July 29, 2026 |
Photo – Open AI Generated
Rawlins officials questioned whether state law requires insurance on borrowed vehicles and if the city should adopt the same requirement.
During the July 21st Rawlins City Council meeting, Mayor Jacquelin Wells introduced a measure to amend the city’s municipal code on failure to maintain liability coverage. City Attorney Pinita Maberry‑Nave explained that the change was needed to bring the city’s ordinances in line with state statutes and allow the Rawlins Police Department to cite drivers accordingly.
Section 10.15.070 of the Rawlins Municipal Code prohibits a vehicle owner from operating or allowing someone else to operate their motor vehicle without state mandated liability insurance. The ordinance was intended to mirror Wyoming law, but unlike the state provision, the city’s codes only apply to vehicle owners and say nothing about non‑owner operators.
Councilman Steve Sanger said Wyoming law also fails to address how to handle non‑owner operators, such as when someone borrows another person’s car. He questioned what would happen if he were involved in a traffic collision while driving someone else’s car if the owner lacked insurance, and added that the state statute is also unclear on the issue. Councilman Sanger asked if the city was attempting to correct the state’s oversight with the proposed ordinance changes.
City Attorney Pinita Maberry‑Nave said she could not speak to what the legislature intended. However, she added that Wyoming law does, in fact, allow officers to issue a failure‑to‑maintain‑coverage citation even when the driver does not own the vehicle.
Mayor Jacquelin Wells asked Police Chief Mike Ward to speak on the matter. Chief Ward explained that drivers are required to ensure the vehicle they are operating is properly insured, whether it belongs to them or not.
Chief Ward said the responsibility of making sure a vehicle is insured lies with both the owner and operator. Without that requirement, he said the public would have to pay for the damage caused by uninsured vehicles.
Councilman Steve Sanger said Wyoming law specifically states that the owner is responsible for maintaining insurance coverage. He asked how the law applies to non‑owner operators.
Councilman Sanger said state law is vague about who should provide insurance coverage for a car. Chief Ward responded that as chief of police, he interprets the law to apply to the driver, even when the vehicle doesn’t belong to them, adding that other states read it similarly.
Chief Ward noted that his officers can already issue citations under the state statute. However, those cases are sent to the county court instead of being handled in municipal court like other violations of city ordinances. He said adopting the state’s language allows the city to hear those charges locally rather than sending them to a higher court, a position encouraged by the Carbon County Attorney’s Office.
Councilman Steve Sanger reiterated that the state law the city is attempting to adopt is too vague. He said the opening of the statute makes the owner responsible for insurance, but the wording becomes less clear as the provision continues. Still, the councilman said he understands why failure‑to‑maintain‑insurance cases belong in municipal court instead of county court.
As the conversation continued, Chief Ward offered an example of an uninsured driver running a red light. He said that under the city’s current ordinances, officers cannot separate the local and state citations, requiring all offenses to be handled in county court.
By adopting the state statute, Chief Ward said Rawlins police officers can bring all the charges into the municipal court.
Following the discussion, the Rawlins City Council unanimously voted to amend the municipal code on failure to maintain liability coverage to match state law on first reading. As with all ordinance changes, the measure must be read and passed during three separate public meetings before being adopted into law.
