Convicted Driver
Uninsured motorists have the run of the road
Fri, 08 Jul 2005
More than 1.4 million motorists are driving on Britain’s roads without car insurance, according to insurers.
The British Insurance Brokers Association says increases in the price of petrol, road tax and insurance are partly behind the growing number of offenders, who are pushing up insurance premiums for law-abiding motorists.
The Association says crashes involving drivers without insurance push up the average premium by £30 a year because the costs of the other party are largely met by insurers, who then pass on the costs to customers.
It is claimed that uninsured drivers account for more than one in 20 of all UK motorists and are more than nine times likely to be involved in an accident.
Insurers say the costs of accidents caused by uninsured drivers has soared from £180 million in 1995 to £500 million today.
Speaking as new legislation came into force yesterday giving police the power to confiscate uninsured vehicles, spokesman for the British Insurance Brokers Association, Graeme Trudgill said tougher penalties were needed to stop motorists driving without insurance.
He said the rising cost of motoring had caused some drivers to decide that driving without cover was cheaper than the punishment for being caught.
"Over the past year, the cost of motoring has increased with, for example, fuel prices rising to a record high. The punishment for being caught driving uninsured is often not much deterrent, consisting of a fine of up to £150," Mr Trudgill explained.
"So more motorists are either driving without cover or considering it. We must act now and introduce much tougher penalties if we are to stop this problem becoming worse."
Some brokers offer convicted driver insurance to those who have difficulties insuring their vehicles because of motoring convictions.
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