Should speed cameras check tax, insurance and MOT?
Should speed cameras check tax, insurance and MOT?
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Discussion

Salted_Peanut

Original Poster:

1,788 posts

83 months

Monday 7th March 2022
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What do you think? Should speed cameras check for more than speed? Sensible enforcement or surveillance state?

IAM Roadsmart said:
The UK’s largest independent road safety charity, IAM RoadSmart, is highlighting to the police, councils and safety partnerships that the overwhelming majority of UK motorists support the use of safety camera technology to check for insurance, MOT and road tax offences.

Indeed, research conducted by the charity in the annual Safety Culture Report, which gauges drivers’ attitudes to key road safety issues over time, revealed that nearly 9 in 10 (89%) of over 2,000 motorists surveyed supported the idea of safety cameras being used to spot those who decide to flout the rules and drive illegally on public roads without the required documentation.

Pica-Pica

16,560 posts

113 months

Monday 7th March 2022
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I have always felt that having multiple taxes/duties/insurance on cars is inefficient. Why not a fuel tax that covers all, including third party cover?

Arnold Cunningham

4,566 posts

282 months

Monday 7th March 2022
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We’d all buy electric. smile

Salted_Peanut

Original Poster:

1,788 posts

83 months

Monday 7th March 2022
quotequote all
Pica-Pica said:
Why not a fuel tax that covers all, including third party cover?
Now that's far too sensible for an internet forum. Stop with all this sensibleness and start ranting and raving biggrin

vonhosen

40,597 posts

246 months

Monday 7th March 2022
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Salted_Peanut said:
Pica-Pica said:
Why not a fuel tax that covers all, including third party cover?
Now that's far too sensible for an internet forum. Stop with all this sensibleness and start ranting and raving biggrin
I can see why those for who it will result in cheaper insurance may like the idea, but for those that it will mean increased insurance won't like it.

Aretnap

1,966 posts

180 months

Monday 7th March 2022
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vonhosen said:
Salted_Peanut said:
Pica-Pica said:
Why not a fuel tax that covers all, including third party cover?
Now that's far too sensible for an internet forum. Stop with all this sensibleness and start ranting and raving biggrin
I can see why those for who it will result in cheaper insurance may like the idea, but for those that it will mean increased insurance won't like it.
Indeed. Realistically it's going to be popular with drink drivers, teenagers and their parents, serial speeders and takeaway delivery drivers... and unpopular with pretty much everyone else. Which probably explains why it hasn't happened.

Dingu

4,893 posts

59 months

Monday 7th March 2022
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Aretnap said:
vonhosen said:
Salted_Peanut said:
Pica-Pica said:
Why not a fuel tax that covers all, including third party cover?
Now that's far too sensible for an internet forum. Stop with all this sensibleness and start ranting and raving biggrin
I can see why those for who it will result in cheaper insurance may like the idea, but for those that it will mean increased insurance won't like it.
Indeed. Realistically it's going to be popular with drink drivers, teenagers and their parents, serial speeders and takeaway delivery drivers... and unpopular with pretty much everyone else. Which probably explains why it hasn't happened.
It would be given to the DVLA to deal with. Can you imagine the volume of threads created when they don’t answer phones when busy and take 6 weeks to respond?!

matjk

1,112 posts

169 months

Monday 7th March 2022
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18 year old with a drink driving disqualification and 6 at fault accidents buying a ropey chipped up bmw with 400bhp (for 3 minutes) fully insured by siphoning off his neighbors supper unleaded, can’t see any downside to that .
On a side note they do operate something like that in New Zealand, and lots of kids run around in modified motors, not sure exactly how it works

matjk

1,112 posts

169 months

Monday 7th March 2022
quotequote all
matjk said:
18 year old with a drink driving disqualification and 6 at fault accidents buying a ropey chipped up bmw with 400bhp (for 3 minutes) fully insured by siphoning off his neighbors super unleaded, can’t see any downside to that .
On a side note they do operate something like that in New Zealand, and lots of kids run around in modified motors, not sure exactly how it works

caziques

2,842 posts

197 months

Tuesday 8th March 2022
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Vehicle insurance in NZ only covers hardware, all personal injuries (ie ALL bodily injuries) are covered by the Accident Compensation Corporation.

Therefore insurance is not compulsory - which makes things so much easier.

Supposedly any vehicle on finance is supposed to be insured - but I don't think it is a criminal offence if you don't have it.

Generally I don't bother with insurance these days.

Pit Pony

11,237 posts

150 months

Tuesday 8th March 2022
quotequote all
caziques said:
Vehicle insurance in NZ only covers hardware, all personal injuries (ie ALL bodily injuries) are covered by the Accident Compensation Corporation.

Therefore insurance is not compulsory - which makes things so much easier.

Supposedly any vehicle on finance is supposed to be insured - but I don't think it is a criminal offence if you don't have it.

Generally I don't bother with insurance these days.
In the same way that it is a condition of my mortgage that I have building insurance, once I've paid off the loan I don't have to have it.
Seems like a viable alternative.

vikingaero

13,233 posts

198 months

Tuesday 8th March 2022
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The problem is that speeding over the posted limit is a very easy clear cut offence for the speed camera partnerships to deal with.

