Ministers clamp down on uninsured drivers article....

[retrogeezer]

http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style ... 79745.html

 

 

On another forum folk are saying you will still need insurance if your car is SORN, that not how I am reading this.

 

Taxed = needs insurance.

 

Off Road = SORN (untaxed) therefore no insurance.

 

If this is not the case what are people like N Bickle going to do with a barn full of sorn vehicles?

[morris_ital_lover]

Oh yeah... another opportunity for the insurance companies to charge a feckin fortune.

 

m0rris

[outlaw118]

We all need to make sure the SORN is registered;

Drivers will still be able to register their car as being off-road to qualify for an exemption from road tax

The only question is, why has it taken so long for this to happen?

[Conrad D. Conelrad]

A lot of hot air being blown about continuous insurance. It's a sensible measure to reduce the number of uninsured drivers on the road. You don't need to insure your car if it's on SORN. The only real change is that you can't leave your taxed car off road without insurance, you have to SORN it. That's only really going to be an issue for people on Historic tax who lay up their cars for a period with a valid tax disc but no insurance.

 

In any case, they'll send out a warning letter before they start sending out fines. That should prevent anyone innocently left off MID being fined.

[autofive]

...and presumably motor traders will be exempt??

 

 

According to the Motor Insurers' Bureau Vauxhall Astras are the cars removed from the road most frequently, followed by BMW 3 Series, Vauxhall Vectra, Volkswagen Golf and Vauxhall Corsa

[scaryoldcortina]

Actually, that raises a pretty interesting question... If I take a car "in trade" (that is, give the old keeper the buff Motor Trade bit to send off and keep the rest of the v5) what happens to the tax? It isn't insured for the road, has no current keeper. It is in limbo. I can't even cash in the tax and declare sorn without sending away the V5 in my name, so what are you supposed to do?

 

I suspect the answer is carry on as usual.....

[Guest]

What are you meant to do with a car with no tax where the V5 hasn't turned up because the DVLA has lost everything in the post? That is my question.

[Mr_Bo11ox]

On another forum folk are saying you will still need insurance if your car is SORN

 

These people are stupid!

[Mr Lobster]

People do seem to be getting their e-knickers in a twist over this.

 

Can't say as I have a problem with it personally.

[red5]

Steady on Blitz, you're falling into the trap of applying common sense. That'll never catch on.

[mattblack]

Nice little earner for the DVLA, as you only get the full months back on the tax, and at the '12 month' rate as well. This will do the square root of fuck all to stop the habitual uninsured drivers. What happens when you buy a car thats been SORNed and want to drive it home? Or you have no off road parking, and buy another car and swap the insurance over?

 

Typical example of the 'cane the whole school' style of government. What next, 'Hmm, must do something about drink-driving... I know, let's go into peoples houses and breathalize them... after all, they MIGHT get in their car'

 

[dieselnutjob]

on the other hand our 806 got hit by an uninsured van driver

it was bloody annoying

personally I'd scrap road tax completely but require every car on the road to have an insurance disc instead

[wuvvum]

And cannot you purchase uninsured motorist coverage in the UK?

Nope. Same as you can't purchase different levels of third party coverage either - it's all unlimited cover. We do have some form of uninsured motorist cover in the shape of the MIB (as in Motor Insurers' Bureau, not Men In Black), which is funded directly by all motor insurers (and indirectly by a £30 annual levy on everyone's insurance premium), but they're a right PITA to deal with, even compared to a normal insurance company.

[Richard]

Personally I'd scrap insurance altogether and require every driver to look where they were going.

[wuvvum]

You can buy fully comprehensive insurance, which will pay out for repairs on your car if you are hit by someone uninsured (but then you lose any no claims bonus you may have had (unless you fork out even more for protected NCB)), but I don't think comprehensive insurance would cover you for your OMG WHIPLASH I R NOW DISABLED claim if you were hit by an uninsured driver. That would be down to Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones.

[autofive]

^^DNJ, Would a disc have kept the van man from hitting you?

 

Isn't punishment the only solution? There's laws against murder, thievery, and drunkdriving too. If I wear a button, says, "I'm not a thief", does it guarantee I'm not a thief? And cannot you purchase uninsured motorist coverage in the UK?

 

making a claim against an uninsured driver in the UK is very hit and miss - most insurance companies will pass the loss on to the policy holder through higher premiums next year - although there is a fund for payouts, its poorly administered and, for the claimant , a bit like playing Snakes & Ladders.

[wuvvum]

Norm - Am I right in thinking that its not a legal requirement to have motor insurance over there?

