BATON ROUGE - Leaders of the Office of Motor Vehicles defended their mass mailing of 1.1 million collection letters to drivers for lapsed insurance coverage. Col. Mike Edmonson says the effort was aimed at clearing driving records and wasn't a "money grab" for a cash-strapped agency.

And Edmonson on Thursday told a state panel overseeing debt recovery efforts for state agencies that a new round of letters was planned soon for people who haven't paid traffic fines on their driving records.

Louisiana drivers are required to have insurance on their vehicles. Letters sent this month were seeking more than $400 million in fines from 550,000 drivers.

Some drivers said they were being improperly accused of lapsed insurance on vehicles they've sold or on vehicles now registered in other states where they've moved.