Courts too lenient on uninsured drivers

UK Courts have been accused this week that they are being too lenient on uninsured drivers. The figures released by the Home Office have highlighted the fact that in 1997 the average fine for driving without adequate car or van insurance was £224 compared with £177 in 2005. However, the amount of cases against people driving with car or van insurance have actually dropped from 397,133 in 1997 to 392,763 in 2005 (statistics only available up until 2005).

 

According to the Association of British Insurers (ABI), people prepared to drive without car or van insurance are 10 times more likely to have drink driving convictions and 6 times more likely to be driving an unroadworthy vehicle.

 

With fines as low as £177 for driving uninsured, it is hardly surprising that there are over 2 million vehicles (according to the latest Government figures) without car or van insurance considering the average fully comprehensive policy costs £833 (according to AA figures).

 

New legislation introduced this year has now effectively ended the possibility of serving a prison sentence for drivers who kill whilst driving without a driving licence or valid insurance. The new rules handed down by the Sentencing Guidelines Council, mean that judges are now more inclined to serve community punishment orders instead of prison sentences. 

 

The community punishment rule has been applied to all new motoring legislation and introduces a charge for causing death by driving either disqualified, unlicensed or uninsured. The maximum prison sentence for this is 2 years however the courts have been told to only enforce this if the person driving kills whilst already serving a driving ban.

 

Driving without adequate car or van insurance is very dangerous to everyone involved. In order to protect yourself and members of the public you must ensure that if you are driving you are fully covered. For a fantastic van insurance quote that offers complete peace of mind that you are fully insured please visit our Van Insurance page.