Crackdown on uninsured

A fresh crack-down on dodgy drivers could make the roads safer for every motorcyclist.

The idea is to seize and destroy uninsured vehicles – often the battered or Maxxed motors driven by crash-happy, cap-wearing, hit-and-run boy racers we could all do without.

The move has been welcomed by the RAC – with the warning that it’s a pointless plan unless more traffic cops replace the reliance on speed cameras.

Under the scheme, once seized by police, a vehicle would be released only if the driver produced insurance documentation and paid a fine. If vehicles were not collected within a certain period they would consigned to the crusher.

The RAC Foundations’s Kevin Delaney, said:“Uninsured driving is a menace, it costs law abiding road users millions of pounds each year”.

But he said safeguards would be necessary to make sure the real owner has enough opportunity to recover the vehicle, and warned: “Unless this measure is accompanied by a higher police profile on our roads, opportunists will continue to drive without insurance, taking a calculated risk that they are unlikely to be stopped.

“The reduction in traffic police has been linked to the increase of speed camera enforcement but speed cameras do not deter uninsured motorists.”

The RAC says More than a third of male drivers aged 18-20 have driven without insurance or a licence, and approximately five per cent of all motorists now drive uninsured – adding £30 to £60 to the premiums of us all.

The RAC points out:

The Motor Insurance Bureau paid out £500 million to the victims of uninsured motorists last year. This is paid out of the premiums of honest
motorists.

There were 266,750 convictions for driving without insurance in 2001

Approximately 16% of uninsured drivers get convicted each year

One in ten drivers have been involved in an accident with an uninsured driver

Uninsured drivers are up to nine times more likely to be involved in an accident

Uninsured drivers are more likely to be involved in hit and run collisions.

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