With a friendly nudge from the South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles, fewer uninsured motorists are driving on roads in the state.

State officials credit a boost in fines and license suspensions for more South Carolina motorists obtaining insurance during the past two years.

Since the first of the year, the agency has been using a new database of uninsured motorists to crack down on those who let their auto insurance lapse.

Eleanor Kitzman, director of the South Carolina Insurance Department, told The Associated Press if the number of uninsured motorists continues to drop, insurers should cut rates to reflect the reduced risk of being hit by an insured motorist.

Auto insurance is mandatory in the state. In a collision, the driver at fault is responsible for footing the bill for all repairs. But if that driver is not insured, it doesn’t work out.

The program requires insurers to immediately report the names of individuals who cancel their policies. Drivers have 20 days to obtain new insurance before fines are imposed, and their vehicle registrations and drivers’ licenses are suspended.

The database, which is funded by fines paid by uninsured drivers, reportedly has reduced by 9 percent the number of uninsured drivers in crashes from two years ago. It also cut the number of uninsured driver citations issued and decreased the number of vehicles with suspended vehicle tags.