Maine Revised Statutes Title 29-A Sec. 1601 – Required maintenance of financial responsibility
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1. Requirement. An operator or owner of a vehicle registered in this State or required to be registered in this State shall maintain the amounts of motor vehicle financial responsibility specified in section 1605.
[PL 1999, c. 470, §25 (AMD).]
Terms Used In Maine Revised Statutes Title 29-A Sec. 1601
- Adjudication: means a finding by a court that a person has committed a traffic infraction and includes the acceptance by the clerk of the violations bureau or any judicial division of an answer of not contested. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 29-A Sec. 101
- Answer: The formal written statement by a defendant responding to a civil complaint and setting forth the grounds for defense.
- Bureau: means the Bureau of Motor Vehicles. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 29-A Sec. 101
- Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
- Dismissal: The dropping of a case by the judge without further consideration or hearing. Source:
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- Insurance identification card: means an identification of insurance in paper or electronic form issued to an insured by an insurer pursuant to Title 24-A, section 2412, subsection 7; or an identification of proof of financial responsibility in paper or electronic form issued by the Secretary of State to a person who elects to provide proof of financial responsibility in accordance with section 1605. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 29-A Sec. 1551
- Law enforcement officer: means a person who by virtue of public employment is vested by law with a duty to maintain public order or to make arrests for crimes, whether that duty extends to all crimes or is limited to specific crimes. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 29-A Sec. 101
- License: includes , but is not limited to, a nonresident operating privilege and the privilege of a person to apply for or obtain a license or permit to operate a motor vehicle. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 29-A Sec. 101
- Motor vehicle: means a self-propelled vehicle not operated exclusively on railroad tracks, but does not include:
A. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 29-A Sec. 101Moving violation: means a violation of this Title for which points may be assessed in accordance with section 2458, subsection 3. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 29-A Sec. 101 Operator: means an individual who drives or is in control of a vehicle or who is exercising control over or steering a towed vehicle. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 29-A Sec. 101 Owner: means a person who holds:
A. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 29-A Sec. 1551Person: means every person, firm, copartnership, association or corporation, but not the State or any political subdivision of the State. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 29-A Sec. 1551 Policy: means a motor vehicle liability insurance policy or motor vehicle liability bond. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 29-A Sec. 1551 Portable electronic device: means an electronic device that is portable in nature, including but not limited to a device for sending or receiving e-mail, a text messaging device, a mobile telephone and a computer. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 29-A Sec. 1551 Registration: means the registration certificate, plates and renewal devices pertaining to the registration of a vehicle, including temporary registered gross weight increases. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 29-A Sec. 101 Secretary of State: means the Secretary of State or the Secretary of State's deputy. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 29-A Sec. 1551 State: means a state of the United States, the District of Columbia or a province of the Dominion of Canada. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 29-A Sec. 1551 Summons: Another word for subpoena used by the criminal justice system. Traffic: means pedestrians, ridden or herded animals, vehicles, bicycles and other conveyances either singly or together using public way for travel. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 29-A Sec. 101 Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence. Vehicle: means a device for conveyance of persons or property on a way. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 29-A Sec. 101
2. Evidence of insurance or financial responsibility. When a law enforcement officer stops an operator for a moving violation or the operator is involved in an accident that must be reported under section 2251, the officer shall request the operator to produce evidence of liability insurance or financial responsibility. Evidence of liability insurance or financial responsibility may be in electronic form, including the display of an image on a portable electronic device. The use of a portable electronic device to provide evidence of liability insurance or financial responsibility in electronic form does not constitute consent for a law enforcement officer to access other contents of the electronic device.
[PL 2013, c. 72, §5 (AMD).]
3. Failure to produce evidence of insurance. If a person fails to produce evidence of liability insurance or financial responsibility, this failure is prima facie evidence that the person is uninsured and in violation of this section.
[PL 1993, c. 683, Pt. A, §2 (NEW); PL 1993, c. 683, Pt. B, §5 (AFF).]
3-A. Insurance in effect. A person violates this section if that person produces evidence of liability insurance or financial responsibility that is not in effect.
[PL 1997, c. 178, §1 (NEW).]
