MIBI urges fines for uninsured cars

THE number of uninsured drivers on our roads could be cut dramatically if the Government adopted similar legislative changes being planned in Britain to tackle the problem, according to a leading motoring body.

The Motor Insurers Bureau of Ireland (MIBI) said it would welcome moves towards making it an automatic offence to be the registered owner of a vehicle which is not properly insured.

The British Department of Transport has proposed introducing legislation to implement such a measure which would use computer databases to highlight motorists who are driving without proper insurance.

Garda statistics show that more than 11,000 vehicles were seized in Ireland in 2003 for tax and insurance offences, although many were subsequently returned to their owners.

It is estimated that 6% of the 2.2 million people licensed to drive here are not properly insured - equivalent to around 132,000 drivers. However, most offenders are only detected when stopped by gardaí at road checkpoints.

The British Government is proposing to introduce legislation which would not require the police to prove that a vehicle was in use on the road. Legislation in Britain already uses computer databases to penalise car-owners who fail to renew their motor tax.

Under proposals, the possession of a vehicle without valid insurance in Britain, subject to certain exemptions, would be an offence, with liability resting on the vehicle's owner.

It is recommended that uninsured drivers will face a fixed penalty of £100 (€142) for a first offence rising to a maximum of £1,000 (€1,423).

"Its purpose would be to deliver a sharp lesson to those motorists who fail to renew their insurance on time and to deter all motorists from committing the more serious offence of actually driving whilst uninsured," said a British Department of Transport spokesperson.

The MIBI believes that similar measures to tackle the problem in Ireland would be "very desirable".

"We would be very supportive of such a proposal as it removes the onus from gardaí as the main method of detecting people who are driving without proper insurance," said MIBI chief executive John Casey.

However, the MIBI, which is funded by motor insurance companies to compensate the victims of accidents involving uninsured, foreign and hit-and-run drivers, believes some technological problems need to be overcome before a similar measure could be introduced successfully in Ireland.

The MIBI has already held discussions with Department of Transport officials on how to improve access to insurance and licensing databases among the various authorities responsible for road safety.