1% of motorists under 35 drive with no insurance

1% of motorists under 35 drive with no insurance

In figures received from Freedom of Information (FOI) requests made to the DVLA, we see that around one in every 100 motorists are driving around the UK completely uninsured.

In a series of FOI requests made by the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM), official figures give a number of disturbing facts about lack of insurance amongst motorists. A total of 226,803 drivers have accrued points on their licences due to driving without car insurance. Of these, 31,806 were holding a provisional driving licence, with the remaining 194,997 holding a full driving licence. This equates to one in 200 licence holders currently driving without insurance.

Gender-wise, it seems that men are much more inclined to forgo insurance when driving than women. A spokesperson for the IAM called the results of the FOI query 'shocking'.

The IAM are worried that the figures uncovered could simply be scratching the surface. The numbers given are only those drivers who have actually been caught without insurance and given points on their licence. For every one driver caught, there could be ten others driving uninsured with impunity. It is certainly a growing problem.

Uninsured drivers also pose a risk to responsible motorists, as they will have no-one to claim from in result of an accident. Such activity also pushes up the cost of insurance for everyone.

An 18 year old driver with a car insurance premium of £950, upon receiving points and a fine for not having insurance whilst driving, would see their premium rise to around £2,195. In the same situation, a 30 year old driver would see it rise from £228 to around £4,621.

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