4. Dismissal. A person served with a Violations Summons and Complaint charging a violation of this section may have the complaint dismissed if that person shows satisfactory evidence of liability insurance or financial responsibility that was in effect at the time of the alleged violation. The clerk of the District Court Violations Bureau must dismiss the complaint if, prior to the date required for filing an answer to the complaint, the person charged files a copy of the Violation Summons and Complaint with the bureau, together with satisfactory evidence of liability insurance or financial responsibility that was in effect at the time of the alleged violation. If a person files a timely answer to a Violations Summons and Complaint alleging a violation of this section and that person presents to the court at the time of trial satisfactory evidence of liability insurance or financial responsibility that was in effect at the time of the alleged violation, the court must dismiss the complaint.
[PL 1999, c. 771, Pt. C, §11 (AMD); PL 1999, c. 771, Pt. D, §§1, 2 (AFF).]
5. Penalty. Violation of this section is a traffic infraction, for which a forfeiture of not less than $100 and not more than $500 may be assessed.
[PL 1993, c. 683, Pt. A, §2 (NEW); PL 1993, c. 683, Pt. B, §5 (AFF).]
6. Suspension. Thirty days after the receipt of an abstract of an adjudication of a violation of this section, the Secretary of State shall suspend:
A. The license of that person; [PL 1993, c. 683, Pt. A, §2 (NEW); PL 1993, c. 683, Pt. B, §5 (AFF).]
B. The registration of a vehicle owned by that person; or [PL 1993, c. 683, Pt. A, §2 (NEW); PL 1993, c. 683, Pt. B, §5 (AFF).]
C. The right to apply for a driver’s license or vehicle registration. [PL 1993, c. 683, Pt. A, §2 (NEW); PL 1993, c. 683, Pt. B, §5 (AFF).]
The suspension continues until that person provides proof of financial responsibility to the Secretary of State pursuant to section 1605.
[PL 1997, c. 165, §1 (AMD); PL 1997, c. 176, §1 (AMD).]
7. Multiple convictions.
[PL 1997, c. 165, §2 (RP); PL 1997, c. 176, §2 (RP).]
7-A. Proof of financial responsibility following violation. A person who violates this section is subject to the proof of financial responsibility requirements under section 1605.
[PL 1997, c. 683, Pt. A, §18 (RPR).]
8. Agent immunity from liability. An insurance agent, broker or agency may not be held liable for an inaccurate insurance identification card if the card was issued based on information contained in the records of that person or was issued based on false or misleading statements made by the insured.
[PL 1993, c. 683, Pt. A, §2 (NEW); PL 1993, c. 683, Pt. B, §5 (AFF).]
9. Exemption. The provisions of this section do not apply to:
A. A governmental vehicle; [PL 1993, c. 683, Pt. A, §2 (NEW); PL 1993, c. 683, Pt. B, §5 (AFF).]
B. A vehicle owned or controlled by a dealer as defined by chapter 9, subchapter I; or [PL 1993, c. 683, Pt. A, §2 (NEW); PL 1993, c. 683, Pt. B, §5 (AFF).]
C. A vehicle registered as a vehicle for hire. [PL 1993, c. 683, Pt. A, §2 (NEW); PL 1993, c. 683, Pt. B, §5 (AFF).]
[PL 1993, c. 683, Pt. A, §2 (NEW); PL 1993, c. 683, Pt. B, §5 (AFF).]
10. Excluded persons. Beginning January 1, 2022, if a person is explicitly excluded by endorsement from coverage on a policy that constitutes proof of financial responsibility under this chapter, the evidence of insurance or financial responsibility under subsection 2 must list the person as a person excluded by the policy. The requirements of this subsection do not apply to a policy that constitutes proof of financial responsibility under this chapter underwritten on a commercial policy form approved for use in this State.
[PL 2021, c. 200, §1 (NEW).]
SECTION HISTORY
PL 1993, c. 683, §A2 (NEW). PL 1993, c. 683, §B5 (AFF). PL 1997, c. 165, §§1-3 (AMD). PL 1997, c. 176, §§1-3 (AMD). PL 1997, c. 178, §1 (AMD). PL 1997, c. 683, §A18 (AMD). PL 1999, c. 470, §25 (AMD). PL 1999, c. 771, §C11 (AMD). PL 1999, c. 771, §§D1,2 (AFF). PL 2013, c. 72, §5 (AMD). PL 2021, c. 200, §1 (AMD).