UNINSURED DRIVERS CAUGHT IN LONDON ROCKET 40% IN THREE YEARS

12.01.00am BST (GMT +0100) Thu 11th Aug 2005

New figures revealed by the London Assembly Liberal Democrats show that the number of uninsured drivers caught on London's roads have leapt by 40% in just three years.

The latest figures, taken from Parliamentary answers, show that in 2001 there were 19,052 people caught driving uninsured on the capital's streets. By 2003, this has rocketed to 26,797 - an increase of more than 40% and is the highest increase of any region in England and Wales.

The number of uninsured drivers caught across England and Wales increased over the same period by 20% - from 227,570 in 2001 to 271,918 in 2003.

The Motor Insurers Bureau (MIB), the insurer funded body that compensate victims of an untraced or uninsured driver, estimate that more than one million drivers - 5 per cent of British motorists - drive illegally without insurance and that the UK has one of the highest levels of uninsured driving in Europe.

The most recent figures also show that accidents involving uninsured drivers add around £30 to the insurance premiums paid by insured drivers.

London Assembly Liberal Democrat Transport spokesperson, Geoff Pope, said:-

"These figures are a double edged sword. It could be that the police are doing more to catch these reckless criminals who put the lives of others at risk. Equally it could be that there are more people willing to flout the law and hope they can get away without paying for their insurance.

"Driving without insurance is a major social, legal and criminal problem. Loss of life or injury through a road traffic accident is traumatic in itself. But to then discover that the perpetrator has no insurance to provide redress must be unbearable.

"Fines are far too low and in many cases much less than the insurance premium. The level needs to be set well in excess of the likely premium and there ought to be an expectation of losing your licence. The thoughtless selfish people who drive without insurance affect everyone. The message must be sent loud and clear that people who drive without being insured will be caught and faced with a hard-hitting penalty."

ENDS

Notes to editor

The figures are taken from House of Commons answer 12618, Hansard 18th July Column 1513W:-

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many drivers were prosecuted for driving without insurance in each of the last three years, broken down by police authority area. [12618]

Paul Goggins: Information from the Home Office court proceedings database on the number of defendants prosecuted for driving with no insurance, by police authority area, 2001-03 is contained in the table.

Proceeded against

Police force area 2001 2002 2003 %age increase

Metropolitan Police(102) 19,052 22,113 26,797 40.65

(102) Includes City of London

Please note - a full copy of all figures for England and Wales can be found below:-

Proceeded against

Police force area 2001 2002 2003 %age increase incr/decr

Metropolitan Police(102) 19,052 22,113 26,797 40.65 7,745

Suffolk 2,310 2,594 3,225 39.61 915

Norfolk 2,753 3,166 3,812 38.47 1,059

Lincolnshire 2,384 2,338 3,264 36.91 880

City of London 1,423 1,820 1,947 36.82 524

Lancashire 9,897 10,552 13,431 35.71 3,534

Dorset 2,448 2,875 3,315 35.42 867

Cheshire 3,011 3,434 4,052 34.57 1,041

Thames Valley 7,427 8,056 9,897 33.26 2,470

Hertfordshire 3,869 4,675 5,147 33.03 1,278

Staffordshire 3,284 4,213 4,352 32.52 1,068

Avon and Somerset 7,355 8,293 9,620 30.80 2,265

Cambridgeshire 1,334 1,518 1,728 29.54 394

South Wales 7,562 9,042 9,449 24.95 1,887

Nottinghamshire 3,659 3,431 4,359 19.13 700

Leicestershire 5,927 5,936 6,902 16.45 975

Greater Manchester 22,613 23,104 25,678 13.55 3,065

Dyfed-Powys 1,752 2,057 1,978 12.90 226

Cleveland 2,701 3,392 3,041 12.59 340

Gloucestershire 2,353 2,248 2,648 12.54 295

Humberside 2,591 2,377 2,879 11.12 288

Devon and Cornwall 5,304 5,735 5,831 9.94 527

North Yorkshire 1,575 1,506 1,703 8.13 128

Derbyshire 3,185 3,216 3,428 7.63 243

Bedfordshire 2,879 2,871 3,065 6.46 186

Northumbria 7,152 7,045 7,470 4.45 318

Hampshire 5,970 6,097 6,220 4.19 250

Cumbria 1,791 1,776 1,859 3.80 68

West Mercia 5,229 5,325 5,351 2.33 122

Kent 7,230 8,163 7,264 0.47 34

West Yorkshire 16,313 13,636 15,933 -2.33 -380

Surrey 2,738 3,122 2,592 -5.33 -146

Essex 5,076 5,152 4,791 -5.61 -285

South Yorkshire 7,833 7,394 7,226 -7.75 -607

Durham 3,229 3,241 2,947 -8.73 -282

Wiltshire 2,985 2,985 2,713 -9.11 -272

Warwickshire 2,398 1,853 2,038 -15.01 -360

Gwent 2,813 2,673 2,248 -20.09 -565

Sussex 4,378 3,941 3,374 -22.93 -1,004

Total 227,570 242,188 271,918 19.49 44,348

The figures for how much uninsured drivers add to insurance premiums for insured motorists can be found at:-

http://www.mib.org.uk/NR/exeres/927A09F2-2A80-4C1F-8F32-3470676BF952.htm