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Motoring

Uninsured driving

Driving a vehicle on a road or in a public place without insurance against third party risk is an offence. You need to be insured to use a specified vehicle rather than the vehicle being insured for use by specified persons.

It’s estimated that there are around 2m vehicles in the United Kingdom (UK). This is based on a comparison of the vehicle register, maintained by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) and the Motor Insurance Database (MID).

The cost to you

Uninsured drivers impose a significant financial burden on other motorists, estimated at around £380m each year or around £30 of the cost of each insurance premium. The damage inflicted in road traffic accident results in large number of claims for settlement by the Motor Insurers Bureau (MIB).

In addition, uninsured driving imposes other costs on society. Research and surveys reveal that uninsured drivers are more likely to be involved in road traffic accidents, to be non compliant with other road traffic requirements and potentially to be involved in other criminal activity.

Compensation

The uninsured drivers’ agreement between the Government and the MIB ensures that the innocent victims of uninsured drivers don’t go uncompensated. The agreement provides arrangements for the MIB to pay compensation to those who suffer personal injury or damage to their property as a result of a motor vehicle accident.

In the case of untraced drivers, compensation can only be claimed for damage to property where the vehicle concerned has been identified.

Compliance and enforcement

The Department for Transport (DfT) announced a package of measures to crack down on the estimated 2m motorists on our roads driving without insurance. The measures followed the recommendations of Professor David Greenaway’s review of motor insurance in the UK.

The DfT’s in continuing discussions with the police and the insurance industry to establish the most effective way of countering the abuse of uninsured driving. Provisions in the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 enable the police to use their access to the Motor Insurance Database in conjunction with their Automatic Number Plate Reading equipment. As a result the police are now seizing around 1500 uninsured vehicles per week.

The Continuous Insurance Enforcement scheme, will provide a new fixed penalty for people who ignore official reminders that their insurance has expired. This’ll apply to vehicles that aren’t declared as being off the road through a Statutory Off-Road Notification (SORN) and aren’t insured. Continuing offenders will risk having their vehicle seized and destroyed. Where a motor vehicle isn't used on a road or other public place then there’s no requirement to purchase insurance cover for 'on road risk' as long as a SORN declaration has been made. This scheme is expected to come into force during 2009.

Penalties

The seriousness of the offence is reflected in the level of the maximum fine, £5,000, and the automatic endorsement of an offender’s licence with 6-8 penalty points. The courts can order the immediate disqualification of the offender. The police also have wide powers to stop vehicles and inspect certificates and this leads to around 300,000 convictions for uninsured driving every year.

Driving without insurance has been punishable within the fixed penalty system. The fixed penalty of £200 and six penalty points allow more rigorous enforcement of this offence. The possibility of a fixed penalty gives the police an extra option for dealing with the offence concerned, but it doesn't preclude the police's ability to prosecute in appropriate cases when they consider that to be the best course of action.

The police have the power to seize and in appropriate cases, destroy vehicles that are being driven uninsured. Any vehicle seized under these powers will only be released on payment of the prescribed charges and the production of a valid insurance document. The vehicle will only be released to the registered keeper of the vehicle or, if there's no registered keeper, to the person appearing to be the owner. The police can dispose of vehicles not claimed within a prescribed time.

The Road Safety Act 2006 makes provision for harsher sentences for those who kill or are involved in accidents while driving uninsured.

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