Tracing the uninsured with number plate system
It seems to be that driving bans are no solution for the uninsured drivers. Committing the serious offence of driving without insurance would be no different than driving without a license for some. Why doesn't the Government attack the root of the problem? Why not make it more difficult for the offence to be commited? A simple solution would be to display the insurance information on the windscreen as other european countries do. Or how about Switzerland? They seem to have perhaps the best sloution. Where number plates belong to the driver rather than the car (although in a lot of cases they are registered to a car until sold) Registration plates are given from the Swiss equivalent of the MOT on receipt of an insurance certificate. The insureds name and the policy number are noted on the registration papers. If the insured fails to pay their renewal premium after being repeatley reminded and warned, it is the obligation of the insurer to notify the authorities. The police will then remove the registration plates from the vehicle , therefore preventing it from being driven. The insured becomes at an advantage if they are not going to be using the vehicle for a period of time, all they do is send the plates back to MOT. The road tax gets suspended as does the insurance, creating automatic rebates. When the vehicle is to be used again the insured gets a new certificate from their insurer, collects the plates and put them back on. Using this method it makes easier tracking drivers. When changing ownership, the plates would be removed and registered to the new vehicle for both old and new owners. Another advantage is that restricted driving like 'Insured Only' or 'Named Drivers' is not permitted, same to for class restrictions, such as 'Business class' or 'Social, Domestic and pleasure'. These restrictions can lead to situations where the vehicle is insured but the policy becomes void at the time or use of an accident for residents of the UK. Restrictions such as these can lead to accidents. If a driver with insured only driving has too much to drink, they may drive home because they cannot ask a friend or relative to do so (and do not trust the area to leave the vehicle)Date - 13/05/2004
