Uninsured Drivers On Our Roads
Most of us who drive, don't give a second thought to hopping in the car to make a trip to the shops or visit friends. Understandably, we don't spend much time considering the consequences of things going wrong.
In fact, driving a car is probably one of the most dangerous activities the majority of us ever do.
Fortunately, most of our journeys are uneventful. For the less fortunate, accidents do occur and as I know from my experience in practice, injuries can be severe or even life changing.
Imagine the additional stress and heartache if the accident has been caused not only by the carelessness of another driver but that he is also uninsured.
The vast majority of uninsured drivers are indeed male and invariably young, aged between 17 and 29.
There are 35 million vehicles on UK roads and about 5% of motorists are driving without insurance. Of those uninsured drivers about 900,000 are under the age of 30.
Despite the recession only 1% of motorists are considering selling their pride and joy, with many looking for other ways to reduce motoring costs such as shopping around for cheaper insurance.
The Motor Insurers Bureau compensates the victims of uninsured and untraced drivers. Whilst they are doing their best to reduce the level and impact of uninsured driving in the UK, with help from the police and their partners in the insurance industry, they undoubtedly have an uphill task.
The police are now employing very sophisticated technology to catch the uninsured by extensive use of the Motor Insurance Database and Automatic Number Plate Recognition. This has resulted in 500 uninsured vehicles being seized every day.
Unless the problem is tackled very soon it will continue to be a serious problem for society as a whole.
