30/09/2005

Government propose crackdown on uninsured driving

Road Safety Minister Stephen Ladyman has announced a clamp down on uninsured drivers.

Under the new proposals, which are part of the Road Safety Bill, it will become an offence to own a car that is neither insured nor registered as ‘off the road’. Uninsured drivers, who will be identified though a database of all registered vehicles in the UK, will face the prospect of being fined and having their cars crushed.

The new proposals follow new measures, introduced in July, which gave police new powers to seize and destroy uninsured vehicles.

From November, police will be able to use automatic number plate recognition technology to identify and prosecute drivers without insurance.

Commenting on the new measures, Mr Ladyman said: “The vast majority of motorists are rightly fed-up with the small hard-core of anti-social motorists who drive without insurance. These new measures will mean that there is no hiding place for uninsured drivers.

“We estimate that every law-abiding motorist pays £30 a year because of uninsured drivers. This new measure will be coupled with new police powers to electronically spot and ultimately to seize and destroy cars without insurance. We are determined to rid the road of the menace of uninsured driving.”

(KMcA/SP)

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