3 STRIKES FOR DRIVERS; PENALTIES COULD MEAN LOSS OF INSURANCE.

Byline: Sherry Joe Crosby Daily News Staff Writer

For bad drivers, the new rule is three points and you're out.

Under new auto insurance regulations that went into effect Wednesday, California motorists can lose their insurance - and eventually be forced to pay higher premiums - if they receive three penalty points for bad driving during a three-year period.

State insurance officials said the change - it took three points in just one year to trigger penalties before - will allow companies to crack down on drunk and bad drivers while lowering rates for the vast majority of Californians classified as good drivers.

``The good drivers will be paying less and not subsidizing the bad drivers, the lawbreakers, the drunk drivers and the uninsured motorists,'' said Dana Spurrier, press secretary for state Insurance Commissioner Chuck Quackenbush.

Under the new regulations, motorists who receive a speeding ticket and are caught driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs could lose their auto insurance.

Points are assigned to traffic tickets in California based on the severity of the violation. For example, an illegal turn is one point while alcohol-related offenses, such as drunk driving, are two. Drivers are allowed to go to traffic school to remove one-point violations from their records.

``These new regulations penalize drunk drivers and further reduce auto insurance rates for all of us,'' Spurrier said.

The new regulations evoked mixed reactions from motorists.

Merrilyn Lemons, 60, of Woodland Hills said if she was asked how she felt 40 years ago about the change, she'd be incensed, because she had three moving violations within a year at age 20.

``I got a letter from the governor saying I was a menace on the road,'' Lemons said at the Automobile Club in West Hills on Wednesday. ``Now, that I'm in my more mellow years, anything that will lower the insurance rates is fine by me.''

But critics said the new rules will penalize ordinary drivers who have minor collisions and will result in more uninsured motorists on the road.

``The changes will allow a lot of insurance companies to not renew or cancel insurance for a lot of mishaps,'' said Lillian Salinger, attorney for the Proposition 103 Enforcement Project, which unsuccessfully fought against the regulations. ``This will really affect ordinary drivers.''

Supporters of the changes said high-risk drivers can shop around and find another auto insurance company, but probably will face substantial rate increases.

The new regulations could affect an estimated 1 million California drivers who might lose their insurance or pay higher premiums during the next three years. Mothers Against Drunk Driving, which has campaigned for harsher drunk driving penalties, endorsed the regulation changes.

``The strong message it sends is you will be held accountable if you choose to drive under the influence,'' said Becky Bearden, chairwoman of the public policy committee for MADD. ``We always support any efforts made by the state of California toward reducing tragedies caused by impaired drivers. Anything that gets tough on drunk driving and thereby reduces the number of people killed or injured we are in support of.''

But Salinger said the state law already provides for ways to cancel the insurance of drunk drivers.

``These new regulations have nothing to do with drunk driving,'' Salinger said. ``Increasing (penalties) for this behavior is unwarranted under the law.''

Insurance industry officials disagreed.

About half of California's traffic violations involve alcohol, said Jerry Davies, spokesman for the Personal Insurance Federation, a trade group that initiated the regulation changes.

``If you look at the history of alcohol offenses, they've been growing each year,'' said Davies, whose organization represents the six companies that insure 50 percent of California's motorists. ``Good drivers are being more intolerant of people who want to break the rules.''

Outraged about the new rules was Nino Brown, 27, of Woodland Hills, who just six months ago got a ticket for inadvertently turning against a ``no turning between 3 p.m. and 7 p.m.'' sign.

``It's not really fair. People have accidents. That's why they're called accidents,'' Brown said. ``Sometimes, things just happen. How do you balance the two: the bad drivers from those who make mistakes. . . . I just didn't see the sign.''

But Gene Tripp, 67, a state-certified driver's training instructor who lives in Tarzana, praised the changes - especially, he said, since his son was hit by an uninsured driver last week.

``I don't argue with that at all because they're bad drivers,'' Tripp said.

Daily News Staff Writer Lisa Van Proyen contributed to this story.

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