DAVID RUFFLEY MP SHADOW MINISTER FOR POLICE REFORM: 'FINES FOR DANGEROUS UNINSURED DRIVERS FALL 20% AND PROCEEDINGS FALL 10%'

Mr Ruffley said: 'Driving uninsured is often a sign of more serious criminality. Yet the latest Home Office statistics I have uncovered reveal that:

• the total number of proceedings against uninsured drivers has fallen by 11% between 2004 and 2005, the last year for which figures are available from 441,819 cases in 2004 to 392,763 cases in 2005); and

• the average fine for driving without insurance has fallen by 21% (from £224 in 1997 to £177 in 2005).

Amazingly, this is barely a fifth of the average cost of purchasing comprehensive insurance, which, according to the AA was £833.56 in 2006/07. The police are doing the detecting but the courts are passing derisory penalties.

Uninsured drivers are the scourge of the roads. The Association of British Insurers says that they are ten times more likely to have convictions for drink-driving and are six times more likely to be behind the wheel of an unroadworthy vehicle. On top of that, the cost of uninsured drivers adds an extra £25 to £30 to the average annual car insurance premium.'

Notes to editors:

1. According to the AA's Insurance Premium Index, the average cost of comprehensive insurance was £833.56 in 2006/07. Source: http://www.hpcgroup.co.uk/pdf2007/bipi.pdf