ghostriter,

I can completely appreciate your frustrations regarding the current driving situation.

If I'm not mistaken, most if not all States have laws which require motorists to have insurance on their vehicle.  This is not only for the protection of you, but of anyone who you might get into an accident with. 

I disagree idea that driving is a necessity.  Driving is most certainly a priviledge which I think too many people in this country (much less this state) have.  An automobile is a deadly weapon in the wrong hands, and there are tens of thousands of people who I believe lack the care to have total control over such a large piece of machinery.  I agree that driving up insurance prices  isn't the answer (though actually insurance companies have been losing money in recent years on new policies they've written).  I think that we should have a much more involved licensing and testing process before we allow someone to obtain their driver's license.  In fact, I think it would be appropriate to require re-testing every 10 years up until age 65, and then every 2-3 years thereafter.

While we don't have the best public transit system, there are plenty of people who could most certainly take the bus if they no longer had the priviledge of driving.  If people live too far from a bus stop, they should take a bicycle or look into carpooling with neighbors who do have cars and can drop them off either at work or at the very least to the closest bus stop.  If you really must have reliable transportation to get to and from work, buy a moped - they can cost as little as $1000, have better gas mileage than any car and cost less to maintain and insure.

The general public needs to realize that automobile insurance, gasoline, smog checks, licensing fees and other routine maintenance are all costs which should be factored in when making the decision to purchase a vehicle.  Instead of treating these costs as individual items, they should incorporate it into the overall cost of the vehicle. If you cannot afford the overall cost of vehicle ownership, maybe it's time to look into other options.

I agree with FSG above.  MAndatory auto insurance is not meant to be protection for your auto it is to cover the other people that are on the road and might get hit as a result of you making a mistake. If you ever get hit by someone that does not have auto insurance (which i hope you don't) it can be a nightmare.

 Actually, just to clear up a few of your points.

The insurance companies cannot charge whatever they want.  All rates must be approved by the Insurance Commissioner prior to going into effect.  Now before you go off and say that of course the government is going to approve all insurance rates, please do a Google search about the Commissioner requiring Allstate to lower their homeowners rates because they were trying to stick it to California homeowners to help pay for Katrina losses.  This happened within the last two weeks.

The rates that Insurance companies charge are based off of past losses and your risk to cause future losses.  And one of the reasons that insurance is so high in California is that there are so many uninsured motorists out there.  When an insurance company takes you on, they know that they not only have to insure you against causing an accident, but they have to insure everyone else from hurting you, because there are so many other people that have no insurance or they are underinsured.

Insurance is expensive, but be lucky that in California your rates are based off your driving history.  Not like some states that take your credit score into account.  You would be better served to have the state minimum insurance (15/30/5) then nothing.  If you are uninsured and cause an accident, do you know that the person you hit has legal right to sue you?  And if you are found at fault and a judgment is placed against you that you can have all your savings taken, your 401k wiped out, any cash value in your home or life insurance taken, and your wages garnished up to 30% to pay for the judgment?  Go ahead and say you can declare bankruptcy; you can't erase a judgment against you from bankruptcy.  And here is the kicker, the average settlement on an auto related law suit in California is $500,000 and higher. 

Driving is a privilege, and owning a car comes with certain responsibilities, like upkeep, gas, tags, and insurance.

You'd be better served to pay for the insurance and be happy that the government in California is trying to protect you.

You can't afford to drive without some type of auto insurance, Ghostriter. The liability should you get in an accident is just too high.You truly should not be operating a vehicle if you can't afford the insurance. Either dowonsize the type of car or coverage you have or use the bus.

For a wage earner to say he can't afford insurance is like saying he can't afford gas or he can't afford maintenance or can't afford car payments. The outrageous costs of operating a vehicle affect all of us, especially those who can least afford it and I sympathize. I'd put my faith in tougher enforcement of the laws we have, like roadside checkpoints, than tougher laws which will not change anything.

Ghostriter, this same sort of reasoning could be used to say "it's too expensive to get a license" or "it's too expensive to smog and register my car". As others have said, having a car is not a right. There are certain costs that go along with the privilege of owning one. If more people actually paid their share of the costs, it would be cheaper for everyone. But instead, people with this attitude drive up costs for the rest of us.

