Crack down on uninsured drivers

11 January 2011

New powers against the persistent problem of uninsured drivers will come into force this year.

Responsible, insured motorists pay around £30 more on their annual premiums, thanks to uninsured drivers. The Department for Transport also estimates that uninsured and untraced drivers cause 160 road deaths and 23,000 injuries every year.

The police seize more than 400 uninsured vehicles each day, but Road Safety Minister Mike Penning says, “It is simply not possible to catch every uninsured driver in this way.”

Under the new system:

• The DVLA will work with the Motor Insurers' Bureau to identify uninsured vehicles
• The vehicle owners will receive a letter telling them that their vehicle appears to be uninsured and warning them that they will be fined unless they take action
• If the keeper fails to insure the vehicle they will be given a £100 fine
• If the vehicle remains uninsured - regardless of whether the fine is paid - it could then be seized and destroyed

Vehicles with a valid Statutory Off Road Notice (SORN) will not be required to be insured.

Government is working to make it an offence to be the registered keeper of a vehicle that does not have insurance, as well as regulations to support this. The DfT says more regulations will be made soon, allowing the scheme to come into force in the spring.