Car insurance evaders split into two groups

There are two groups of people who drive around without car insurance, according to the AA, those who can't afford it and those who haven't got a driving licence.

Andrew Howard, head of road safety for the AA, splits this down into those who fail to have insurance because they "generally don't comply with the law" and those who are in the group for "economic imperative".

He said: "There are those who can't afford it, wont afford it or perhaps are young and discover how phenomenally expensive it is to insure their car; the second group of course is, you don't have a driving licence."

However, he adds that those driving around uninsured are affecting the search for cheap car insurance for other drivers, as all motorists are paying around an extra £50 a year to support those injured by uninsured drivers.

Mr Howard also added that making driving tests more expensive and harder to pass may contribute to people driving unlicenced, so in fact the "consequence may well be that rather than producing safe drivers, you produce unlicensed drivers".

According to research last month from Direct Line, of the 1.5 million uninsured drivers who get behind the wheel, only 260,000 are convicted each year.

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