Uninsured drivers could get fixed penalties
Discussion
Drivers caught without insurance could avoid a court appearance and a potential driving ban under new fixed penalty rules.
Police now have the option of imposing a fixed £200 fine and six penalty points on offenders detected by hi-tech vehicle number plate readers.
The pilot scheme, introduced on June 1, will apply to the 23 police forces across England and Wales currently using the Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) system.
Offenders who are not handed fixed penalties will be dealt with by magistrates as before. Those convicted face a maximum fine of £5,000 and six to eight penalty points or a disqualification.
A fixed penalty is effectively only an option for first-time offenders. Motorists who have already received six penalty points for a previous offence would have to be dealt with in court.
Elliot Griffiths, road traffic committee chairman of the Magistrates' Association, said: "At the moment drivers without insurance normally come to light after an accident whereas setting up these machines at the roadside means they will be stopping any car that has not got insurance.
"The chances of being caught will be greatly increased and they can only have a fixed penalty once."
Police now have the option of imposing a fixed £200 fine and six penalty points on offenders detected by hi-tech vehicle number plate readers.
The pilot scheme, introduced on June 1, will apply to the 23 police forces across England and Wales currently using the Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) system.
Offenders who are not handed fixed penalties will be dealt with by magistrates as before. Those convicted face a maximum fine of £5,000 and six to eight penalty points or a disqualification.
A fixed penalty is effectively only an option for first-time offenders. Motorists who have already received six penalty points for a previous offence would have to be dealt with in court.
Elliot Griffiths, road traffic committee chairman of the Magistrates' Association, said: "At the moment drivers without insurance normally come to light after an accident whereas setting up these machines at the roadside means they will be stopping any car that has not got insurance.
"The chances of being caught will be greatly increased and they can only have a fixed penalty once."
Other new penalties :
s172 failing to identify the driver, £120, 5 points.
No MoT, £60, 3 points.
Failing to display tax disc, £60, 0 points
No insurance, £200, 6 points.
So, overlooking the MoT sets you on the road to a ban and, if your tax disc falls off, it'll put a smile on the face of that nice man Grabbit Brown.
This insidious bunch of sleazeballs who pass for government are hell bent on removing our personal mobility. What next? Points for sneezing.......?
I think it's the 6 points that's the important bit.. immediate regression to provisional license for that in the first 2 years and if it happens again, 12 month disqual minimum.
The money is incidental. Barely an admin charge.
I guess it means that they can process more uninsured drivers than the courts can presently cope with & ties in with the ANPR/Insurance database interaction that's coming online.. maybe they're planning to issue automatic NIPs for suspected insurance offenses. Cast a wide net & all that
Not sure how it'd square with fleet policies etc unless there's a modification of the systems underlying the road fund license.
>> Edited by CarZee (moderator) on Tuesday 10th June 22:26
The money is incidental. Barely an admin charge.
I guess it means that they can process more uninsured drivers than the courts can presently cope with & ties in with the ANPR/Insurance database interaction that's coming online.. maybe they're planning to issue automatic NIPs for suspected insurance offenses. Cast a wide net & all that
Not sure how it'd square with fleet policies etc unless there's a modification of the systems underlying the road fund license.
>> Edited by CarZee (moderator) on Tuesday 10th June 22:26
driving a vehicle without a current mot cert was only a fine,no points.
the only time you are able to drive a car without a current mot on british roads is if you book it at an mot testing station and you drive directly to it and then directly home/to where the car is stored,do not pass go,do not collect £200.
as far as i know this is the only way of doing this legally.
the only time you are able to drive a car without a current mot on british roads is if you book it at an mot testing station and you drive directly to it and then directly home/to where the car is stored,do not pass go,do not collect £200.
as far as i know this is the only way of doing this legally.
As far as I am aware shortly a car that fails an MOT will have it details entered on computer. It may then be driven home or to another garage for work. It will not be allowed to be used for any period left on the existing MOT. This must be a good thing so that we get rid of all those unsafe wreck on the roads.
No Mot means No Tax and No Insurance, Aren't all insurance companies sending details to a central computer of all policies being issued, so that eventually the police in cars will be able to pull the 10% of uninsured drivers of the road.
The same technology is being used in Londons pay zone, persistant offenders will have there car tracked as they enter the area and special "Removal Trucks" will go after the said cars, to hold them to ransom!!!!!
No Mot means No Tax and No Insurance, Aren't all insurance companies sending details to a central computer of all policies being issued, so that eventually the police in cars will be able to pull the 10% of uninsured drivers of the road.
The same technology is being used in Londons pay zone, persistant offenders will have there car tracked as they enter the area and special "Removal Trucks" will go after the said cars, to hold them to ransom!!!!!
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