Too Many Young Drivers Driving Illegally

Posted by Hugo Rodallega on Sep 2nd, 2010 | no comments home title

Around 8 months ago, the BBC suggested that a staggering 20% of young drivers in the UK were driving illegally (without insurance). 20% is extremely high, and converts into a massive 243,000+ illegal drivers on British roads (and that’s just the young people). In 2010, the problem doesn’t seem to be at all improving, as some reports suggest those figures could be increasing.

So why is this happening? The most obvious response would be the issue of cost, which can be extremely high for a young driver (get yourself online and get an instant car insurance quote for someone aged 17-21 and you’ll see just how expensive it can be). It seems that a large number of young people have the opinion that they don’t need insurance, as they’re a safe or sensible driver. Not even considering the issue of it being illegal to drive without vaild insurance, the idea that young people don’t need it couldn’t be more wrong. Statistics suggest that young drivers are far more likely to have an accident or need to make a claim on their insurance (and this is why premiums are so high for young drivers).

There also seems to be a consensus amongst young people that they won’t get caught; thinking the police need to pull them over in order to find out they don’t have insurance. This is quite simply, a myth. The police force have ANPR (automatic number plate recognition) software than can pick up your license plate and check your vehicle for up to date tax, passed MOT and valid insurance.

The penalties for driving without valid insurance range from a fine and points on your license, to your car being impounded or scrapped. You can also receive a driving ban should you get caught driving illegally more than once.

There isn’t really an excuse to drive without insurance; I’ll accept that it’s expensive for young people to insure their vehicle, but annual insurance isn’t the only option. If you can’t afford full cover, try temporary car insurance. Having good short term car insurance cover means you’re covered (and most importantly legal) when you drive your car on the roads, but you don’t need to pay for the yearly premium.

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Too Many Young Drivers Driving Illegally

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