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Government plans to introduce a new offence of 'keeping a vehicle without insurance' have proven popular with the motoring public.
Parliament is considering a continuous car insurance proposal, which would require every vehicle to be either insured or subject to a SORN (Statutory Off Road Notification), regardless of whether the vehicle is kept on the public highway.
An AA survey questioned 13,905 of its members and found that more than two-thirds (that is 69 percent) agreed with the idea, 43 percent agreeing strongly. It is currently estimated that one in every 20 drivers is driving without insurance, costing each honest policyholder £30 on their annual car insurance premium.
The proposals state that police ANPR (automatic number plate recognition) equipment would be used in conjunction with the DVLA's database and Motor Insurance Database so that officers can check immediately whether any UK-registered vehicle is legal.
Police already have the powers to confiscate uninsured vehicles on the public highway, but under the new proposals they would also be able to issue penalties for offending vehicles that are on private land.
"This is just one more step in the vital fight against uninsured drivers, as the new offence means that there will be no hiding place," says Paul Watters, the AA's head of public affairs.
However, Watters warned that there must be safeguards in place to ensure that drivers are dealt with sympathetically if offences are committed inadvertently, for example, if a serious illness delays renewal or where an administrative mistake has been made on an insurance certificate.
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