Uninsured Drivers Kill 180 People in a Year

Uninsured drivers killed more than 180 people last year and seriously injured 360, a study has found. The figures, compiled by the Motor Insurers' Bureau, underline the danger posed by Britain's growing number of drivers who fail to register their car. The bureau, which handles claims by drivers hit by uninsured vehicles, said that drivers without insurance were responsible for 36,000 crashes and 27,000 injuries last year (2006).

In 12,00 of the crashes drivers fled the scene knowing that it would be almost impossible to trace them from the number plates because it was not registered in their name. In some London boroughs more than a fifth of crashes are hit-and-runs.

The numbers of Metropolitan traffic police has fallen to their lowest ever proportion of the manpower of the Metropolitan Police. The Mayor of London's road safety ambassador Jenny Jones commented "The long-term cuts in the number of traffic police in London has allowed a culture to develop of drivers thinking they are beyond the law."

Hit-and-run crashes have also risen sharply in other parts of the country. In the West Midlands, they have almost doubled since 1997, up from 1,063 to 1,793 in 2004. In Manchester over the same period they have risen from 1,267 to 1,531.

A Department of Transport (DfT) spokesperson said "(The) DfT is clamping down like never before on criminals who don't tax, register or insure their vehicles correctly. New technology allows the police and DVLA clamping teams to assess if a car is registered and insured within seconds of it coming into sight.

Clamping blitzes have seen over 67,000 illegal cars immobilised since last May and the use of bailiffs has allowed the DVLA to recover 80 percent of outstanding tax payments. New online and telephone services make it easier for people to tax or register their cars."

Source: The Times.
27th January 2007.