A change in law rolled out today means that it is now legally required for anyone that owns a car, van, motorbike, motorhome or truck to have insurance at all times or to declare the vehicle off the road.
The DVLA will compare their records with the Motor Insurance Database (MID) to identify keepers of uninsured vehicles and those caught out could face:
- A fixed penalty of £100
- Their vehicle being clamped, seized and destroyed
- A court prosecution with a maximum fine of £1000
The official launch of the scheme will take place today in London, and will be attended by representatives from the Department for Transport and industry stakeholders. A national television advertisement endorsed by the DVLA will break on terrestrial and satellite television channels this evening.
Uninsured driving is a serious and costly issue. It is estimated that uninsured and untraced drivers kill 160 people and injure 23,000 every year. Uninsured driving also adds around £30 a year to every motorist's insurance premium amounting to more than £400m a year in additional premiums. There are currently a staggering 1.4 million uninsured vehicles in the UK.
As of late June 2011, offending motorists will receive a letter warning that their vehicle appears to be uninsured and that they will be fined unless they take action.
These new measures are in addition to the powers the police already have to seize an uninsured vehicle from the road and fining the driver.
Bianca Castafiore - 23/05/2011 12:45
I'm all in favour of clamping down on people who don't take out insurance. However, we all seem to be suffering again just so the minority have to take heed of the law. I have several old motorcycles which are used only in good weather. As such, I have not always renewed my insurance on time since I may not be in a position to use them, particularly if the weather is bad, and I might then 'win' with better weather at the end of the 12 month term. I need to be careful of this in future. One further point - Is it possible to SORN a vehicle if there is still road tax valid? The crazy thing here is that I would have to get a 'refund' on my zero cost pre 1973 tax exemption before I could SORN a vehicle to allow me to stay within the law........