If you're driving in Texas and prone to being a little lead-footed, you'd better have auto insurance. Texas has a new law that went into effect at the beginning of the year, that allows law enforcement officers to find out whether or not you have coverage, right there at the scene.

The new law is designed to weed out uninsured drivers who would otherwise present a fraudulent or out-of-date insurance card when pulled over for speeding or other driving infractions.

The Texas Financial Responsibility Verification program is a joint product between TxDOT, the Texas Departments of Public Safety and Insurance, and the Department of Information Resources, as well as various insurance companies that operate within the state. It allows law enforcement officers to compare presented insurance cards to the actual information held by the insurance company named on the card. To assist this, insurance companies are now required to provide data to the state every two weeks.

It is hoped that this law will reduce the number of uninsured drivers on the roads, and in turn, help decrease auto insurance premiums for Texas drivers. It is estimated that as many as 20% of the drivers in Texas do not carry valid insurance.

A pilot of the program has already been launched, and expansions are planned by spring.