Despite being one of the states in the U.S. that has a bigger percentage of uninsured drivers, Oklahoma remains to be one of the state that has a gentle penalty on drivers who does not carry auto insurance.

In 2009, statistics from the Insurance Research Council showed that 24 percent of drivers in Oklahoma are on the road without the mandated insurance. That percentage made Oklahoma as the fourth-highest on numbers of uninsured motorists. The national average then was at 13.8 percent.

However, even faced with such problem on uninsured drivers, the state penalty’s on uninsured driving is being considered to be at an average level. Oklahoma’s penalty for not having auto insurance while driving is only at a maximum of $525 fines and suspension of driver’s license (and that suspension will remain until proof of insurance is produced).

The amount of fines set in the state falls in the most common bracket which is being used by most states that has an average uninsured driving problem. Most common fines among the states are set at $500-$550.

Why Oklahoma’s penalty on uninsured driving being considered as average and may not be enough if taken into consideration the state’s problem on uninsured motorists? Let’s take a look on the state of New Jersey which only have an uninsured motorist rate of 11 percent, yet the penalty on first-time offenders is a $1,000 fine, suspension of driver’s license for one year, plus community service.

Now the question remains, with the average penalty that Oklahoma imposes on auto liability insurance law violators can the problem on uninsured motorists be lessen on the days to come?

Certainly, the answer to that question is quite obvious unless the state will institute mechanisms to ensure that its laws on auto liability insurance shall be followed by drivers using its roads and highways.