With all the current debate re uninsured drivers/cars, is it not time we adopted in the UK the Irish principle of displaying the insurance certificate for the vehicle alongside the tax disc? The police have already got, and are using, roadside tax disc scanners, could these not be developed to check the insurance certificate?
I know this will only advise that the vehicle is insured, not the driver, but it would be a step in the right direction and would ensure that the owner would be more careful about who is driving the car. It is a more serious crime to drive an uninsured car over an untaxed one.
Discuss!
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Big G,
Are you suggesting that we should introduce a proactive, forward looking, logical measure to combat a growing problem???
Next, you will be suggesting that we also display MOT Certs as well! and maybe all this could be on a renewable number plate that is bar-coded for ease of checking. What about the poor little dears' Human Rights?
Bah! Humbug. your suggestion is too radical to even consider!!!
The Establishment.
(meaning established, stable, none changing)
(Irony is not dead yet.)
John R
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It does seem a monumentally insoluble problem for a supposedly advanced country.
Here, registration, inspection and insurance renewal all happen at the same time in the same month. For example your license plate ends in 1, that's January, 2 that's February and so on. YOu can renew anytime within that month or even a month before, but your insurance and registration will always run from the 1st of your "month".
You present your bvehicle at any Land Transportation Office for this purpose. In fact some Residents' Associations, including mine, arrange for a mobile registration unit to visit monthly in your area on Saturdays if you busy in the week. There is a small charge for this.
At the LTO Office, the sequence is:
1) Your car's emissions are checked - pay.
2) Your car's VIN numbers are checked against your original reg
docs and stencilled on to the renewal form.
3) YOu proceed to the insurance window. You MUST either (a)
show your own pre-purchased valid TPL cover, OR (b) buy
from the LTO's deputised provider.
4) You then visit the reg window, where everything is presented
and you pay the registration fee. Then you take a seat,
get a coffee or whatever til your number is called.
5) YOur reg docs are returned to you, along with your up todate
receipt (must be carried at all times in the vehicle),
a windshield sticker and a small postage size sticker for
each number plate, front and rear. This is currently "02"
for 2002. These are hologrammed and serial coded and the
serial number will match that on your reg receipt so its hard
to fake.
Thus a traffic enforcer or cop looking at your vehicle knows that if the current is say November, and your number plate ends in "6" and bears "02" sticker, then you must have renewed your reg properly in June and your insurance must be current. I.e your vehicle is legal. TPL insurance goes with the vehicle not the owner, so a car which has been sold meantime but properly registered is still TPL-insured. Since insurance can only be from the first of the month, then you don't have to worry about what day it runs out provided you do it that month. If you want comprehensive, then you buy your own and present it at registration time instead of taking the government minimal cover one.
If you fail to do this you are instantly visible as an uninsured unregistered vehicle and can be stopped and have your license taken on the spot. If you miss your "date" for any reason, you are allowed a visit to the LTO office for the sole purpose of inspection and registration, but you will have to pay for a full year plus a fine.
Everyone is so used to this it works OK and having all the requirements done at one fell swoop make it a snip. Far from perfect, we are after all an LDC, but I have always thought quite neat in both concept and execution vs UK 's 3 steps of inspection, insurance renewal and registration. I'm sure many other countries have something similar.
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With regard to display of MOT cert, this is already happening in N.Ireland. A computer controlled test has been introduced which is much more rigorous and a MOT cert is issued in the form of a tax disc which must be displayed.
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TPL insurance goes with the vehicle not the owner, so a car which has been sold meantime but properly registered is still TPL-insured.
For any driver, any age, any level of experience ??
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That's right. The variables are: class of vehicle (private, car/truck, SUV, public utility, bus, etc), engine size and unladen weight.
Driver -- doesn't matter as long as he/she holds valid license for the class of vehicle, also must have professional license if driving a public utility or taxi or motorised tricycle.
That's it. Mind you the TPL is pretty small, maybe only $10,000 equiv coverage.
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