Driving Without Insurance

Section 143 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 states "It is an offence to use (or permit to be used) a motor vehicle on a road or public place when there is not in force a relation to the use of the vehicle such a policy of insurance in respect of third party risks as complies with the Road Traffic Act". This means you must have insurance cover for any claim that may be brought against you by anyone else for injury or damage caused by you. Your vehicle, even if parked on a road, must be covered by insurance. This offence is a strict liability offence which means that, regardless of what you may have believed the situation to be, if you are unable to prove that there was a valid insurance policy in place you will be guilty of an offence.

It is not a defence that you were unaware that you had no insurance.

Driving Without Insurance - Penalties

The Court always view this offence as a serious matter. Upon conviction there can be:

• Fine of up to £5,000
• 6-8 penalty point endorsement on licence
• Discretionary driving ban.

Driving Without Insurance - Defence

There are a number of possible defences in relation to such an allegation for example, if you are driving your employers vehicle whilst working and reasonably believed the vehicle was insured, you will still have a defence.

It is therefore important that you seek prompt legal advice.

You may be able to avoid penalty points being imposed upon you by arguing special reasons. An example of such special reasons would be if you had a genuine and honest belief that you were insured based upon reasonable grounds (for instance your insurance broker told you that you were insured to drive the vehicle) or if there was an emergency.

Motoring Offence Solicitors

For further information regarding motoring offences and the law, contact a motoring law solicitor or submit an online enquiry.