The Houses of Parliament was the venue this week for discussions over a big change in car insurance rules proposed by the Department for Transport (DT).
Severe penalties for those who don’t conform
When the new legislation finds its way onto the statute book the concept of motor insurance in the UK will be radically changed. The DT wants new laws to decree that having a car that is uninsured at any time and in any place in Britain is against the law. The impact of this on many drivers could be immense and could certainly result in drivers finding their cars clamped on their own drive. This is how serious the DT regard the problem and how far they are prepared to go in stamping out the curse of uninsured drivers.
The new rules known as Continuous Insurance Enforcement (CIE) could actually be in force by this summer and if the DT gets its way they will be quite draconian. The DT want the power to clamp, confiscate and destroy vehicles not insured, regardless of whether they are on the public highway or on a private drive.
Frustrations felt by honest drivers
There is no doubt that uninsured drivers are a curse on the roads of the UK today. According to reports about 4% of cars are without insurance, but the figures are difficult to collate. Anyone who has been in an accident involving a car driven by an uninsured driver will be well aware of the frustrations of losing out financially when they themselves have done everything by the book.
The cost to us all
Motor insurance providers reckon that law abiding citizens with comprehensive car insurance each pay around £30 a year on their premium to cover damage and injury caused by drivers with no insurance at all. Motoring organisations are solidly behind the bill as are most private drivers.
DT urged to highlight the change
One major source of concern though is the lack of information coming from the DT in making the imminent law change known to the public. A recent survey showed that less than half of motorists were aware of the impending change, and many people with vehicles covered by SORN will want to know exactly where they stand and for that matter where their vehicle can stand without it being clamped.