The rise and fall of the uninsured driver

Uninsured drivers are currently rife on our roads, with one in six admitting to the offence, according to research by moneysupermarket.com. As well as being a danger to other drivers, uninsured drivers also add £30 to the cost of a car insurance policy.

However from June, a new law called Continuous Insurance Enforcement (CIE) will make owning a motor vehicle without valid insurance illegal unless it has been declared off road, with greater penalties being introduced for those who flout the rules.

Anyone who owns a motor which isn't declared as SORN (Statutory Off Road Notification), MUST have valid car, van or motorbike insurance for it or face a fixed penalty notice and possible further legal action.

The research by Britain's number one comparison site found a worrying amount of uninsured drivers on UK roads, with one in six motorists (16 per cent) having broken the law by driving a car they weren't insured to drive. Seven per cent admitted breaking the law by getting behind the wheel of their own car with no cover, while an additional seven percent admit to having driven someone else's car without insurance. Two per cent admitted to driving their own car uninsured in between renewing their insurance policy.

Peter Harrison, car insurance expert at moneysupermarket.com, said "The number of drivers prepared to hit the road without insurance is a huge concern. It is illegal to get behind the wheel without adequate cover and should you be involved in a crash when not insured you could face thousands of pounds in liability, a conviction including six points on your license as well as charges of up to £5,000."

Further research from moneysupermarket.com found over half of motorists (56 per cent) said CIE would make them more vigilant and encourage them to shop around to find a better deal on their car cover, and a quarter (27 per cent) already make certain they are continuously insured. However, a shocking ten per cent said CIE wouldn't affect how they insured their car as they would just accept the fine if caught without cover.

Talking about the launch of CIE, Pete Harrison said: ""With CIE legislation coming into force next month, it should help drive down the number of uninsured drivers on our roads. It also means ALL motorists need to be vigilant of their insurance renewal dates - especially leisure drivers or motorbike enthusiasts who only use their vehicles occasionally and let their insurance lapse in the meantime; they need to declare their vehicle as SORN or renew!

"With insurance premiums rising on average by 44p per day, or by 31 per cent last year, shopping around for the best deal at renewal time is crucial to ensure you aren't paying over the odds for your car insurance. The average saving on an annual car insurance policy using moneysupermarket.com is £282, so I urge everyone to do their research and not automatically accept their renewal without checking there isn't a better alternative."

Ashton West, Chief Executive at the Motor Insurers' Bureau, said: "The change in law is a stepping up of enforcement activity, so that not only those vehicles driven without insurance will be caught.  Now the registered keeper must make sure that their vehicle is insured all the time.

 "In order to make sure everyone is aware of the new scheme, a national awareness campaign will be shown on satellite and terrestrial TV channels.

"Around four percent of vehicles have no motor insurance at any given time and this needs to change so that is why this new enforcement approach is so important."

For more information, visit moneysupermarket.com.