(a) Any person who fails to comply with the provisions of § 8053(b) of this title shall incur a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be sanctioned with a five hundred dollar ($500) fine. Furthermore, the court shall impose the payment of damages, as established in Section 16-102A [sic] of the Puerto Rico Vehicles and Traffic Act, for damages caused to an insured motor vehicle when it determines that said person caused it, and nothing provided herein shall affect any civil actions that may be filed.
When a law enforcement officer intervenes with any person, the former shall verify the effectiveness of the vehicle registration sticker, and if the person has failed to comply with the provisions of § 8053(b) of this title, the officer shall seize the license plate of the uninsured motor vehicle and issue the corresponding traffic ticket for violation of the provisions of this chapter and shall indicate said fact in the corresponding Police Report. The officer shall also remit said license plate to the Department of Transportation and Public Works within a term of no more than three (3) working days after the seizure. In those cases, said motor vehicle shall not be able to travel on public thoroughfares in Puerto Rico and the cost of its removal shall be assumed by the driver or owner of said vehicle. The owner may request the return of the seized license plate to the Secretary of the Department of Transportation and Public Works once he/she provides evidence of having complied with the provisions of this chapter.
(b) Any person who has failed to comply with the provisions in § 8053 of this title, whose motor vehicle is not insured, and who is involved in a traffic accident with a motor vehicle insured pursuant to the chapter, shall not be entitled to the benefits of the compulsory liability insurance for the damages to his/her motor vehicle. Likewise, the owner of a motor vehicle insured pursuant to this chapter, who causes damage to an uninsured motor vehicle, shall be exempted from liability for the damages covered by the insurance provided by this chapter, up to the limit thereof. Likewise, an authorized driver of an insured motor vehicle who causes damage to an uninsured motor vehicle, shall enjoy the same exemption as [does] the owner of such vehicle.
History —Dec. 27, 1995, No. 253, § 11; Aug. 20, 1997, No. 94, § 6; Aug. 7, 1998, No. 201, § 2; Dec. 29, 2009, No. 201, § 8.