motoring guide

Campaigners and government tackle drivers without insurance

The number of uninsured drivers on Britain's roads has become a subject of extensive debate recently, with concerns that people will cut back their cover or even cancel their policies to try and save money in the recession.

Various commentators have continued to warn drivers about the consequences of cutting back on car insurance, with the Motor Insurers' Bureau (MIB) recently launching a campaign to urge people to maintain their cover.

The latest figures from the Department of Transport suggest that around 6.5 per cent of motorists are uninsured, which represents around two million drivers.

This is despite the fact that over 95 per cent of people believe it is socially unacceptable to drive without motor insurance, according to MIB research.

Figures from moneysupermarket.com suggest that there has been a 33 per cent increase in the number of people driving without car insurance in the last year, with a fifth of drivers thought to have broken the law, compared to 15 per cent in 2008.

Young drivers appear to be the worst culprits, as research suggests that 20 per cent, or 243,000, of the 1.2 million people aged between 17 to 20 years old on Britain's roads do no have car insurance. This is reflected in attitudes, as 83 per cent of 18 to 24-year-olds think it is socially unacceptable to avoid getting cover, which is well below the national average.

In addition, while 21 to 29-year-olds make up 13.8 per cent of the driving population, they represent 34 per cent of uninsured motorists, according to the MIB. In fact, the typical uninsured driver is a male aged between 17 and 29.

Worryingly, many people are unaware of the consequences of being caught without car insurance, or are unrealistic about their chances of being apprehended.

Only three in five drivers believe they are likely to be caught, despite the introduction of automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) technology which makes it easier for police to detect offenders

Recent figures from the Association of Chief Police Officers and the MIB showed that more than 170,000 uninsured vehicles were seized in 2008, which is more than double the amount confiscated in 2006, the first full year in which new legislation was introduced to help police crack down on the offence.

The new scheme gave officers improved access to the Motor Insurance Database (MID) and included the national roll out of the ANPR equipment, which records registration numbers and cross references them with records in the MID to reveal whether the driver is fully covered. The database is extensive, containing details of more than 35 million insured vehicles in the UK.

According to the MIB, the police are being increasingly successful in removing uninsured vehicles from Britain's roads, with as many as 500 a day being seized. In 2008, 40 per cent of those were crushed or sold.

Even more worrying is the fact that some motorists are actually unaware that driving without car insurance is illegal. The MIB's research shows that one in ten 18 to 24-year-olds do not know this, while nine per cent of 25 to 34-year-olds are unaware. This is in comparison to five per cent across the driving population as a whole and three per cent of 45-year-olds.

The consequences are severe. Drivers will, at the very least, have their car taken away, a minimum of six penalty points on their licence, have to pay a £200 fixed penalty and a further £150 to get their car back. They will also prove they have purchased car insurance to retrieve their vehicle.

However, 68 per cent of drivers are not aware that the maximum fine is £5,000 and a possible eight points on their licence. In addition, 55 per cent do not know that their vehicle will be held until they can provide evidence that they are covered.

A further study by MoneySupermarket found that two-thirds of Brits believe that motorists who are caught without car insurance should face stronger penalties than are currently enforced.

This is unsurprising considering the damage that uninsured drivers do. In 2008, £400 million was collected from insurers to compensate people injured by offenders, with the costs being subsidised by the honest driver to the tune of an extra £30 per policy on average. However, it is thought that the total cost of uninsured driving in the UK could be as much as £500 million a year.

In addition to the monetary cost, there is also a human cost.

"Driving without insurance is not a victimless crime," explains Frank Whitely, chief constable of Hertfordshire police.

It is estimated that uninsured and untraced drivers kill 160 people and injure 23,000 every year.

"Uninsured drivers are more likely to be involved in road traffic accidents, more likely to be non-compliant with other road traffic requirements and potentially involved in other criminal activity," he added.

According to the MoneySupermarket research, 16 per cent of people think that the government or the motoring industry should subsidise younger drivers to stop them from taking to the roads without car insurance.

In addition, the Association of British Drivers (ABD) recently suggested that responsible young drivers should be rewarded for their safe practise.

"People who take [further driving courses] should automatically get some sort of benefit from it," said Hugh Bladon, founding member of the ABD.

"There is the possibility of a reduced insurance premium through [them], but we think it should go further.

"If the government were sensible, they would give people plus points instead of minus if they've passed some sort of accredited improvement course," he added.

The problem of uninsured drivers has not gone unnoticed by the government. The Department for Transport recently confirmed plans to crack down on the offence.

Proposals include making it illegal to keep an uninsured car, even if is not being driven. Anyone caught doing so would receive a £100 fine and if the vehicle remains uninsured then it could be seized and destroyed, regardless of whether the penalty has been paid.

Road safety minister Paul Clark insisted that the "tough new measures" will leave offenders with "nowhere to hide".

As two or more convictions can increase car insurance premiums by 20 per cent on top of the fines incurred, it is cheaper in the long run to obey the law. The consequences of getting caught are severe, according to Malcolm Tarling, spokesperson for the Association of British Insurers.

"Future insurance will be more expensive, it will be harder to obtain, you'll have trouble getting credit and other types of financial products and you could even risk picking up a criminal conviction which is something which could blight employment prospects amongst other things in years to come," he said.

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22 Dec 2009