16/09/2008
UK courts under fire from car insurance companies
Car insurance companies are calling for UK courts to hand out more severe punishments to motorists caught driving while uninsured.
Media interest has prompted a wave of articles about a looming crackdown by the government on uninsured drivers.
Now, insurance firms have started to complain the law courts are failing to effectively deal with errant motorists.
Both the AA and Direct Line claim current penalties fail to deter law-breaking drivers. According to research, courts used to impose average fines of £224 a decade ago but this has now fallen to £185.
Yet failing to pay bus fares or television licence fees can lead to fines as high as £1000. It is this discrepancy about fines that insurance firms say must change calling for heftier, heavier sentences.
The AA's head of road safety, Andrew Howard, called on the courts to impose realistic penalties.
Maggie Game, a spokeswoman at car insurance company Direct Line, said, "With uninsured drivers costing British society around £500 million each year, the severity of penalties must act as a deterrent."
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