Courts relieved of motoring offences?

Some driving transgressions to get automatic fines

By PH Staff / Wednesday, 9 November 2005 / Loading comments

No tax? Clamped!

The Government plans to take some motoring offences outside the court system. The upshot could be that, for example, untaxed vehicles get wheel clamped. Uncontested cases might be fined by post, while defendants who fail to turn up to magistrates courts may be fined in their absence.

The aim is to relieve magistrates' of some of their workloads. "Cases take too long to come on. The process is too complex," the Lord Chancellor, Lord Falconer, wrote in a White Paper that outlined the proposals. "We need to help magistrates to deliver for the law-abiding citizen."

Motoring lobby group The RAC Foundation gave a cautious welcome to the plans. However it stressed the need for safeguards to ensure that vehicles were not clamped due to bureaucratic bungling. Vehicles that were taxed but displayed no disc, which could have fallen off or have been stolen, should not be targeted. Consideration should also be given to the location of the vehicle as clamping might not be practical or safe in all cases. If the vehicle is parked dangerously, it may warrant towing away.

Executive director Edmund King said: "Most motorists will welcome the targeting of the motoring underclass who continue to drive with out tax, insurance or MOT. These one million or so motorists are more likely to be involved in accidents and hit and run incidents. Immobilising these vehicles will be a step in the right direction.

"However, safeguards must be in place to ensure that legitimate motorists are not immobilised due to bureaucratic breakdowns."

Uninsured drivers

The Foundation said it also supports further measures outlined to target uninsured motorists. It rummaged through its files to find that:

Just over 35 per cent of male drivers aged 18-20 have driven without insurance or a licence
21.5 per cent of 16-17 yr old males have driven without insurance or licence
Nearly ten per cent of 16-17-year-old females have committed the same offence
Thirty per cent of males and 12 per cent of females aged 21 to 25 have also offended
The Motor Insurance Bureau paid out £500 million to the victims of uninsured motorists last year. This is paid out of the premiums of honest motorists.
About 16 per cent of uninsured drivers are convicted each year
One in ten drivers have been involved in an accident with an uninsured driver
Uninsured drivers are up to nine times more likely to be involved in an accident
Uninsured drivers are more likely to be involved in hit and run collisions.