Consumer groups protest at motor insurance legislation
Ministers are set to announce the implementation of continuous enforcement, which will make it illegal to keep an uninsured car without declaring it off-road, within the next few days.
The new measure, which was originally part of the 2006 Road Safety Act, will be enforced by comparing the Motor Insurers' Bureau database with that held by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency.
Drivers wishing to keep an uninsured car off road will have to fill in a statutory declaration or face a £100 fine.
The measure is popular within the insurance industry, but an AA spokesman told the Daily Telegraph it could cause problems for innocent motorists: “This could hit people who happen to be away or who are in hospital when their car insurance is up for renewal," the spokesman said. “At the same time this will not deal with the sort of people who are not recorded at all by the DVLA. The big question is whether the Government will have enough money in its budget to publicise the change in the law.”
Road safety minister Mike Penning responded that by pledging a substantial campaign to make sure that drivers were aware of the change in the law.
