The Gazette 1987

APRIL 1987

GAZETTE

Uninsured Drivers — a Legal Submission The f o l l owi ng is t he t ext of a Submi ss i on f r om Professor Bryan M . E. M c M a h o n , University College, Co r k, w i t h assistance f r om Philip O' Ri orda i n, B.C.L., and A l an Syno t t, B.C.L., to t he Select Comm i t t ee on Cr ime, Lawlessness and Vanda l i sm.

say, however, whether it will have the desired effect of causing more drivers to insure. This point is supported by the lead story in the Evening Press on Wednesday 19th November, 1986 which told of a huge trade currently in Dublin of packages of forged insurance certs, tax disks and driving licences available for £ 1 00 . The Gardai have found that most of the people caught with these forged documents have no previous criminal records and presumably they are now breaking the law because they find it im- possible to abide by it and do not fear detection. Incidentally, the same story reported that the average fine for being caught with these forged documents was £50 thus substantiating paragraph 2 above. 7. Increased Advertising Campa i gn to He i gh t en Social Awa r eness Equally important in this context, would be a campaign to improve people's social conscience in this matter. Some advertising analgous to the "T.V. Spongers" campaign might be a help. Ironically, the force of the social conscience argu- ment, however, is somewhat weakened in the present case by the safety net provided by the Motor Insurance Bureau. In other words, an uninsured driver can say to himself, " i t does not matter if I seriously injure another road user when I am not insured. He will not go without compensation. He will be able to claim from the M.I.B. in any event. All my conduct does in such circumstances is to spread the compensation between several insurance companies rather than impose it on one company." The less sophisticated mo t or i s t, however, probably does not think of the problem in this way. If it were made clear to this motorist that he might be sued personally and that by driving without in- surance his personal fortune (even his home) might be at risk, an improvement might also be ex- pected.

uninsured accidents will be dis- proportionately high. The cost of these will ultimately find its way via the Motor Insurance Bureau (M.I.B.), and the Insurance Com- panies back to the insured driver by way of increased premium. Raising the cost once more will of course further increase the amount of peo- ple who will not be able to afford the premium and who will decide to take to the road without cover. (It will also, presumably, cause a number of drivers to "trade down" by opting for a third party policy in- stead of a comprehensive policy in the future.) 5. The problem of the uninsured driver can be tackled on three fronts: (i) Improved criminal enforce ment; (ii) Increased advertising to heighten social awareness; (iii) Greater attempts to reduce the premiums. Increased penalties on the criminal side might improve the position somewhat, but one suspects that such a policy on its own might on- ly have a limited effect on category (b) drivers. Many persons who have financial difficulty in meeting the premium need the car to improve their poor income. They may need the car to drive to work, to look for a job, to supplement their income by providing a service in the black economy ("foxers" and "nixers") or simply to avoid expensive public transport. In- creasing fines and penalties for these people might have limited ef- fect. The recent law which obliges insurance disks to be displayed, insofar as it facilitates detection, must be considered to be a step in the right direction. It is too early to 6 . Imp r oved Cr imi nal En f o r cement

I n t roduc t i on 1. Uninsured drivers can be divided into two categories: (a) Those who can afford to insure themselves but deliber- ately fail to do so; and (b) Those who due to economic circumstances have difficulty in paying the premium. 2. Drivers in category (a) do not insure presumably because they lack a social conscience and/or they do not fear the penalties which will be imposed if they are prosecuted and convicted. It ap- pears from the penalties imposed that an uninsured driver would have to be convicted approximate- ly three times in one year if the cumulative penalties were to equal his annual insurance premium. In this situation it makes economic sense for the motorist to "risk i t ". 3. The problem is exacerbated by the fact that uninsured drivers are also more likely to be involved in motor accidents than insured drivers. This is because driver type (a) above lacks a social conscience and his general social irrespon- sibility is also likely to manifest itself in his driving. Driver type (b), being economically deprived is likely to have a poorer quality and more dangerous vehicle and this increases his likelihood of having an accident. The matter is further compounded if the motorist is young. In such a case since young drivers are considered high risks, the insurance premium is loaded against them and the opportunity to build up a no-claims bonus is not available. In these circumstances the choice is frequently not to drive at all or to drive with no insurance. Some, it is true, will "side-line" themselves, but many will risk it.

4. For these reasons the rate of

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