Research and Freedom of Information Act requests by Churchill Insurance show that there are approximately 1 million uninsured drivers on UK roads, and that they cost around £400m in accidents and insurance payouts. Despite this figure, only a quarter of a million drivers were convicted for driving without insurance and given points on their licence in the 18 month period leading up to June this year, while 11,000 drivers were convicted twice of the same offence.
Driving without insurance is considered a serious offence, and is an absolute offence. This means that a person is either guilty or not guilty, and somebody that is convicted of the offence will usually receive 6 penalty points and a fine of around £300, although it is possible to receive heavier penalties for repeat offences and for aggravating circumstances.
The offence may be dealt with by way of a Fixed Penalty Notice, or through the courts, and it is possible for guilty drivers to receive a ban from driving as a direct result of the offence, or as a result of reaching the totting up maximum of 12 points on their licence during any three year period. Young drivers, who are still on their probationary period, would have to give their licence back if caught and convicted of the offence, and handed the 6 penalty points.
The Motor Insurance Bureau believes that as many as many as 2.8% of all motorists drive without insurance, and this equates to about 1 million cars on the road at the current time. Less than 50,000 were convicted of the offence in the first six months of 2015, and with police and traffic police numbers dwindling even further, it is down to Automatic Number Plate Recognition software that is used in conjunction with cameras and traffic police cars to catch guilty parties.
The figures also revealed that there are nearly 1,000 drivers that still hold a licence despite having accumulated 12 points, and there are two drivers that are still driving even with 26 points on their licence. Typically, accumulating 12 points during a three year period means that a person is automatically disqualified, unless they can show exceptional hardship.
