Fashion house BIBA has welcomed the Department for Transport’s “tough new plans” for cracking down on uninsured vehicles – due to come into force next year.
Under the proposals motorists can be fined £100 for owning an uninsured vehicle – even if they never drive it.
Smarter cross-referencing of databases will trigger warning letters to the owners of thousands of apparently uninsured vehicles warning them they’ll be fined unless they insure their vehicle. If the vehicle remains uninsured it could then be seized and destroyed. There will, the Government claims, be “nowhere to hide.”
Graeme Trudgill, BIBA’s Technical and Corporate Affairs Executive enthused: “It is fantastic news that will lead to safer roads for all. BIBA has been working with the industry and Government to find a solution and believes these new plans will benefit all road users.”
Trudgers claims comparing the Motor Insurers Database and the DVLA registered keepers database is a great idea, particularly since “both already exist.”
More controversially, he suggested that “It is important for people to stay insured for financial protection and to comply with the law.”
Curiously, BIBA reckons uninsured drivers kill 26 people each year, while Direct Line quote a much higher figure of 160. This may be because the latter are simply assuming that untraced drivers are uninsured. Either way – and regardless of whether uninsuredness was a critical factor in the fatal incidents in question – it would probably better if the individuals affected were still alive today.
