News & Features

Some Young Drivers Break the Law to Cut the Cost of Motoring

Posted in General News on Tuesday, January 15th, 2019

Those who decide not to insure their vehicle are at risk of receiving a minimum fine of £300 and six penalty points on their driving licence. In spite of this, an estimated 500,000 young motorists are driving without insurance according to a survey conducted by the car insurance comparison website, comparethemarket.com. The high cost of motoring was cited as the main reason for this. It is now costing young motorists, that is to say those aged between 17 and 24, an average of £2,442 per year. The company found that one in five drivers knew of somebody who had avoided taking out a car insurance policy because they wanted to save money. Dan Hutson, head of Motor Insurance at Compare the Market, commented: “Motor insurance is a legal requirement and young drivers must realise that in avoiding taking out insurance for their vehicle, they are breaking the law and could incur severe penalties such as points on their licence, heavy fines and even a driving ban. That said; it is clear that young people are struggling to afford the cost of driving and this may be causing them to take such drastic steps.”

 In addition to this the company’s survey of more than 1000 drivers indicated that over 50% of those questioned had put off making necessary repairs to their vehicles because of the cost involved and a further 33% admitted to ignoring vehicle warning lights relating to brake fluid, oil, temperature and water. The final concerning fact to come out of the survey was that 12% of the participants couldn’t remember when their last MOT took place and the same amount of people said that they hadn’t taxed their car in order to save money. Failing to MOT your vehicle can result in a fine of up to £2,500 and three penalty points on your driving licence, whereas not taxing a vehicle can result in a £1,000 fine.

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