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We have long believed the state's so-called "dollar a day" automobile-insurance policies are a menace to other drivers on the road.

Available only to qualifying low-income people, this bare-bones policy doesn't have the liability coverage every other driver on the road is required to get. If you are hit by one of these policyholders, you and your insurance company pay the tab. Dollar-a-day policyholders are exempt from the law that requires everyone else to have some degree of liability coverage in the event of causing damage or injury to others.

But it is now becoming clear that these policies, however well-intentioned, can be a menace to the people who buy them as well as to other drivers.

As reported by Special Projects Writer John Froonjian, the people who buy dollar-a-day policies are sometimes unaware of just how little insurance they have. One such policyholder, Leslie Garcia, was hit by an uninsured driver and suffered a miscarriage, two broken ribs and a neck bone injury, requiring physical therapy. Her car was totalled. To qualify for dollar-a-day coverage, applicants must be on Medicaid, which provides some medical coverage. But Garcia's Medicaid had run out.

Her dollar-a-day insurance pays for emergency-room treatment only. The only other medical expenses it pays for are "serious brain and spinal cord" injuries.

That's it. End of insurance coverage - except for a $10,000 death benefit.

"It basically ruined my life," said Garcia. "Dollar-a-day was like having no insurance."

Another dollar-a-day policyholder was slapped with a $6,500 judgment against her after an accident. She said she didn't realize, either, that she had virtually no insurance coverage.

Sure, we can warn about "buyer beware." But in real life, many low-income people are happy to hear they can insure their vehicles for $1 a day and legally be on the roads. That was the well-intentioned purpose of the dollar-a-day policy. But it is a sham, a fig leaf that was concocted during the administration of Gov. James E. McGreevey to allay concerns that a crackdown on uninsured motorists would hurt people who couldn't afford coverage. It isn't a real insurance policy - it's simply a way to skirt state law.

Yes, insurance is expensive in New Jersey. But for as little as $50-a-year more, drivers can get a legitimate bare-bones "basic" policy that at least provides some liability coverage and personal injury protection.

The ranks of dollar-a-day policyholders are growing, and a bill in the Legislature would expand eligibility further. That's the wrong direction to take. It's long past time to end this sham altogether.

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