AUGUSTA - Police said they'll still accept insurance cards as proof of insurance even after Feb. 1, when the state starts using its new electronic database to track whether drivers have insurance. <br>
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The statewide computer system is designed to lower the number of uninsured vehicles on the roads by catching drivers who buy insurance and then cancel it after they receive their policy card. <br>
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``We're going to be accepting (insurance) cards for everybody until it gets into full swing,'' said Col. Gary Powell of the Richmond County Sheriff's Office. ``At least until the kinks are worked out.'' <br>
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The Department of Motor Vehicles recommends that drivers still keep up-to-date insurance cards in their cars at all times in case they go out of state, or if there's a mix-up with the computerized system. <br>
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More than a million motorists still don't have their information entered into the state's computers. <br>
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Created by a 1998 law, the database project has been plagued by numerous delays as officials tried to work out bugs in the system. <br>
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The Georgia State Patrol won't force troopers to stick to the database, said spokesman Gordy Wright. <br>
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``It will be up to each individual trooper,'' he said. <br>
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It doesn't make sense to arrest motorists if they can show they have insurance when they're pulled over, even though their information might not be in police computers, said Capt. Steve Morris of the Columbia County Sheriff's Department. <br>
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``I don't think that's reasonable,'' he said. <br>
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