Over half of new motorists drive without insurance, says survey
MORE than 10,000 motorists a year are banned within months of passing their driving test, and more than half are caught with no insurance, shock new figures reveal.
Many of the offenders are young drivers who take the risk of not getting insured rather than pay the sky high premiums being charged these days.
But many end up being disqualified from driving almost as soon as they pass a test allowing them on the road for the first time, said motoring journal Auto Express.
Department of Transport bosses say modern computerised checking systems make it much harder to get away with driving an uninsured vehicle
Using a Freedom of Information request to the DVLA it found that since June 2010, 40,481 drivers had been banned from the road within two years of passing their test.
Newly qualified drivers only need to pick up six points within that period to get a ban, half as much as more experienced motorists.
More than half of the cases - 21,148 - were for driving without insurance which is automatically a six point penalty plus a hefty fine.
This includes the offence called "fronting" where a high risk driver, such as a teenager, is the main driver of a vehicle but appears as the named driver on someone else's policy.
Department of Transport bosses say modern computerised checking systems make it much harder to get away with driving an uninsured vehicle.
Cameras record number plates and cross check them against an insurance database to get an instant feedback on whether a car is insured or not.
In 2005 it was estimated that one in five drivers under the age of 20 was uninsured while it is now nearer to one in 17, according to the DofT.
But many still try and get away with it, said AA president Edmund King, adding: "There is still a hardcore of drivers who are uninsured - usually young men who often have a string of offences to their names."
Other offences leading to bans for newly qualified drivers include jumping red lights, speeding and defective tyres. The top ten reasons are: 1. Not having insurance cover - 21,148 bans 2. Speeding - 7,220 bans 3. Driver's identity (failure to give correct information) - 2,220 bans 4. Vehicle control (incl using a mobile while driving) - 1,766 bans 5. Driving without due care and attention - 1,675 bans 6. M-way speeding - 1,249 bans 7. Jumping lights - 1,020 bans 8. Defective tyres - 854 bans 9. Other insurance offences - 699 bans 10. Failing to stop - 665 bans
