Is this for real or something the DM dreamt up...??? I could not believe what I was reading this morning.
The only thing they should get is jail.... and banned from driving for life. Far too many vehicles on the road anyway.
By posting it, I was not referring to the EU in general, although it has a bearing, but just at the unfairness of the situation. We know by experience that the courts are always too lenient with miscreants, there is no deterrent at all.
Its ridiculous, if you are driving whilst uninsured then you are a criminal and should be treated as such..................oh I just forgot, criminals have more protection than we do.
Have any of you been done for speeding or other motoring offences? If you have then technically you have a criminal record, however as many motoring offenses are not recordable they don't appear on CRB checks. Even though not recordable they are apparently 'criminal' although it is hard to get a definitive answer on this and there are some differences between Scotland and the rest of England. So I would suggest it is not wise to bandy about condemnation of 'criminals' you might well be one Driving without Insurance is what is known as an absolute offense, in that is there is no excuse, you are either insured or you are not. Regards this article, I see where they are coming from, but I don't agree that the uninsured driver's property should be protected, or their lives for that matter, if the two or more drivers involved in an accident have not all played by the rules then they are not on equal footing, in the event of their death in an accident which was not their responsibility their family should not be compensated by the other party's insurance company. Clearly the fact that it is an absolute offense brings about many difficult scenarios, people who genuinely forgot, or didn't realise a direct debit had bounced and as a result were uninsured, the law states that if they are involved in an accident they have committed the offense of driving without insurance. One can have some sympathy in such circumstances but the law does not.
I do agree that anyone can forget to renew their insurance, unlikely given the phone calls and emails you get just before expiry but possible, I think we are really talking about the people who blatantly refuse to pay for insurance. And yes I'm a criminal, I got caught speeding twice in two months just recently, first ones in 30 years, just goes to show you're not as sharp and as observant as the years tick by
I was off the road for three years simply because my car died and with money constantly going down a drain elsewhere on the planet I was unable to get it fixed, 12 months ago the landlord complained that my beautiful motor which still looked like new apart from an electrical fault was an eyesore that I had dumped on his ground, he made me get it crushed It was depressing, I have only ever had two convictions for speeding 2006 and 2010 and back in 1976 I got a TS10 for violating a traffic light, however that was a technicality, the light I went through was green but the light on the main road lane I should have been on was red, my understanding of the highway code was poor and I didn't realise that I along with my friends should not have been in a PSV lane. To be honest people in that town went down that PSV lane all the time, we went down it because we were on the way to the YMCA which was just round the corner and it was quiet and about 7pm, but the police, who were following us because Tony forgot to turn on his lights, didn't see it that way. I could have escaped at any time just by turning off but I wanted to catch my friend and tell him to switch on his bleeding lights, I knew the police were behind us and as I result of following we all got done. We were on motorcycles by the way. The 2006 incident was 88 on the motorway in my S2000, bridge laser rangefinder, the second was more upsetting as I was in a village on a Sunday morning after a long drive to visit a friend up in Cumbria, it was dead I was slowing down as I knew the area, I had been doing 40 on what was essentially a country road although technically it was near housing, but really it was dead, I was about to start getting down to 30 when a policeman jumped out from behind a bush, I swear no one on this road, Sunday morning totally dead and I was hyper alert as a result of two hours motorway driving. Anyway done for 40 in a 30 and Ana was with me that day, no incidents since as I now drive like a saint. My current £400 Honda that cost me a total of £900 after adding quality new tyres, getting new front callipers and putting it through its MOT in November should hopefully never be a car that I get stopped in for anything illegal, bought that back in June, such a relief to be mobile again.
Getting caught speeding 10mph over in a 30 I can sort of live with because we all know the difference the 10mph can make if you are unfortunate enough to hit a pedestrian, its getting caught doing 80 on a motorway or dual carriageway that I feel hard done by. I don't know about you but I find it extremely difficult to drive on a motorway at 70 when there is no traffic, the Cameron Government was mulling over the idea of increasing the speed limit to 80 not long back not that I personally think that is necessary. Good to hear you are mobile again, just makes life easier being able to plan your own journey at a time that suits you and visit those outlets that are just out of town and off the public transport route.
Yeah but 40 when your foot is already on the brake on a Sunday morning and there is not a soul on the road not even another car, ah well. Thirty will generally kill or maim, the reason the limits are what they are is that they know in most cases people will have slowed from the speed limit before an impact, few accidents result from the actual limit, usually there is a second or maybe more of braking, but obviously it is impossible to know all possible circumstances that will lead to an accident, plenty of accidents are nigh on instantaneous, no one saw them coming although someone was to blame. What I mean is that if the limit is 30 they expect an impact of 20 maybe certainly not 30 although you would probably get away with a 30 collision. The kinetic energy in a vehicle is huge at pretty much any speed over 5 mph, and it scales, as a driver you have a huge responsibility to behave with foresight at all times. In my current town we have 20 mph limits on most approach roads and for some god forsaken reason a 30 on the main ring round the town, the place is tiny, I actually stick to it these days. Motorway, since I got this car I've stuck to 70 mph, I went down south to visit my daughter at the beginning of December took 5 hours leaving at 3pm, on the way back leaving her place at 10pm (a couple of days later) it only took 3 hours and a wee bit at 70 mph even though part of the M6 was shut, had to use the toll. I experienced these smart motorways for the first time on that trip and I can say honestly that I hate them, variable speed limits that change as you approach them only add pressure and stress to the driver, and a vastly different pressure compared to a notice that in 800 yards you should be doing 50 i.e. a bit of road furniture a simple road sign.
Agree, all the signage and cleverdick stuff on the roads and on dashboards now, merely serve to distract one from DRIVING.
I do agree... Smart motorways are not smart at all. The variable speeds, do create hold ups, slowing traffic whne there is no need, leading to fuel more wasted thus creating more harmful gases to further pollute the athmosphere. About extra stress for the driver..... I don't want to start... But they are making a mint for the powers that be....... So I can't imagine anyone ever scrapping those cameras on every gantry across the road.
Smart motorways are ok and work well in my opinion if used correctly the main issues on motorways are middle lane hoggers,those who dont drive on the left and those in dreamland,those who drive to close, those who speed and mobile phone abuse.
In the U.K., since the 1930's, compensation owed by uninsured drivers is paid by the Motor Insurance Bureau: https://www.mib.org.uk/ The MIB is a voluntary body consisting of the motor insurance companies who pay for it and second staff to it. So in effect in Britain the uninsured drivers are paid for by a levy on the insured drivers.
What will be interesting to know is who will oppose the repealing of this ill-considered piece of EU legislation once Britain leaves the EU and the law is embodied into the laws of the land.
In practical terms IT has made it far easier for the Police to check on uninsured drivers: no need to stop them, just run the numberplate through the database.
I'm not convinced that the Police ever stopped any driver solely and simply to check that he/she was properly insured but yes, you're right, modern technology, including APNR cameras, do make that job much easier.
