Being hit by an uninsured driver is a nightmare, but the good news is that according to a freedom of information request that went out to all of the police forces across the UK, over 542,370 cars have been seized since 2018 because they were not insured. This year alone, the 46 UK police forces report that over 64,682 cars have been ceased because the drivers did not insure them. Ironically, 2020 was the biggest haul despite the fact that we had restricted travel and lockdown due to the pandemic. There were 129,652 cars taken off the road, which is good news.
By Region
Unsurprisingly the metropolitan police, who have a large area to cover, seized the most cars, with 62,900 taken off the road. In the West Midlands, 44,056 uninsured vehicles were removed from the roads, and in third place, West Yorkshire had 33,829 uninsured cars seized. In Scotland, there were 33,000; in Wales, 22,700 and in Northern Ireland, 9360. Cheshire police did not have a recording method and could not determine how many cars were removed from the roads due to lack of insurance, and Kent police ignored the request.
A Known Problem
The AA insurance services managing director Gus Park said he was well aware that collisions are a terrifying prospect for drivers, made even worse if the other party does not have the correct insurance. It is a concern that the cost of living crisis will cause drivers to think they can get away without having insurance in order to save themselves some money. There are already thought to be over 1 million drivers using the roads without insurance at the moment. Many insurance companies, including the AA, protect their policyholders and put fair and reasonable policies in place if they are involved in an accident with an uninsured driver.
A Plea to Motorists
While saving money is going to be at the forefront of many people's priorities this year, measuring associations are urging the public not to skimp by cutting their car insurance and risking driving uninsured. If you were a coach, your car can be seized, and you will also have a criminal record and criminal proceedings with financial fines that would far exceed any money you would have potentially saved by choosing to drive and being insured. They are trying to get the message out to people that while many valid ways to save money are available to the general public, cutting at car insurance is not one you should ever consider. As it is a known possibility, police forces are also being hyper-vigilant, so that is a very high chance that driving without insurance will see you caught out in a very timely manner. Finally, motorists are also reminded that ignorance is not a legal defence and any claims that you were unaware the insurance had expired and had not been renewed will not be taken into consideration with any action taken.