New penalties for driving uninsured proposed

Government proposals to allow the police to seize, and where appropriate destroy, uninsured vehicles have been set out by Road Safety Minister David Jamieson.
In the UK there are an estimated 1.2 million people - about one in twenty motorists - who regularly drive uninsured, and honest motorists pay an estimated £30 each to cover the cost of claims made against the uninsured.

The consultation "Seizure of vehicles being driven uninsured" seeks views on giving the police the power to seize a vehicle being used by an uninsured driver. The vehicle would be released after the driver can produce the correct insurance documentation and has paid a fine. The police would be able to destroy vehicles that were not collected within a prescribed period.

Road Safety Minister David Jamieson said: "We're proposing to give the police powers to seize vehicles being used by uninsured drivers. Getting these vehicles off the road will improve road safety for everyone and reduce the nuisance people experience when they try to make a claim off someone who turns out to be uninsured.
"Honest motorists are fed up with the menace of uninsured driving. Not only do they add about £30 to every insurance policy, they are also more likely to break other traffic law - such as driving dangerous vehicles. We're already making progress in reducing the number of people who drive uninsured, but these measures will bring that number down further."

The consultation "Seizure of vehicles being driven uninsured" is available at http://www.dft.gov.uk. It ends on 26 November 2004.

The penalties for driving without insurance against third party risk are a maximum fine of £5,000, the automatic endorsement of an offender's licence with 6-8 penalty points and possible disqualification.

On 1 June 2003 driving uninsured became an offence for which, instead of prosecution, a fixed penalty could be offered. The level of the fixed penalty was set at £200 plus 6 penalty points.