Either downsize the type of car or coverage you have or use the bus. That is not an option for me. There is not a bus that goes from where I live to anywhere close to my office. If there was, believe me, I would use it! I get in a bad mood every time I go to the gas station. That is one of my points: public trans is substandard here, and not available for everyone. I would simply love to get work where I live, but jobs in Tehachapi are few and far between. (BTW, I drive a Toyota Celica.)

But instead, people with this attitude drive up costs for the rest of us. I don't think I have an "attitude", simply an opinion that the government continues to make living difficult for those living less than paycheck to paycheck. And no one in my family has been at fault in a collision for over 20 years. Even then, the wreck I was in was caused by someone else driving drunk, ie, driving stupid. The guy left the scene, so I was shafted anyway.

If you ever get hit by someone that does not have auto insurance...it can be a nightmare. I have been, and I am aware of this; I always figured it as the risk you take when you choose to drive.

And by the way, you all assume I do not have any insurance. I do, but I can only afford to carry the bare minimum liability, which does not cover anywhere close to the average half-million-dollar California settlement. So all the money we pay will come nowhere near to settling if one of us "drives stupid". I'll get sued anyway...not that I have any assets anyway. The point of this post is that I do not agree with someone's idea of raising already exorbitant fees for driving without it.

Bottom line is, if you can't afford insurance, you can't afford to own a car/drive.  Kind of like home ownership.....if you can't afford the taxes, insurance, etc., you can't afford to purchase a home.  Ghostriter, maybe you should consider moving closer to your place of employment.

I'd rather keep looking for a job close to home in Tehachapi.

ghost - sometimes we must do things we'd prefer not to do in order to maintain a comfortable living.  Have you tried going through your monthly bills and eliminating any un-needed costs from your spending?  I'd also suggest shopping around online for a better insurance plan.  Many providers offer a plethora of discounts, but most people don't realize that they oftentimes need to inquire about additional discounts.  In fact, I just called up my insurance company and asked if there were any other discounts I might qualify for, and what do you know, I just cut out $40 per month on my insurance!

If you don't mind me asking, what do you do for work?

I am an ophthalmic tech...I work for eye doctors. My husband is a Schwan guy. We were doing okay, I guess, until the gas went kazoo. We've chopped everything but the cable internet, and still come up in the red anymore. And we don't even have any credit cards or car payments!

How far do you have to travel each day for work? 

I am often amazed by how often people mentally paint themselves into corners that don't really exist. For example, you keep saying there is no public transit where you live as if your residence is a fixed point. But it is only fixed if you can't get out of a mortgage. Otherwise, you could move to a location closer to work or near public transit. You may not want to, but that is an OPTION you have chosen, not the only possible path. It sounds like you opt to live in Tehachapi and so you must accept the financial burden that comes with having made that choice. As others have pointed out, there are options besides a car. If one OPTS not to take those options, then they have to live with the financial consequences of choosing a car. It's part of being a fiscally responsible adult, which does seem to be a rare beast these days.

Actually, I did try to move down the hill once, a few years ago. Unfortunately, my oldest boy and I are severely asthmatic, and while we lived in Bakersfield, we were on breathing treatments and  oxygen four times a day, and we still felt lousy. My son could no longer participate in sports, and I could not leave the house without my nebulizer. The medications alone cost a fortune, so we moved back to Tehachapi.

It is not always a cut-and-dried situation. If I had my way, we would leave the entire state for less expensive and more healthful climes. But we are not allowed by court order to take my husband's kids out of the state. We are currently searching for a more cost-effective home. It is not always so easy as being a matter of "fiscal responsibility". Sometimes people are given only the choice of evils. Our only choice is to find a more economical home. Our corner is not merely a mental one. Many people are in the same boat.

I own two cars outright, having chosen not to bear the burden of car payments. I DO have the minimum insurance, which I have stressed will be worthless if I actually need it, and this point has been corroborated here. I reiterate my initial statement:  the last thing we need is more laws, heftier fees, and steeper penalties on the poorest of our citizens. In my current situation, I can empathize; however, I am glad that my spouse and I are at least employed. We are squeaking by, but many are not even doing that. I used to have the same "you made your bed" attitude, but that was when I could easily afford anything I wanted, and then some. Now that I know what it feels like to struggle, my feelings have changed.

Oh, FSG, I drive 42 miles one way. My husband and I ride together.

Have you tried talking to your employer? Maybe they would be willing to help out with the gas...