UK 'getting closer to new uninsured driver crackdown'

Date: 19/4/2011

Final regulations regarding the issue of uninsured driving have been laid in parliament by road safety minister Mike Penning.

The Continuous Insurance Enforcement rules will see drivers targeted for keeping an uninsured vehicle instead of simply using the car while not having car insurance in place.

Initial letters informing motorists that their vehicle may be uninsured and that they could face a £100 fine will be sent out in June.

The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency will work with the Motor Insurers' Bureau to pinpoint those with potentially uninsured cars. It will have the power to clamp, seize and destroy the vehicle if it continues to lack insurance, even if the fine has been paid.

Motors with a valid Statutory Off Road Notice will not be targeted under the rules.

"These new powers will help us to take targeted action while freeing up police time to deal with the hard core of offenders," Mr Penning said.

Figures from Direct Line and Brake, the road safety charity, show that one in ten British drivers have been in a collision with an uninsured motorist.

Posted by Mary Treen