John Williamson wrote:
Cynic wrote:
On Thu, 31 Mar 2011 12:13:08 +0000, Tim Streater
wrote:

So driving without insurance risks harming the other party in the
event of an accident - who could be entirely innocent.

Same as any non-driving accident.

Not many of which, when happening to or caused by the mythical man on
the Clapham omnibus, can result in significant numbers of people injured
in such away as to require 24-hour a day care for life. For instance,
how many people can you kill/injure at a time by riding a pushbike? Or a
horse? Or by dropping a slate from a roof? In a car, I have the ability
to kill or injure dozens in one incident. If I were driving a lorry, it
could, potentially, be hundreds.

People who drive without insurance should be slung in the chokey.

Thus completely destroying their ability to pay compensation to the
injured party. You haven't thought it through logically have you?

(1) Taking them out of circulation *before* they have an accident
completely removes any need for them to pay compensation. That's how I
read the proposal, anyway. The Powers That Be already tend towards
putting uninsured drivers in the pokey after they've had an accident,
though not necessarily *just* for not being insured.

(2) "Pour encourager les autres" Taking uninsured drivers out of
circulation just for being uninsured would make most people think twice
about it. Though obvously some will not give the proverbial
ess-aitch-one-tee, and will enjoy the break at our expense.

The whole things has become a vicious circle: the more uninsured drivers
there are, the more the premiums go up, and the more the temptation is
there not to insure. Because MOT and car tax is also expensive, and the
tax depends on insurance and MOT, ipso facto there is no incentive to
license either, and without that no incentive to get an MOT.

In short the cost benefit is between paying about £500 quid to legalise
a motah, or paying nothing and taking the risk. Since a very decent car
can be obtained without paperwork for less than £200, or stolen for
nothing, people who simply fail to register at and insure can be up to
£7-800* a year in pocket AS LONG AS THEY ARE NOT CAUGHT.

If they are involved in an accident, with luck, just walk away. The car
is probably not traceable to the perp anyway.

I used to know people to whom such practice is the norm. The car breaks
down. Leave it, call a mate on a mobile phone, get picked up, another
mate knows of a car..no tax or MOT, give him a bull**** address for his
forms, drive off in car, run till it breaks down, repeat ad infinitum.

Drive carefully and not at night where police are likely to be on the
lookout. Ge way with it.



*since they wont service such a car either.