'Parked' vehicles now need insurance

The government is forcing all motorists to insure their vehicle whether they drive it or not, under controversial rules that are designed to combat uninsured driving.

Under the terms of the little-known continuous insurance enforcement law, it will be an offence to "keep" an uninsured vehicle – be it a car, van, motorbike, motorhome or truck – even if it is locked up in the garage or permanently parked on a driveway. Until now it has only been an offence to actively drive an uninsured vehicle.

The change has been introduced quietly, but it will have a big impact on any motorist who has bought a new car but is yet to dispose of the old one, and on sports car owners who park their vehicles for much of the year.

Such drivers will no longer be able to put a car uninsured in the garage or parked off the road. In future they will have to contact the DVLA in Swansea, declare the car as "off the road" by filling in a statutory off road notification (Sorn), and give up the tax disc at the same time.

The government has introduced the changes, which appear at odds with its campaign to abolish red tape, as part of its fight against uninsured drivers.

A national advertising campaign has been launched by the Motor Insurers' Bureau (MIB), but few drivers are probably aware of the change.

Mike Penning, the road safety minister, says: "Uninsured drivers are a danger on our roads, killing 160 and injuring a further 23,000 people each year, and they cost honest motorists £500m in extra premiums.

"That is why we are introducing this tough new law, which will leave uninsured drivers with nowhere to hide. Our message is clear: get insured or face a fine, court action or seeing your car seized and destroyed."

However, the plan will have major cost implications for law-abiding vehicle owners who want to park their car temporarily after its insurance expires.

From Monday 20 June), the DVLA will work with the MIB to identify uninsured vehicles. Motorists will receive a letter telling them their vehicle appears to be uninsured, and warning them they will be fined unless they take action. The first letters will start going out in the next few days. If the keeper fails to insure the vehicle they will be given a £100 fine.

If the vehicle remains uninsured – regardless of whether or not the fine is paid – "further action will be taken", the MIB says. If the vehicle is on public land it could then be clamped, seized and destroyed. Alternatively, court action could be taken with the offender facing a fine of up to £1,000.

Vehicles with a valid Sorn will not need to be insured.

Ashton West, MIB chief executive, says that at any given time about 4% of vehicles have no motor insurance. "The change in law is a stepping up of enforcement activity, so that not only those vehicles driven without insurance will be caught. Now the registered keeper must make sure their vehicle is insured all the time."

Uninsured driving has become a huge problem in some areas, with some young men who have been "priced out" of insurance buying cars and taking to the road without cover.

Some will wonder why this has been introduced given that it is already an offence to drive an uninsured car. The police seize 180,000 vehicles each year for this offence, with offenders facing a £200 fixed penalty or a court fine of up to £5,000, and possible disqualification. About 200,000 people are convicted of uninsured driving every year.

Every time you give up your tax disc or buy a new one you lose money, unless you time it exactly for the end or the beginning of the month.

The move, however, has been welcomed by the insurance industry. Nigel Bartram, underwriting expert at the UK's biggest insurer, Aviva, says uninsured driving costs premium-paying motorists £30 a year on their insurance policies.

He says:"It is our hope that ridding the roads of uninsured drivers will reduce pressure on premiums. We welcome this as the strongest deterrent yet in the fight against uninsured driving. We know that those motorists driving without insurance are also likely to skip their annual MOT – in fact, they are six times more likely to drive an unsafe vehicle."

In April the prime minister announced his "red tape challenge" to get rid of unnecessary regulations. The AA has asked why driving licences have to be renewed after 10 years, and why some bus lanes are 24 hours, even though the buses don't run through the night.