303.025. Duty to maintain financial responsibility, misdemeanor penalty for failure to maintain--exception, methods--court to notify department of revenue, additional punishment, right of appeal.
Duty to maintain financial responsibility, misdemeanor penalty forfailure to maintain--exception, methods--court to notify departmentof revenue, additional punishment, right of appeal.
303.025. 1. No owner of a motor vehicle registered in this state, orrequired to be registered in this state, shall operate, register or maintainregistration of a motor vehicle, or permit another person to operate suchvehicle, unless the owner maintains the financial responsibility whichconforms to the requirements of the laws of this state. Furthermore, noperson shall operate a motor vehicle owned by another with the knowledge thatthe owner has not maintained financial responsibility unless such person hasfinancial responsibility which covers the person's operation of the other'svehicle; however, no owner shall be in violation of this subsection if he orshe fails to maintain financial responsibility on a motor vehicle which isinoperable or being stored and not in operation. The director may prescriberules and regulations for the implementation of this section.
2. A motor vehicle owner shall maintain the owner's financialresponsibility in a manner provided for in section 303.160, or with a motorvehicle liability policy which conforms to the requirements of the laws ofthis state.
3. Any person who violates this section is guilty of a class Cmisdemeanor. However, no person shall be found guilty of violating thissection if the operator demonstrates to the court that he or she met thefinancial responsibility requirements of this section at the time the peaceofficer, commercial vehicle enforcement officer or commercial vehicleinspector wrote the citation. In addition to any other authorized punishment,the court shall notify the director of revenue of any person convictedpursuant to this section and shall do one of the following:
(1) Enter an order suspending the driving privilege as of the date ofthe court order. If the court orders the suspension of the driving privilege,the court shall require the defendant to surrender to it any driver's licensethen held by such person. The length of the suspension shall be as prescribedin subsection 2 of section 303.042. The court shall forward to the directorof revenue the order of suspension of driving privilege and any licensesurrendered within ten days;
(2) Forward the record of the conviction for an assessment of fourpoints; or
(3) In lieu of an assessment of points, render an order of supervisionas provided in section 302.303, RSMo. An order of supervision shall not beused in lieu of points more than one time in any thirty-six-month period.Every court having jurisdiction pursuant to the provisions of this sectionshall forward a record of conviction to the Missouri state highway patrol, orat the written direction of the Missouri state highway patrol, to thedepartment of revenue, in a manner approved by the director of the departmentof public safety. The director shall establish procedures for the recordkeeping and administration of this section.
4. Nothing in sections 303.010 to 303.050, 303.060, 303.140, 303.220,303.290, 303.330 and 303.370 shall be construed as prohibiting the departmentof insurance, financial institutions and professional registration fromapproving or authorizing those exclusions and limitations which are containedin automobile liability insurance policies and the uninsured motoristprovisions of automobile liability insurance policies.
5. If a court enters an order of suspension, the offender may appealsuch order directly pursuant to chapter 512, RSMo, and the provisions ofsection 302.311, RSMo, shall not apply.
(L. 1986 S.B. 424, A.L. 1997 H.B. 207, A.L. 1999 S.B. 19, A.L. 2000 H.B. 1797 merged with H.B. 1948, A.L. 2001 S.B. 267)(1993) Where parents'' son, while operating motorcycle, was killed in collision with motor vehicle and parents of motor vehicle operator had obtained liability insurance on vehicle in son''s name but failed to insure parents'' ownership interest in motor vehicle, parents of motorcyclist could bring action under uninsured motorist protection of insurance policy on motorcycle. Although section does not require person to insure an ownership interest in motor vehicle from negligent entrustment claim, person''s failure to do so places claim for negligent entrustment within victim''s uninsured motorist protection. Whitehead v. Weir, 862 S.W.2d 507 (Mo.App.W.D.).
(2002) No causal relationship exists between failure to purchase insurance and act of negligent operation of a vehicle, therefore failure to obey Motor Vehicle Financial Responsibility Law cannot serve as basis for claim of active negligence. Lecave v. Hardy, 73 S.W.3d 637 (Mo.App.E.D.).