Uninsured driving crackdown moves a step closer

A new system to tackle uninsured driving moved a step closer last month as Road Safety Minister Mike Penning laid the final regulations in Parliament.

The introduction of new Continuous Insurance Enforcement regulations will make it an offence to keep an uninsured vehicle, rather than just to drive when uninsured.

The regulations will allow DVLA to take action against those who ignore warnings to get their vehicle insured.

Mike Penning said:

"Uninsured drivers injure 23,000 people each year and add £30 to every responsible motorist's premium so we need to do everything we can to keep them off the roads.

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

Under the new system:

• the DVLA will work in partnership with the Motor Insurers' Bureau to identify uninsured vehicles
• motorists 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 fi ne is paid - it could then be clamped, seized and destroyed. The regulations laid in Parliament would give the DVLA the powers to take this action
• the vehicle will only be released when the keeper provides evidence that the registered keeper is no longer committing an offence of having no insurance and the person proposing to drive the vehicle away is insured to do so.

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

It is planned for the fi rst insurance advisory letters (which warn individuals that they appear to be uninsured) to be sent at the end of June following a publicity campaign to raise awareness of the CIE scheme.

The Motor Insurance Database (MID) will be used to identify registered keepers of vehicles that appear to have no insurance. All drivers can check their vehicle is recorded on the MID for free - visit www.askMID.com.