The Gazette 1987

GAZETTE

APRIL 1987

Uninsured Drivers

— a Legal Submission

The f o l l owi ng is t he t ext of a Submi ss i on f r om Professor Bryan

M . E. M c M a h o n , University College, Co r k, w i t h assistance f r om

Philip O' Ri orda i n, B.C.L., and A l an Syno t t, B.C.L., to t he Select

Comm i t t ee on Cr ime, Lawlessness and Vanda l i sm.

I n t roduc t i on

Uninsured drivers can be

divided into two categories:

(a) Those who can afford to

insure themselves but deliber-

ately fail to do so; and

(b) Those who due to economic

circumstances have difficulty

in paying the premium.

Drivers in category (a) do not

insure presumably because they

lack a social conscience and/or

they do not fear the penalties

which will be imposed if they are

prosecuted and convicted. It ap-

pears from the penalties imposed

that an uninsured driver would

have to be convicted approximate-

ly three times in one year if the

cumulative penalties were to equal

his annual insurance premium. In

this situation it makes economic

sense for the motorist to "risk i t ".

The problem is exacerbated by

the fact that uninsured drivers are

also more likely to be involved in

motor accidents than insured

drivers. This is because driver type

(a) above lacks a social conscience

and his general social irrespon-

sibility is also likely to manifest

itself in his driving. Driver type (b),

being economically deprived is

likely to have a poorer quality and

more dangerous vehicle and this

increases his likelihood of having

an accident. The matter is further

compounded if the motorist is

young. In such a case since young

drivers are considered high risks,

the insurance premium is loaded

against them and the opportunity

to build up a no-claims bonus is not

available. In these circumstances

the choice is frequently not to drive

at all or to drive with no insurance.

Some, it is true, will "side-line"

themselves, but many will risk it.

For these reasons the rate of

uninsured accidents will be dis-

proportionately high. The cost of

these will ultimately find its way

via

the Motor Insurance Bureau

(M.I.B.), and the Insurance Com-

panies back to the insured driver by

way of increased premium. Raising

the cost once more will of course

further increase the amount of peo-

ple who will not be able to afford

the premium and who will decide

to take to the road without cover.

(It will also, presumably, cause a

number of drivers to "trade down"

by opting for a third party policy in-

stead of a comprehensive policy in

the future.)

The problem of the uninsured

driver can be tackled on three

fronts:

(i) Improved criminal enforce

ment;

(ii) Increased advertising to

heighten social awareness;

(iii) Greater attempts to reduce the

premiums.

6 . Imp r oved Cr imi nal

En f o r cement

Increased penalties on the criminal

side might improve the position

somewhat, but one suspects that

such a policy on its own might on-

ly have a limited effect on category

(b) drivers. Many persons who

have financial difficulty in meeting

the premium need the car to

improve their poor income. They

may need the car to drive to work,

to look for a job, to supplement

their income by providing a service

in the black economy ("foxers"

and "nixers") or simply to avoid

expensive public transport. In-

creasing fines and penalties for

these people might have limited ef-

fect. The recent law which obliges

insurance disks to be displayed,

insofar as it facilitates detection,

must be considered to be a step in

the right direction. It is too early to

say, however, whether it will have

the desired effect of causing more

drivers to insure.

This point is supported by the

lead story in the

Evening Press

Wednesday 19th November, 1986

which told of a huge trade currently

in Dublin of packages of forged

insurance certs, tax disks and

driving licences available for

£ 1 00 .

The Gardai have found that

most of the people caught with

these forged documents have no

previous criminal records and

presumably they are now breaking

the law because they find it im-

possible to abide by it and do not

fear detection. Incidentally, the

same story reported that the

average fine for being caught with

these forged documents was £50

thus substantiating paragraph 2

above.

7. Increased Advertising

Campa i gn to He i gh t en

Social Awa r eness

Equally important in this context,

would be a campaign to improve

people's social conscience in this

matter. Some advertising analgous

to the "T.V. Spongers" campaign

might be a help. Ironically, the

force of the social conscience argu-

ment, however, is somewhat

weakened in the present case by

the safety net provided by the

Motor Insurance Bureau. In other

words, an uninsured driver can say

to himself, " i t does not matter if I

seriously injure another road user

when I am not insured. He will not

go without compensation. He will

be able to claim from the M.I.B. in

any event. All my conduct does in

such circumstances is to spread

the compensation between several

insurance companies rather than

impose it on one company." The

less sophisticated mo t or i s t,

however, probably does not think

of the problem in this way. If it

were made clear to this motorist

that he might be sued personally

and that by driving without in-

surance his personal fortune (even

his home) might be at risk, an

improvement might also be ex-

pected.