driving without insurance

macduf

Many thanks for all your replies its very helpful. We know its 100% our fault we are not denying that I was wondering because it was so genuine would it help, judging by the answers there is a slight chance also if you were to pick a day not to drive if you were not insured I think Xmas day would be high on the list.
Yes she has been given a producer.
The fact that the Police allowed her to drive home without her confirming she was insured is that just a mistake on their side?
My Daughter is outside the 2 year period from passing her test does she now follow in line with everyone else that its 12 points and a ban?
Thanks again.

espresso

What is the difference between a mistake and a "so genuine mistake"? Driving without insurance is an offence and will be automatically dealt with when the documents are produced at the Police station. Twelve points would normally result in disqualification.

mrcow

macduf wrote: »

My Daughter is outside the 2 year period from passing her test does she now follow in line with everyone else that its 12 points and a ban?

Would it get that far? the best thing she can do is take all the paperwork she has to the police station and see what they say. Are you 100% sure that she's not covered?

Not trying to scare you but I've just looked up the penalty (as it's useful to know) and it says the following:

http://www.driving-law.co.uk/offences/without_insurance.asp

The maximum penalties for driving without insurance are:

• 6-8 penalty points; and
• Discretionary disqualification; and
• £5000 fine.

Just as a sideline to one of the above posts, it also gives the excuse of using a company vehicle as a valid excuse:

Using your employer’s vehicle

A statutory defence is provided by section 143(3) RTA in relation to a driver who unwittingly drives his employer's uninsured vehicle.

So this may explain why the person in question was let off (although I understand it was a friend's employer).

I agree that you should get her on your insurance ASAP. They are not going to back date it, but it will get the current paperwork in order.

fas3robinj

Sorry to hear that they gave her an HO/RT1. They were unlikely to stop her from driving again after they had questioned her. It strengthens their case if they say in their statement that she continued to drive.

They may still decide not to take action, .... but if I had to guess I would say a prosecution is very likely.

I served in the Police Force a few years ago now. In those days you would tell the motorist to park up and give them a warning. I also warned motorists for driving over the speed limit if it wasn't excessive. I got done for speeding 3 years ago ... 33mph in a 30 limit. Times have changed.

DaisyFlower

The police will advise further re action when she produces the documents. It is very unlikely she will have the DOC extension as most insurers dont give this to under 25's.

It will likely end up in court so I agree with the other posters, its better to be honest and admit the mistake rather than try and blame the police. You can appoint a solicitor if you so wish as the courts view driving without insurance as a serious offence.

Thank goodness she didnt hit anybody, at least if the courts come down hard on her its only herself involved.

V_tricky

Before they even pulled her, they would have known she wasn't driving on her own policy, they would have probably seen her, made a guess on her age, and checked with the Motor Insurers Database which includes giving information on named drivers allowed on insurance policies, insurer details, policy numbers etc all from the registration number. Insurers can access this information instantaneously, the police can access it too either by radioing the station, or by using a handheld computer.

Once she's shown to be uninsured (except by a DOC cover on her own vehicle which would not show up on MID) then of course they would pull her over

http://www.miic.org.uk/public/police.html

chris_spackman

Sounds like the two wpc's need to go back to training and your daughter needs to look through her policy book and you need to do the same. If there was no producer then you might be able to learn a lesson with no court hearing.
Insurance is a bore but car insurance is a must have.

espresso

chris_spackman wrote: »

Sounds like the two wpc's need to go back to training and your daughter needs to look through her policy book and you need to do the same. If there was no producer then you might be able to learn a lesson with no court hearing.
Insurance is a bore but car insurance is a must have.

Read post #12

No update from the OP as usual.

:rolleyes:

little_miss_messiah

Hi, I deal with hort1s all the time, a few pointers:

I'm afraid ignorance is no excuse, more and more insurers are not providing the 3rd party cover on vehicles not belonging to yourself - and several now doing this irregardless of age.

It is the responsibilty of the driver to ensure they are legal to drive (this includes MOT etc). However the owner of the vehicle also has a responsibility to ensure the driver is insured - all too often 'little johnny' takes parents' vehicle for a jolly , this then comes down to if the parent has permitted use or the vehicle has techincally been TWOCCed... I'm not suggesting anything like this has happened in this case at all and hope I cause no offence.

Has she produced her documents at the police station yet? She must do this within the 7 days or a seperate offence of fail to produce licence/insurance/MOT if applicable may also be comitted

And finally, I must echo other replies in that complaining about percieved attitude of police officers does not make this go away. They are only people doing a job, and if it was in my area, the vehicle would likely be towed off to a compound and there would be a charge Pf £100 or so plus £15 a day storage.

I must say I am sympathetic with the issue, having seen many tearful young drivers in similar situations, but it all comes down to - How would you feel if an uninsured driver wrote your car off (which you worked damned hard to pay for and insure)or injured you badly causing you lost earnings etc?

PM me if you need any further

Debt_Free_Chick

macduf wrote: »

Upon checking her policy she is not insured mainly cos she is under 25. The reason she was driving it was that her car was written off 2 weeks ago by a hit and run driver. It is a 100% genuine mistake

Although OP seems to have gone away, just posting "out of interest" ......

I don't think she was insured at all. If her car had been written off, then there was no longer a vehicle to insure. When my car was written off, the insurance ended there and then!