I don't think it's a simple matter of dealing with the databases to find no tax/insurance/MOT. They are going to find the admin work to be huge:
no tax - just bought vehicle and have taxed it
no insurance - again just bought vehicle and insured it, driving other cars
no MOT - going to/from a prebooked MOT

TwigtheWonderkid

48,976 posts

179 months

Tuesday 8th March 2022
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Pica-Pica said:
I have always felt that having multiple taxes/duties/insurance on cars is inefficient. Why not a fuel tax that covers all, including third party cover?
rofl This forum is full of threads moaning about DVLA response times. Let's just add the third party cover for 35 million cars into the equation. Thousands of claims a day! Yeah, I'm sure a govt dept is the best way of handling that. rolleyes

donkmeister

12,837 posts

129 months

Tuesday 8th March 2022
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Aretnap said:
vonhosen said:
Salted_Peanut said:
Pica-Pica said:
Why not a fuel tax that covers all, including third party cover?
Now that's far too sensible for an internet forum. Stop with all this sensibleness and start ranting and raving biggrin
I can see why those for who it will result in cheaper insurance may like the idea, but for those that it will mean increased insurance won't like it.
Indeed. Realistically it's going to be popular with drink drivers, teenagers and their parents, serial speeders and takeaway delivery drivers... and unpopular with pretty much everyone else. Which probably explains why it hasn't happened.
Yes it has - New Zealand. It was brought about precisely BECAUSE of the sort of people you mention, driving without insurance and buggering off when they inevitably stack it. The idea was that cars need petrol to run, so by lumping it in with the cost of fuel you end up making it unavoidable (excepting bilking, of course).

As it makes the cost of third party insurance directly proportional to fuel usage, it does of course mean those who do lots of miles or have thirsty cars pay more than those who have an eco-car for 10 miles a week.

Having experienced the joy of having a parked car driven into by an uninsured driver who drove off and never had his collar felt, I'm all for it.

TwigtheWonderkid

48,976 posts

179 months

Tuesday 8th March 2022
quotequote all
donkmeister said:
Having experienced the joy of having a parked car driven into by an uninsured driver who drove off and never had his collar felt, I'm all for it.
But unless you knew who the culprit was, it wouldn't help you. You'd have no third party to claim against. You'd be in exactly the same boat, needing to claim off your own comp insurance cover.

TwigtheWonderkid

48,976 posts

179 months

Tuesday 8th March 2022
quotequote all
donkmeister said:
As it makes the cost of third party insurance directly proportional to fuel usage, it does of course mean those who do lots of miles or have thirsty cars pay more than those who have an eco-car for 10 miles a week.
It would also mean that a 19 y/o with 5 previous accidents and a drink drive offence doing 100 miles a week would pay less than 55 y/o Mrs Miggins doing 150 miles a week in the same car. It would also mean young drivers with poor records being able to run high performance cars and manage their insurance costs, so a big increase in the numbers of KSI accidents.

And it would mean haulage firms, with artics filling up with 1200 litres at a time, would pay a fortune, that would eventually have to be paid for by the consumer with higher costs of goods.

It's a terrible idea.



donkmeister

12,837 posts

129 months

Tuesday 8th March 2022
quotequote all
TwigtheWonderkid said:
donkmeister said:
Having experienced the joy of having a parked car driven into by an uninsured driver who drove off and never had his collar felt, I'm all for it.
But unless you knew who the culprit was, it wouldn't help you. You'd have no third party to claim against. You'd be in exactly the same boat, needing to claim off your own comp insurance cover.
The point is that when you take uninsured drivers out of the equation, hit and run becomes less likely in the first place.

TwigtheWonderkid

48,976 posts

179 months

Tuesday 8th March 2022
quotequote all
donkmeister said:
TwigtheWonderkid said:
donkmeister said:
Having experienced the joy of having a parked car driven into by an uninsured driver who drove off and never had his collar felt, I'm all for it.
But unless you knew who the culprit was, it wouldn't help you. You'd have no third party to claim against. You'd be in exactly the same boat, needing to claim off your own comp insurance cover.
The point is that when you take uninsured drivers out of the equation, hit and run becomes less likely in the first place.
Perhaps, but you can't cure iness with legislation.

catso

16,401 posts

296 months

Tuesday 8th March 2022
quotequote all
IAM Roadsmart said:
The UK’s largest independent road safety charity, IAM RoadSmart, is highlighting to the police, councils and safety partnerships that the overwhelming majority of UK motorists support the use of safety camera technology to check for insurance, MOT and road tax offences.

Indeed, research conducted by the charity in the annual Safety Culture Report, which gauges drivers’ attitudes to key road safety issues over time, revealed that nearly 9 in 10 (89%) of over 2,000 motorists surveyed supported the idea of safety cameras being used to spot those who decide to flout the rules and drive illegally on public roads without the required documentation.
So, a way of 'selling' more speed cameras to us then...

RazerSauber

2,895 posts

89 months

Tuesday 8th March 2022
quotequote all
I heard years ago that petrol stations were going to have ANPR cameras which would refuse to dispense fuel to vehicles that weren't taxed, insured and MOT'd. That never happened and I suspect this won't, either.