Last year, the Secretary of State’s Office was told to crack down on uninsured motorists. The result – hundreds of angry Mainers and thousands of dollars wasted. Now, lawmakers have preliminarily endorsed a common-sense solution to the problem, which should be approved by the Legislature and implemented by the secretary of state.

According to that office, as many as 90,000 uninsured motorists are on the state’s roads every day. An average of 14 accidents involving uninsured motorists have occurred each day in Maine since 2000.

To curb the problem, lawmakers last session passed a bill requiring insurance companies to notify the state when Maine drivers cancel their car insurance. Once the Bureau of Motor Vehicles receives notification of the cancellation, it sends out a letter saying a driver’s registration and license plates will be suspended unless “corrective action” is taken. This includes filling out a form on the secretary of state’s Web page or mailing, faxing or presenting to the BMV with proof of active insurance.

The problem is that people cancel insurance policies for a variety of valid reasons. Maybe they sold or traded in an old car and canceled the insurance on it. The BMV knows this, but doesn’t know the former owners immediately purchased insurance for a new vehicle, so the harshly worded letter is sent out. Maybe they canceled their car insurance with one company to buy a less expensive policy from another. The BMV sees the cancellation; it doesn’t see the new policy. A letter is sent.

It is estimated that the BMV will send out 273,000 notices in a year at a cost of nearly $90,000.

That’s a waste of money that unnecessarily updates many law-abiding citizens.

To fix the problem, the Transportation Committee this week approved a 15-day waiting period before the letter is sent out. This should help ensure that those who switch carriers or trade in a vehicle will not be sent a terse letter and be forced to prove that they really have insurance. This provision would go into effect 90 days after the Legislature adjourns, which likely means September.

In the meantime, the Secretary of State’s Office this week toned down the letter that will be sent out.

The bill, as approved by the committee, would also require the BMV to electronically accept evidence of new insurance purchases as it now does of insurance cancellations. This wouldn’t take effect until 2007, however. Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap says it can and will be done sooner.

Lawmakers were trying to do the right thing, but the system they came up with didn’t work. Back at the drawing board, they have come up with a straightforward solution that should be supported.