Van drivers who insist on not taking out insurance are on the governments radar under new proposals revealed.
Those who drive without insurance will need to frantically check their rear view mirrors as the government have revealed that a major crackdown is to be launched to find, expose and punish those who freeload.
Road Act
According to the Government, there are more than two million uninsured drivers on British roads today. By introducing and enforcing the 2006 Road Safety Act they hope that those who drive illegally will be unmasked for all to see.
The plan is to compare records from the DVLA relating to road tax, to various insurance databases. Those without will be found and prosecuted.
AA insurance spokesman Ian Crowder said: “These young drivers are not only breaking the law, and putting other road users at peril, but they are also risking their entire future.
“Insurers take a very dim view of motorists who are convicted of driving without insurance. Such drivers will find it difficult and expensive to find cover in the future, and will also have a criminal record.”
Punishment
An expert within the motor insurance industry however believes that the punishment for drivers who insist on driving without insurance is not a strong enough deterrent to prevent the amount increasing over the next few years.
The Association of British Insurers (ABI) have found that as many as one in twenty motorists drive without insurance, a move which results in an increase in many legal motorists premiums, including those with Van insurance.
The punishment for the evasion is a fine and fixed penalty points, a measure which may require the illegal driver to be caught more than once to be completely banned from the road. Due to the economic downturn however, it has been argued that the benefits outweigh the risks of getting caught.
As a result of this flippancy, many Britons have been found to have a tendency to tell the odd fib when taking out a policy, risking invalidating their whole cover according a UK trade body has revealed.
The Association of British Insurers (ABI) has revealed that they are discovering an increasing amount of fraud within the insurance industry, many motor vehicles related, all in an attempt to keep premiums low.
Nick Starling, the ABI’s director of general insurance and health, said: “Honesty is the only policy. Cheating to get cheaper insurance puts your cover in jeopardy, with potentially disastrous consequences. “Being truthful and shopping around will mean that your insurance delivers when you need it and that you get the best possible deal,” he added.