If so, that's probably why you have cover against being hit by the uninsured.

I think that's only in Florida. You can buy different levels of TP cover though, which depending on the state can be as low as $10,000 - which is GR2 if your brand new Lincoln Navigator has been totalled by someone with that level of cover.

[dieselnutjob]

If a car hits you with no tax then it tells you that there is 30% chance that he's uninsured. If he has tax then it tells you nothing.

 

If we had insurance discs instead (with a hologram or something) and a car hit you without one then there would be 99% chance that he's not insured.

At that point you could confiscate his keys, let his tyres down or whatever you fancy until the police turn up.

 

Also uninsured drivers might drive more carefully if they knew that having an accident would result in the other party being able to easily and immediately tell that he's uninsured and could then use "reasonable force" to arrest them. Some might be more "reasonable" than others .........

 

Currently you have an accident, get home eventually, find your insurance companys phone number and call them.

Then you find out he's uninsured but by then it's too late as he's long gone, and that's how they get away with it.

[Lankytim]

I had a mate who was in a car that was rear-ended by an uninsured driver at a set of lights. He and his 4 rugby playing pals who were in the car frog marched the offender to a cashpoint to extract some money to pay for the damage- fair enough. Except the uninsured driver later phoned the police, they all ended up in court and one of the pals ended up in prison for kidnap and robbery!

[STUNO]

I live in a place where insurance is not compulsory. But I do have full insurance myself. Funnily enough the whole insurance system does work. If I am hit by an uninsured driver I give my Ins. co the relevant details and it is then THEIR problem to collect THEIR money and my car is repaired or written off .

It has happened to me , I was rear-ended by an uninsured driver, left him sitting in his undriveable wreck (my towbar through his radiator ) and drove home after getting details, saw the Ins. co next day and that was the end of the problem for me. Car repaired and never heard a word from the Ins. co.

If I hit an uninsured vehicle that driver can claim from my Ins.co. but they will do all they can not to pay out!

The whole thing does not involve even one politician or public servant

[dieselnutjob]

^^See?

You're probably right but it shouldn't be like that.

Those of us who live within the law should be protected from those who don't, not the other way round.

[worldofceri]

If your mate and his four rugby playing chums had just made sure uninsured-boy hadn't made off before the old bill arrived that would have been fine. Reasonable force and all that.

[autofive]

If your mate and his four rugby playing chums had just made sure uninsured-boy hadn't made off before the old bill arrived that would have been fine. Reasonable force and all that.

 

you can only use reasonable force when making a citizens arrest (and stay the right side of the law) for 'serious' offences - according to UK law websites

 

i dont think no motor insurance would be classed as a 'serious' offence

[worldofceri]

Yes, you're exactly right. But if you could non-violently confiscate his car keys or something I'm sure the cops would let that go. Probably only a good idea to pin him down and sit on his head if he's shot someone or summert.

[Mr_Bo11ox]

I just hope for one thing - that this law will AT LONG LAST put paid to the thousands of RECKLESS, SELFISH IDIOTS who INSIST on parking taxed but uninsured cars on private land. These people are making a MOCKERY of hardworking families up and down the country. Made-up data suggests that there are over 500 BILLION cars literally PARKED UP on driveways and in garages with a useless tax disc in the window making life MISERABLE for society in general.

 

They almost certainly all belong to ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS as well of course, who are usually on BENEFITS.

[STUNO]

I have just watched a tv prog about local motorway cops,

they got called to a rear ender of 4 cars, from the back, student in small car who is by our laws the offender, Subaru, Rolls, BMW.

Cop to student "are you insured" reply "not sure".

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Turned out he was and he was very very happy!

[Negative Creep]

It's amazing how well it works over there, I drove uninsured for weeks on end. A lot less traffic admittedly

[wuvvum]

I've been driving the Justy daily for the last couple of months now - it's not down on the MID as I haven't done an update in ages, but I've never been pulled, nor have I had any letters from the DVLA.

[Cavcraft]

It's pot luck, always has been. However...I'd keep your insurance documents on you because they're quite likely to take your car off you on the spot and even if you later prove it is insured you still have to cough the £150 two away fees and £20 per day storage charges. If you challenge the police over this they'll tell you to take it up with the DiVLAds.

 

Incidentally it might be that it shows up on the police database but not 'Ask MID' on the internet, as the latter can be painfully slow to update details.

[worldofceri]

You are obviously a criminal Sir Barkin, I hope they throw the book at you.

 

It is absolutely absurd to think that a public body or private corporation could even make such a mistake.