Driving without insurance is now much less prevalent than in recent years, thanks to on-the-road efforts to improve policing and crack down on those who flout the law.
The Motor Insurers’ Bureau reports that the latest data, from mid-2010, shows 125,000 uninsured young drivers – down from twice that figure in 2008.
“Whilst the overall number of uninsured motorists in the UK is decreasing and there is a very welcome drop amongst young drivers, there is still much work to be done,” says MIB chief executive Ashton West.
“Uninsured driving adds £30 per policy per year to the cost of insurance premiums, resulting in £400 million a year in costs to the industry.”
Driving without insurance is clearly a riskier practice now than in previous years – the MIB notes that on-the-road policing has been one contributing factor towards the trend.
However, another important development is Continuous Insurance Enforcement, where penalties can be applied to anyone on the DVLA database who does not have car insurance in place, even if they are not caught driving.
This could apply to an estimated 1.2 million adults, the MIB says, a tenth of whom are young and newly qualified.
If you find yourself subject to any such enforcement, our motoring solicitors can help you to determine whether you can defend your case and avoid penalty points and a fine – and the sooner you contact us, the better your chance of success.