UK’s uninsured driving hotspots identified

Despite the overall drop in uninsured driving in the last five years, the rate of progress to reduce the UK’s level of uninsured driving is being held back by illegal motorists in the West Midlands and West Yorkshire, according to new figures released by the Motor Insurers' Bureau (MIB).

The numbers of drivers with no insurance in these regions are overrepresented by as much as eight times the national average, putting them in the spotlight for vehicle seizure, wheel clamping, fines and prosecution.

Key facts from MIB show that:

• There are about 34 million vehicles on UK roads, of which 4% are not insured at any one time.
• One in three (34%) of all uninsured drivers are under the age of thirty.
• One in ten of 18-34 year-old drivers are unaware that car insurance is a legal requirement.
• About 23,000 people are injured and 160 people killed by uninsured and untraced drivers every year.
• Research shows that uninsured drivers are five times more likely to be involved in road collisions, to fail to comply with other road traffic requirements, and to be engaged in other criminal activity.