Editorial: Why do so many Tennessee drivers not have insurance?

According to a financial technology company, Tennessee is ranked No. 2 in the nation as having the most irresponsible drivers. SmartAsset is headquartered in New York City and publishes articles, guides, reviews, calculators and tools to help people make decisions about personal finance.

It also apparently wades in on such nonfinancial matters as whether drivers are insured, which is one of four metrics it uses to find what it terms are the most irresponsible drivers in the country. Other metrics are the number of DUI arrests per 1,000 drivers, the number of fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles driven, and how often residents Google terms like "traffic ticket" or "speeding ticket."

The latter "metric" is sufficient for us to dump this study in the same trash bin as the dozens of others outside the expertise of companies releasing them of late to draw attention to themselves. Admittedly, this commentary does exactly that, but we are compelled to respond.

SmartAsset says Tennessee has the third-highest percentage of drivers without insurance in the United States at 23.7%. It doesn't identify the source, but we traced it to the Insurance Research Council, which is credible. And that's something that should cause the Tennessee Legislature to take notice.

Driving without insurance in Tennessee is a Class C misdemeanor punishable by a penalty of $300. The state suspends your license and car registration until you provide proof of insurance or financial responsibility. They can tow your car. The state passed the personal financial liability law in 1977, yet nearly a quarter of drivers ignore it.

Plus, the law requires minimum limits of $25,000 for each injury or death and $50,000 per accident. If you're hit by a driver with minimum coverage causing a catastrophic accident, you'll be on the hook for anything over that.

As a result, responsible motorists are required to buy protection against uninsured motorists. When you carry uninsured motorist coverage, your insurance company will pay your damages if the driver who hits you does not have insurance.

Why do so many Tennessee drivers ignore the requirement that motorists have insurance? Because Tennessee remains one of only seven states that do not require it for registration, and it's well past time the state fixed that and corrected the minimum coverages that are far removed from today's costs of injuries and damages.