By Max Bomber
TheStateouseFile.com
INDIANAPOLIS – Insurance companies typically encourage drivers not to move their car after a wreck, but House Bill 1048 intends to change that.
In car accidents without serious injury, the bill would require people to move their vehicles out of the way of traffic to prevent a second accident.
“The insurance companies will often advise people not to move their vehicle until the police are on scene. And about 20 percent of accidents are secondary crashes, particularly important on expressways and highways,” said the bill’s author, Rep. Ed Soliday, R-Valparaiso.
Under the bill, failure to move the vehicle would result in a Class C infraction, which is punishable with a fine of up to $500.
The bill also states — with certain exceptions — a person who intentionally possesses a plate or label that contains a vehicle identification number, or VIN, not attached to the vehicle or vehicle part to which a manufacturer originally assigned the plate or label, would commit a Level 6 felony.
Also, a person that damages, removes or alters, an existing identification number would commit a Level 6 felony. A Level 6 felony is punishable with a fine of up to $10,000 and three to six months behind bars. However, proving a suspect committed the crime could be difficult.
“It is similar to a stolen vehicle — good luck proving that they were the individual who actually removed it, unless you catch them in the act of removing the plate,” said Brad Hoffeditz, legal counsel for Indiana State Police.
Hoffeditz said investigators may find suspects in possession of VIN plates, but they often struggle to find a reason to arrest them.
“They find individuals they can’t prove that they are the one who in fact removed it,” he said, “but in their wallet they have 20 to 30 VIN plates and in their wallet they have thousands of dollars that they have made off selling these VIN plates to people who have stolen cars.”
Committee members decided not to vote Tuesday due to language in the bill that some considered confusing about the prosecution of people in possession of the VIN plates. Members said they are considering revising the bill.
Max Bomber is a reporter for TheStatehouseFile.com, a news website powered by Franklin College journalism students.
