Please visit the Club's website https://www.dloc.org.uk/ to join. Visit https://www.dloc.org.uk/adhoc to DONATE towards the cost of the forum.
Please don't post someone's email address to avoid it being harvested by spambots and it's against GDPR regulations.
Always look at "ACTIVE TOPICS" to see all posts in date & time order as they are sometimes moved; or look at "Your Posts".
Please add Reg. nrs. when posting a photo or anything about a car as this will help searches. Don't add punctuation next to nr. as this negates search.
CHANGED YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS since registering?, click your username and check your address in User Control Panel, Profile, Account Settings.
If you want help to register, use "contact us" at page bottom for help.

Uninsured driver

Technical issues not related to a DLOC car marque, eg tyres, ethanol, other car makes, etc. and legal, political and insurance
New Dexter
Wise Man
Wise Man
Posts: 555
Joined: Fri Feb 12, 2016 9:41 am

Uninsured driver

Post by New Dexter »

On Monday afternoon I was rear-ended by a Mazda driven by a man in his thirties. We were at a set of lights, they changed to green we all started to move off when one of the cars in front stopped for some reason. I braked but the man behind didn't. Not a fast speed but enough to smash the light on the trailer and bend one of the parts on the tower.
I reported the matter to my insurers and while on the telephone to them I decided to do a DVLA vehicle check. This revealed that the car had neither MOT nor Road Fund Licence, both having expired on the 28th of February last year. It's not possible to find out if the driver has insurance online
I visited a local police station and they said they did not have access to the Motor Insurance Database and even if they had they would not be able to inform me. I called the police force that covered the area where the accident took place and they took the details but the woman on the end of the 101 line seemed slightly puzzled. My thinking was that if didn't have the first two he might have gone for the "set".
Given the number of uninsured drivers on the road one would have though the police would have been pleased to have been contacted.
I await some information from the police but I am not holding my breath.

Chris_R
Wise Man
Wise Man
Posts: 662
Joined: Wed Feb 10, 2016 12:48 pm
Location: Twickenham

Re: Uninsured driver

Post by Chris_R »

I have not used it but according to the Motor Insurance Database website you can, if you have been involved in an accident and for a small fee of £4, enquire about the insurance status of another vehicle.
Here is the link to the website form: http://www.askmid.com/askmidenquiry.aspx

Sydsmith
Extremely Wise Man
Extremely Wise Man
Posts: 1369
Joined: Sun Feb 14, 2016 11:15 pm
Location: Aberystwyth Wales

Re: Uninsured driver

Post by Sydsmith »

Sorry to hear of your damage New Dexter, no help to say it could have been much worse, there seems to be an increased number of uninsured no MOT vehicles on the road of late, our local paper has one almost every week, don't suppose it could be anything to do with no visible tax disc perhaps.

Its easy to hide behind a clear windscreen, a lot harder to hide when the tax disk is the wrong colour.

Big mistake in my view. Syd

New Dexter
Wise Man
Wise Man
Posts: 555
Joined: Fri Feb 12, 2016 9:41 am

Re: Uninsured driver

Post by New Dexter »

Thank you both your advice and commiserations. I had considered the MIB route but was puzzled why it's possible to find MOT and RFL details but not insurance.
However, I had DAS on the telephone this afternoon. They handle claims for my insurers and the woman informed me that they had checked the third party vehicle, as they do have access to the MIB database and found that the driver does not appear to have insurance. She did add though that it possible for him to have insurance only recently and this information might not yet have added to the MIB database.
I had contacted the relevant police force yesterday and they had said they would pass on the details to their colleagues. I called the police force again this afternoon and the control room man informed me that the information had been sent out to the local police station but added that "They would have to see it being driven" Really? I told him that even if stationary on the roadside it should have RFL which it can't have if it isn't insured. Surely, given that it's been involved in a RTA even if it's on his driveway they can ask to see his insurance details?
Now that we don't have to display a RFL disc, which saved the Exchequer £4m, it's cost more than that because drivers are choosing not to pay for RFL. This has, allegedly, cost £16m in lost revenue. Time to bring back the disc methinks.

