19 August 2008
New laws on careless driving should be extended to penalise those driving without a valid car insurance policy, Direct Line has claimed. The legislation, which came into force this week, states that uninsured, unlicensed or disqualified motorists who cause death on the roads will be given a custodial prison sentence of up to two years. However, Direct Line insists the law does not go far enough and should cover all uninsured motorists, not just those who cause fatalities. Maggie Game, Head of Car Insurance at Direct Line, said: "Uninsured drivers are far more likely to be young and have prior driving convictions and with an estimated 1.5 million uninsured drivers on our roads, they pose a significant risk to responsible road users." She said accidents involving uninsured drivers kill around 200 people a year. Research from Sainsbury's Bank revealed that the average cost of car insurance has risen by almost 6% in the last year.