago, said he has certainly noticed the switch. Most people using digital over paper are middle-aged or young drivers, he said.
"Those in their 30s will have their insurance's mobile app and pull it up to show us, while younger drivers often take a screen shot and show it that way," Brashears said.
The paperless trend has caused a few worries along the way, such as officers concerned about dropping and breaking phones and whether to take them back to their vehicles as they would a regular paper copy, he said.
"Normally, what I do is take their phone, take a step back, read it and hand it back," he said. "That is how most people are doing it nowadays, but we had a few growing pains."
The biggest advantage to allowing digital proof of insurance, Brashears said, is a big drop in the number of tickets for no proof of insurance, especially with teenage drivers. It's a mandatory court appearance if a driver does not have proof of insurance with him, he said.
"I'll say, 'Hey, call your mom and have her send you a picture of your insurance card,'" he said. "It's saved quite a bit of time for everyone -- citizens and officers."
The end of May going into the summer continues to be the busiest time for travel among motorists, Bryant said.
"Too often drivers and passengers who do not buckle up lose their lives," he said. "We always know the most dangerous time is the return trip home from the holiday weekend. People have been out since Wednesday or Thursday. They're tired, thinking about work and other things."
In preparation for accidents on the road, James recommends downloading the free WreckCheck mobile app. This app outlines what to do immediately following an auto accident and takes users through a step-by-step process to create their own accident report.
It also provides tips for how to protect privacy and makes it easy to capture photos and document the necessary information to file an insurance claim. The app also lets users email a completed accident report directly to themselves and their insurance agents, according to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners website.
NW News on 05/29/2016