I see in the news section that us motorists that play by the rules and keep ourselves legal are paying over the odds for our car insurance as a direct result.
I dare say that's stating the obvious anyway.
Forgive my memory here but i seem to remember when i were but a young pup that being caught without car insurance would mean being banned and rightly so, but these days its just a few points and the crushing of the worthless vehicle.
Preaching to the converted here but isn't it about time this offence was raised to a much more serious 'criminal' level, with many thousands of pounds fine's followed immediately by bailiffs instructed to remove anything of value to recover.
At the moment the penalty is cheaper than insuring.
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At the moment the penalty is cheaper than insuring.
And therein lies the problem. I don't think it's confined to the "banger" end of the market either.
Driving bans count for little anyway, and for the very same reasons.
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Jail then?
After all driving a car is as dangerous as carrying a gun and if you can't or won't play by the rules then the same penalty should apply?
(And I know you could apply that to all motoring law-breaking... just seeing what response I get!)
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As I belive people have repsonsibilities to others - as well as rights - an automatic loss of all state benefist and tax allowances and free NHS treatment for a period of months might concentrate minds wonderfully.
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There should be a harsher penalty, but in such a big softy society, nobody really has the guts to implement real punishments.
Id send them all to the Antarctic to make igloos.
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>>At the moment the penalty is cheaper than insuring.>>
Welcome to a UK formed by 10 years of Labour rule.
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We can spend ages debating here what should be penalty for uninsured drivers but in reality, it won't matter. The law will probably stay the same in future.
Let's see how we can shield ourselves from uninsured drivers.
Is there any other insurer except Direct Line who preserves NCB in case of hit by uninsured drivers? Why not ask all insurers to do the same?
Uninsured drivers increase premium of good motorists by £30 a year. Reducing Bank of England interest rate by 0.25% will reduce my mortgage payment by £20 every month! So, I'm more interested in the later case.
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Welcome to a UK formed by 10 years of Labour rule.
Has the law changed in the last 10 years then?
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No but the low rate of enforcement of the law and the laughable performance of CPS has meant that legislation is not worth the paper it is written on.
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In the case of me (no I wasn't the uninsured) but was hit by one, the guy got 6 points and £250 fine. Bear in mind he wrote of 5 cars when he hit me wth an average cost of at least £12K. It tok ovr 12 months to get him to court. He didn't turn up for one sitting.
So there 6 points and a fine of £250, he even kept his wagon !! Justice I think not...
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Even easier for the cops these days, most in the area I live in have an ANPR power to issue a fixer for £200.00 and points now. Which in a way I think is a good thing.
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>> Welcome to a UK formed by 10 years of Labour rule. Has the law changed in the last 10 years then?
Yes it has. This government has created far more legislation than any government in history, which is one reason why small companies are snowed under by the associated bureacracy. They think you solve a problem by making a law. It does not seem to work like that. But then again, they are all lawyers aren't they? Any connection I wonder?
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I don't think the law has changed in the last 10 years. I also don't recall there ever being an automatic ban for no insurance, I think the OP is wrong on this.
I suspect the reason for more uninsured drivers is probably the astronomical rise in premiums over the last 20+ years. When I started driving back in the 1970's my annual premium was about £30 IIRC. When I was about 22 I had an Alfasud Sprint and the premium was about £70. The car cost me about £1400. For a similar sort of car today I reckon for a 22 year old the premium would be £1000+ Even allowing for inflation, insurance for young drivers is much more expensive than it used to be.
Part of the reason for rising premiums is more litigation, more car theft and cars much more costly to fix with lots of expensive stuff to get damaged (HID lights, aircon, airbags and so on).
Incidentally, there was one of those 'reality' TV programmes on earlier this year showing police with ANPR stopping cars in London. The officer said that, surprisingly, they stop a high proportion of high-value cars like Mercs, BMWs and so on without insurance. Its not all council house lads tearing around in old Beemers.
Edited by qxman {p} on 04/10/2008 at 23:28
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Off topic:
what is the meaning of {p} following some member's name? eg. abc {p}
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I have an intresting tale of some one I know to tell. He's a car salesman, who was chased by several Police cars in his company car and eventually crashed causing severe damage to the car. Obviously that dealership sacked him, but as he had a good history for selling so another took him on immediately and gave him a car... He plead NOT GUILTY & eventually it went to Court where he was banned for 2 years and fined £800. he plead poverty despite earning £60k a year, paid the fine at a fiver a week!!! he left Court, jumped into his company car and drove off. he continued to drive throughout his ban even though his general manager knew he was banned!!!
Several years have passed, he has moved from 1 dealership to another and now works for a Renault dealer. he has never been questioned or denied a job because he had been banned.
Is there any point to the law?
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A ban is a ban from driving, not from working or being employed. Obviously his boss shouldn't have encouraged him to drive while banned but if he did drive, that is a police matter.
Edited by Armitage Shanks {p} on 05/10/2008 at 09:34
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Driving ban is a ridiculous thing! How do you ever catch someone who is banned yet driving?
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How do you ever catch someone who is banned yet driving? >>
Quite easily - the polis around here seem to have a good memory for faces.
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ANPR cameras could be set to note his numberplate, assuming he is in his own car.
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A ban is a ban from driving not from working or being employed. Obviously his boss shouldn't have encouraged him to drive while banned but if he did drive that is a police matter.
If that ever was true, its certainly not now under the corporate manslaughter bill.
"Following a death involving an at-work driver, fleet mangers can expect an immediate and in-depth investigation by the police." www.fleetnews.co.uk/RiskManagement/story/Police-wa...2
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I am sure you are right and so is the law! The events described were "Some years ago"
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Well, some years ago means within the last 10 not as far back as the 60's, 70's or 80's. Really not much has changed in the last 10 years except technology has got a bit better. They say there are 1.5 million uninsured drivers in the UK so how many are driving whilst banned etc? Not just 1 employer excepted his ban but everyone since. Surely, their insurance needs to reflect that they have someone someone previously banned on their policy and I thought driving bans stuck with you for 10 years?
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As per Marlot's post, i think there will be a sharp tightening up soon of company's licence and risk assessment policies.
Probably when the first company directors and car managers go down for a few years for allowing unlicenced and dodgy employess to drive their vehicles, in my own field i notice several large companies have put their transport operations in contractors hands, or are gradually doing so, i wonder if this may have anything to do with it.
The figures for uninsured drivers are a bad joke IMO, but until miscreants get hit very hard in the pocket, and i don't mean £200 fines, i'm talking about minimum 3 months salary type fines (to be paid into the insurer's bureau to help with the costs for the rest of us) nothing will change.
To me its deliberate neglect of a drivers duty to drive ininsured, until the punishment fits the crime that will not change.
Whats someone to do when they have been maimed and cannot provide for themselves or their families for the rest of their lives and no insurance provider to pick up the tab.
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Another trick this person would do is obtain people's driving licenses and present if stopped for speeding etc and seemed to get away with it!!!
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To learn more about his tricks, contact PMG Renault East Kilbride and ask for Mr FB!!!
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