City will examine car insurance mandate

In 2009, El Paso city representatives passed an ordinance requiring drivers to carry liability insurance.

Since then, police have issued 48,000 citations and the city has collected $2.1 million in fines.

However, El Paso ranks second in the state when it comes to the number of uninsured motorists.

East El Paso city Rep. Dr. Michiel Noe told ABC-7 his office has fielded plenty of phone calls from constituents who are upset that more isn’t being done to enforce the ordinance. Noe agrees.

“Obviously, what we’re doing right now isn’t working,” said Noe. “The people are still ignoring it. And the citizens are demanding we do something to fix the problem.”

The east side city representative wonders if police officers should choose to impound more vehicles, as they are allowed to do under the 2009 ordinance.

But he said there are plenty of questions that need answers first.

“What would it cost the city to do that?” Noe asked. “Do we have the personnel to do that? Do we have the wreckers to do that? Do we have the land to put these cars, and would they pick up their cars or would we be stuck with these cars?”

Noe said he will look for answers to these questions when the issue comes up for discussion during Tuesday’s city council meeting. ABC-7 will have a crew at City Hall, so look for more on this story in the afternoon and evening newscasts and on kvia.com.