Driving Without Insurance (Penalties and Enforcement)

Residents supported more action around schools, with particular concerns that an accident was simply waiting to happen. I heard about the challenges caused by pick-up and drop-off times, the need for more safe crossing points and the widespread support for the implementation of school streets. I am pleased to share that directly with the local council and offer it my full support as it works to address road safety around schools. Residents also raised concerns about potholes, which can cause damage to vehicles and lead to unsafe driving as motorists do their best to swerve around them. That is why I back the Government’s £3.3 million investment in Bracknell Forest’s roads this year, with Bracknell Forest council committing an extra £5 million over four years to pothole repair and other road maintenance.

When we design road safety initiatives, and indeed roads, it is vital that we listen to the experts. That is why I want to highlight the work of a fantastic organisation based in Bracknell called the Road Safety Foundation. When I met the Road Safety Foundation, it emphasised how important it was that speed limits reflect the purpose of roads and the vulnerability of the users they support. By mapping the risk on major roads across the UK, the Road Safety Foundation plays an essential role in driving road safety improvements and, ultimately, saving lives.

I now turn to the subject at hand: uninsured drivers. Sadly, uninsured driving is all too common. Every 20 minutes someone is the victim of an uninsured or hit-and-run driver, every four minutes an uninsured vehicle is seized, and every year uninsured drivers cost the UK economy £1 billion. A crackdown on uninsured drivers on our roads is essential to improving road safety, as data has shown that those who drive uninsured are often disproportionately involved in road accidents and also more likely to commit offences that put others at risk, such as hit-and-run incidents, speeding and driving under the influence. The economic cost of uninsured driving, which includes compensation for victims, emergency services, medical costs and loss of productivity, is significant. This is a question of fairness: we cannot allow the costs of those who flout the law to be shouldered by honest drivers who are paying hiked premium fees to cover that.

Mr Speaker, I want you to imagine for a second that you were involved in a car accident. Imagine an inconsiderate driver has been going too fast, or not paying attention to the road, and has crashed into you. You are standing there on the roadside, perhaps injured, your car a write-off. You are feeling incredibly shaken, as anyone would. But thank goodness you have insurance. Now, Mr Speaker, imagine you find out that the other driver is not insured. Suddenly, a stressful situation becomes so much worse. The victims of accidents involving uninsured drivers often face delays and complications in securing compensation, which only exacerbates the immense emotional and financial toll.

I recently met the Motor Insurers’ Bureau to hear about “Operation Drive Insured”, a week-long UK campaign with the National Police Chiefs’ Council that saw police forces increase their operational activity in tackling uninsured driving. It involved identifying and removing uninsured vehicles from the road, as well as an excellent public awareness campaign. During our conversation, the MIB highlighted the need for a real-time database of all uninsured drivers, which would make it easier for the police to catch those driving uninsured. At the moment, it is far too easy for criminals to take out fake insurance under assumed names and present that to police on the roadside because insurers do not update the national insurance database in real time.

Insurers also do not always carry out checks to verify drivers’ identities and ensure that they have not been disqualified from driving. I have even heard how some uninsured drivers are now using AI to create fake policies when pulled over by the police, making it more difficult for the police to clamp down on uninsured driving in real time as they struggle to instantly verify the legitimacy of these documents at the roadside. Those who forge or deliberately fabricate such documents, through AI or any other means, are putting other road users at risk and must face tough sanctions.

The Motor Insurers’ Bureau estimates that there are 1 million uninsured drivers on our roads, a figure that suggests that existing penalties are not providing a serious enough disincentive. A fixed penalty notice for owning a car without insurance starts at just £100, which rises to £300 and six points on a person’s licence if they are caught actually driving it. The police also have the power to seize and crush the vehicle, but given the serious consequences that can result from driving uninsured, my view is that these penalties should be increased.

Cracking down on the number of uninsured drivers will also help to tackle high insurance premiums, because claims made against uninsured drivers are made through the MIB and ultimately paid for through mandatory annual contributions from all UK motor insurers. If we can reduce the number of those driving uninsured, we can reduce costs for the vast majority of drivers who do the right thing by insuring their vehicles. Insurance premiums rose, on average, by 21% between 2022 and 2024, before falling by around £50 this year, so I welcome the action that the Government are taking, through the motor insurance taskforce, to tackle the high cost of driving for the honest many.

This Road Safety Week, let us all commit ourselves to taking the action needed to make driving safer for everyone, prevent crashes and save lives. Let us tackle the costly problem of uninsured motorists, deliver on our manifesto commitment to an ambitious national road safety strategy, and back the drivers of Great Britain.

That Peter Swallow, Sarah Russell, Chris Vince, Rachel Taylor, Josh Newbury and Cat Eccles present the Bill.

Peter Swallow accordingly presented the Bill.