Cracking Down on Car Insurance Crime

It is a legal requirement to have car insurance in Britain, from the moment that you pass your test - and even whilst practicing in it's run up - you are not allowed to take to the roads without having suitable insurance protection.

Every year, however, thousands of drivers are still on the road without having correct protection, and it's protection not just for themselves but for those around them. If you are an uninsured driver and you crash you will get no financial help at all, it's tempting fate to take on any risky activity without insurance and driving is certainly risky insurance, but every year thousands of people get away with it.

All over the country, however, the police are beginning to crack down on uninsured drivers. The Road Traffic Act gives police the power to seize vehicles that do not have a valid license, or an active car insurance policy. Once the vehicle has been seized the owner or driver has fourteen days to produce the correct documents at a police station or it will be sold or crushed. In Hampshire along since July 2005 more than 10,000 drivers have been caught.

One of the key weapons in the fight against drivers without suitable insurance is the Motor Insurance Database that has been put together by the Motor Insurer's Bureau. It is a database that contains the details of 35 million insured vehicles in the UK therefore if a car or an individual is not entered upon the database the police can take action.

The police levy a charge of 105 for the cars to be returned, fixed penalty tickets issued can result in a fine of 200. All the same this is a trifling amount of money for the recklessness of the crime, but it is a step in the process of removing uninsured drivers from the road. In addition to the fines, drivers may also receive six penalty points on their driving license, which is enough to take a newly qualified driver off the road altogether.

The police state that many of those who choose to drive without a license or without insurance are often found to be involved in other forms of criminal activity and that the crackdown, therefore, is having a positive impact in the fight against crime throughout the country.

The MIB is also responsible for the statistics that suggest that uninsured drivers cost law-abiding motorists more than 500m annually or roughly 30 on their annual insurance premium. Though in the scheme of things this is not a huge cost individually, if you are hit by an uninsured driver the personal cost could be enormous. Whatever happens, it is vital, and a legal requirement, that you have car insurance when you take to the road, if your policy has expired or you don't have insurance don't take the risk of getting arrested, take a bus and wait until you get a new policy.