Uninsured drivers on British roads

New research from MoneySupermarket has found that one in six motorists have broken the law and driven a car they weren't insured to drive.

Eight per cent admitted breaking the law by getting behind the wheel of their own car with no cover, while an additional 6% admit to having driven someone else's car without insurance. A further 2% admit to driving their own car uninsured in between renewing their insurance policy.

Of those who admitted to driving without insurance, 18% say it was because they didn't know they needed insurance when behind the wheel. Over a third of these people (38%) blamed being in between insurance policies as the reason for driving uninsured, and 5% simply couldn't be bothered to arrange insurance cover. Seven per cent said there is no point having insurance as they don't believe they will crash and 6% simply can't afford the insurance cover.

In a bid to protect motorists from uninsured drivers, the new Continuous Insurance Enforcement (CIE) was introduced in 2011 which means anyone who is registered as an owner of a vehicle, which isn't registered as SORN (Statutory Off Road Notification), must have valid car insurance for it or face a penalty.

According to the research, younger motorists were found to be the biggest risk takers, with 29% of 18-34 year olds admitting to driving a vehicle they weren't insured to, compared to just 6% of over 55s. The research also revealed men were twice as likely to be tempted to take to the roads uninsured than women, with a fifth having driven without any insurance compared to 10% of female drivers.