Call for uninsured driver fine rise

A call has been made to increase the penalties given to uninsured drivers, after it is believed that the maximum fine falls far shorter than that received for other less potentially hazardous activities.

Direct Line has called for an urgent review on the penalties given to drivers who fail to take out car insurance, as the fines for other misdemeanours are far heftier.

After it was revealed that the average fine for a motorist who has ignored cheap car insurance and opted to drive uninsured has fallen from £224 to £185 in the last decade, Direct Line looked into the fines placed on other crimes.

It was found that evading paying the fare on a London bus could cause a person to be fined a maximum of £1,000, while another non-hazardous activity such as overfilling a dustbin could cause a fine of £110.

Maggie Game, head of car insurance at Direct Line, said: "Uninsured drivers cause accidents which kill around 200 people each year and seriously injure hundreds more. The fact that the average penalty for driving uninsured is less than a quarter of the potential fine for not owning a TV licence is alarming."

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