Driving offences - EU states must close loophole

IT defies credulity that only one in every 20 motorists caught driving without insurance received penalty points. But that’s the stark result of a loophole that allows most offenders to get away with it.

The reason is that 95% of the offenders apprehended to date held foreign driver licences. Driving without insurance warrants five points and, according to Department of Transport figures, 3,642 motorists have so far been apprehended. Astonishingly, only 188 of those received penalty points.

Grave implications stem from driving without insurance, especially in the event of a serious accident. There is an urgent need to close off this glaring loophole.

Arrangements should immediately be made with the North, Britain and other EU states, so that foreign motorists who drive without insurance here can be subjected to meaningful penalties.