People who dodge car insurance and drive without it are costing honest motorists but the courts are not punishing them severely enough.
This is the view of Simon Douglas, director of AA Insurance, who expressed concern regarding the fact that uninsured drivers are responsible for a substantial number of accidents every year, killing around 160 people and injuring 23,000 more.
Furthermore, the UK has a far higher rate of uninsured motorists than the majority of European countries. In Germany, for example, just one in every 500 motorists drives without insurance, but in the UK this figure shoots up to one in 25.
Mr Douglas observed: “We're failing honest motorists by such lenient fines. In my view, it's vital to get the message over to this motoring underclass and, importantly, to their friends and families, that driving without insurance is socially unacceptable.
“People need to be stopped before they get behind the wheel of an uninsured car and go on to risk killing or injuring others.”
Indeed, fines average just £200 for driving without insurance, despite the fact that the maximum possible fine stands at £5,000.