Phillmore
Wise Man
Wise Man
Posts: 847
Joined: Sat Feb 13, 2016 1:25 pm
Location: Worcestershire Herefordshire border

Re: Uninsured driver

Post by Phillmore »

If you go on the askMID website and type in reg number it will tell you if it's insured.

Sorry just realised you know that anyway now.
Andy

1954 Conquest Mk1, 1956 Conquest Mk2, 1957 Conquest Century Mk2, 1955 Austin A90 Westminster

John Hitchins
Site Admin
Posts: 244
Joined: Mon Feb 08, 2016 10:52 am
Location: Wellington Somerset

Re: Uninsured driver

Post by John Hitchins »

I believe if a car has no MOT then they have no insurance cover as the car is not roadworthy, I am not sure how our classics stand though not having a MOT certificate.

Chris_R
Wise Man
Wise Man
Posts: 662
Joined: Wed Feb 10, 2016 12:48 pm
Location: Twickenham

Re: Uninsured driver

Post by Chris_R »

I think John that if car that should have an MOT does not have one but does have insurance that the insurance is not totally invalidated, damage to 3rd parties would be indemnified by the insurer but damage to the insured's own car will probably be declined. The insurer may then seek to recover their costs from their client.

Classic cars that are not required to have an MOT do not need one and the insurance is not affected unless there is a defect rendering the car unroadworthy. That would be for the insurance company to prove. The assumption and the rationale behind dispensing with MOTs on classic cars is that they are better maintained than the average car and it would be for an insurance company to prove otherwise. Less than 2% of all accidents are attributed to a vehicle defect.

Chris_R
Wise Man
Wise Man
Posts: 662
Joined: Wed Feb 10, 2016 12:48 pm
Location: Twickenham

Re: Uninsured driver

Post by Chris_R »

Sydsmith wrote: Wed Apr 11, 2018 5:36 pm Sorry to hear of your damage New Dexter, no help to say it could have been much worse, there seems to be an increased number of uninsured no MOT vehicles on the road of late, our local paper has one almost every week, don't suppose it could be anything to do with no visible tax disc perhaps.

Its easy to hide behind a clear windscreen, a lot harder to hide when the tax disk is the wrong colour.

Big mistake in my view. Syd
Latest Government figures show that the number of unlicensed vehicles on the road has tripled since the paper tax disc was abolished
The data shows that the government potentially lost out on £107m from 755,000 unlicensed vehicles last year.
The measure was meant to have saved the Treasury £10m.
That went well then. I wonder which civil servant dreamt up this great idea and if he or she is still in position!

Sydsmith
Extremely Wise Man
Extremely Wise Man
Posts: 1369
Joined: Sun Feb 14, 2016 11:15 pm
Location: Aberystwyth Wales

Re: Uninsured driver

Post by Sydsmith »

If it seems silly it is silly, I lost count of the folks who before it happened predicted the silly decision to dispose of the tax disc would cause a rise in default, it was not rocket science, the police have ANR systems but no time to enforce them, it can only get worse.

Some silly person is now proposing a 20 mph limit to replace the 30 MPH limit in towns and cities, the police cannot cope with enforcing 30 MPH how will they do with 20 MPH?

A change may well do what proposers suggest but only if it is enforced and backed with effective policing.

OOP's gone way off subject, sorry New Dexter, but it is associated with your problem, sort of.

John Hitchins
Site Admin
Posts: 244
Joined: Mon Feb 08, 2016 10:52 am
Location: Wellington Somerset

Re: Uninsured driver

Post by John Hitchins »

Hi Chris, just checked and found this to clear this up so answers the original question at the top of the page.

Invalid insurance
Without a current MOT, your car insurance would become invalid. Not having a valid MOT certificate is illegal under Section 47 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 and you run the risk of facing a £1,000 fine and a charge of six to eight penalty points on your licence by driving without one.

Not only that but if you have an accident and don’t have an up-to-date MOT certificate, you’ll be liable to cover the costs. The average claim is likely to be much more than the cost of your missed test so it’s well worth making sure you’re up to date with your MOT. Especially as if you’re convicted of driving without a valid certificate, your insurance premiums could go up when it gets time to renew again.

Post Reply