Don’t Go Easy On Uninsured Drivers, Insurance Director Says

The director of a well known car insurance comparison website has expressed concerns over the fact that uninsured drivers are not being punished severely enough for dodging car insurance.

Simon Douglas, the director of a prominent car insurance company, has been quoted as saying that uninsured drivers cause a large number of accidents around the year, responsible for the deaths of 160 people and over 23,000 others who sustain injuries. He has also pointed out that the punishments meted out to such reckless characters are not severe enough.

UK is notorious for the number of uninsured motorists residing in it, as compared to the rest of Europe. For instance, in Germany, merely one in 500 drivers goes without insurance. In stark contrast, the number shoots up to one in every 25 car drivers when it comes to UK.

Furthermore, Douglas points out that the dangerous levels of uninsured driving occurring in the country is directly damaging the interests of the rest of the motoring public, who are driving safely with insurance.

“We’re failing honest motorists by such lenient fines. In my view, it’s vital to get the message over to this motoring underclass and, importantly, to their friends and families, that driving without insurance is socially unacceptable,” Mr Douglas observed.

“People need to be stopped before they get behind the wheel of an uninsured car and go on to risk killing or injuring others,” Douglas continued.

In the UK, the fine for driving without insurance can stand as high as £5,000. However, the average fines levied against uninsured drivers is a measly £200, hardly an amount to have such drivers quaking in their boots.

In Mr. Douglas’s opinion, the courts need to get their act together and start doling out heavier fines and maybe even imprisonment charges against cases of uninsured motorists and negligent driving.

He goes on to say that the average sum of £200 is far less than what most people would shell out for insuring their cars. This is the main reason why they feel the fine is worth the risk.

It has been claimed that UK roads currently play host to some 1.4 million uninsured drivers, a staggering number that throws a question on the safety factor of driving in a car.

Another study by the same car insurance comparison website also said that almost 23,000 people are injured in accidents involving uninsured drivers every year.

Simon Douglas had another interesting observation to make. He feels that young individuals having up to 5 counts of motoring offences on their record are the ones most likely to be caught driving without insurance. He stands for immediate change in the severity with which the courts deal with such offenders.

“I certainly think that the UK is far too soft on hard-core uninsured drivers and most people will consider a fine of £200 as an insult,” he said.