Driving With No Insurance Offences

Caught Driving With No Insurance?

The Magistrates Court treats driving uninsured (driving with no insurance) very seriously. This is because of the implications were you to have an accident without having a valid insurance policy in place to cover third parties.

All the prosecution need to prove therefore, for you to be found guilty of driving with no insurance, is that you were driving a motor vehicle and were on a public road when the alleged offence occurred.

The burden of proof passes to the Defendant (you) to prove that you were insured at the time you were driving. Because this is a documentary offence, you are expected to be able to make your policy documentation available.

It would be virtually impossible for the prosecution to prove that you were driving with no insurance.

This is because, they would have to contact every policy provider in the country. Additionally, they would need to use their insurance database in order to establish that there was no valid car insurance policy of cover in place.

Driving without insurance is one of the only road traffic offences where the defendant has to prove anything.

Contractual / Civil Law Overlap in Criminal Allegations of Driving With No Insurance

It's our firm belief that we are absolutely the leading experts in assessing and if appropriate defending driving without insurance allegations.

We constantly encounter scenarios where there is a real gap in knowledge and understanding on the part of other lawyers / prosecutors as well as police officers in relation to this particular offence. Perhaps more than any other offence.

It has always been perceived that driving with no insurance offences are black and white. You either have valid insurance in place or you don't. If you don't have insurance then arguing that you did not mean to drive with no insurance is no defence and therefore you have no choice but to plead guilty.

It is correct to suggest that there is no need for the prosecution to prove that you had a guilty mind, that you meant to commit the offence.

This is what we call a strict liability offence. However, this does not make driving without insurance offences black-and-white or simplistic. It's quite the contrary.

Void Insurance Conditions for the Purposes of Meeting Third Party Liability

Have a look at section 148 road traffic act 1988. This stipulate that any condition in the policy which suggests that the vehicle insurance policy would be automatically void as a result of the following factors;

(a) the age or physical or mental condition of persons driving the vehicle,

(b) the condition of the vehicle,

(c) the number of persons that the vehicle carries,

(d) the weight or physical characteristics of the goods that the vehicle carries,

(e) the time at which or the areas within which the vehicle is used,

(f) the horsepower or cylinder capacity or value of the vehicle,

(g) the carrying on the vehicle of any particular apparatus, or

(h) the carrying on the vehicle of any particular means of identification other than any means of identification required to be carried by or under [F2 the Vehicle Excise and Registration Act 1994],

is to be treated as void for the purposes of third party liability. Therefore if there was to be an accident and damages were to be claimed by a third party an insurance company would be obliged to meet that claim in accordance with section 148.

That does not mean that the insurance company could not then sue the policyholder for breach of contract retrospectively (we are not civil litigation lawyers).

However it means that there is valid insurance in place that must cover any claim in relation to third party liability, thus the minimum standard, therefore satisfying an individuals responsibilities under section 143 to be insured to the minimum standard and therefore a defence to an allegation of driving with no insurance.

Never take a suggestion that despite having a policy that is active at the relevant time it would be automatically void without speaking to us first.

We estimate that over 90% of the people we speak to in this scenario do have a valid defence. We normally manage to get these cases dropped without the need for a trial.

The police have suggested that your insurance is invalid / voided and the insurance company have given a statement in agreement with this suggestion

Sometimes we deal with cases where the officer has suggested that the insurance is automatically void despite on the face of it, the individual being insured.

Often the officer has made this suggestion for one of the reasons outlined above and the insurance company will have given a statement in the proceedings to support that contention.

Again specialist motoring offence lawyers never forget the overlap between civil law and criminal law.

If we reach the conclusion that the police and the insurance company are wrong and that had there have been an accident the insurance company would have been obliged to indemnify the driver as a result of their contractual obligations.

We are effectively dealing with a situation where there is a contract dispute and whether or not you have committed a road traffic offence of driving with no insurance depends on whether or not the stance of your insurance company is correct in relation to the special rules applying to the insurance and general contract principles.

If the insurance company are wrong then they are in breach of contract and causing you to be in trouble with the criminal law as a direct result. Assessing contractual obligations and whether or not a contract would be binding is not a matter for the criminal courts. It is a civil law issue.

Sometimes we have to point this out to the court if on the face of it the stance being taken amounts to a potential breach of contract.

If you follow this to its logical extreme it would suggest that proceedings should be issued in the civil courts in order for a determination to be reached as to whether or not the insurance company are in breach of contract by failing to honour the terms and conditions of the contract by giving a statement to the police to suggest that you would be uninsured in the circumstances.

They are effectively stating that their interpretation of the contract means that you would not have been covered.

We've not had a case where we've had to test this principle to that logical extreme, but it is certainly fair to say that the correct venue to assess a breach of contract argument would not be in the magistrates / criminal courts.

It is our view that if such a dispute arises the criminal proceedings should be put on hold whilst civil proceedings are instigated for a determination as to whether or not the insurance company are in breach of their contract by making that suggestion in the criminal proceedings.

Social and Domestic Insurance Policy Used For A Business Journey

So for example, if someone has a social and domestic insurance policy covering the use of that vehicle by them on that particular date and it is suggested by the prosecution that the nature of the usage was not in accordance with the specific terms and conditions of the policy, (so a social and domestic policy where it is suggested by the officer that the vehicle is being used for business purposes at the time the driver is pulled over).

The burden reverts back to the prosecution to prove beyond reasonable doubt that the insurance policy would not have covered the individual to do what they were doing, rather than the burden being on the driver to prove that it would have covered them.

Therefore if you can establish prima facie evidence of insurance cover the burden goes back to the Crown prosecution service to prove that the policy would not have covered the driver in those particular circumstances.

The police do not seem to have appreciated this change / shift in no insurance offence case law.

This often means that they do not go to the necessary lengths to establish proof in relation to what it is the individual is doing at the relevant time and in order to prove beyond reasonable doubt that they would not have been covered if the matter was to proceed to trial.

Keeping a Vehicle Without Insurance

The charge of keeping a vehicle without insurance should not be confused with using a vehicle without insurance.

“Using” is the one that most people will know and covers any person who drives or permits someone to drive a car without insurance. The offence carries 6-8 penalty points. 

“Keeping” is very different and doesn’t require any person to drive the car – merely keep it without a policy in place.

In accordance with Section 144A of the Road Traffic Act 1998 if you are found to be the registered keeper of a vehicle without the required insurance you will be subject to a fixed penalty notice of £100 – but no penalty points.

The Law

Regardless of the condition of the vehicle or where it is kept, unless the DVLA have been notified that your vehicle is being kept off road by means of a Statutory Off Road Notice (SORN), then you will be required to maintain valid insurance for your vehicles. If you don’t, you could be liable for a fine.

In the instance where you have purchased or received a vehicle that the previous owner had completed the SORN, you will have to complete the SORN as well, as it is non-transferable. 

Once you have completed a SORN for your vehicle it cannot be kept on a public road, you must keep it in a garage, on a driveway or on private land.

In the case of Fundo de Garantia Automovel v Juliana and another (Case C-80/17) the court ruled even if the owner and register keeper has no intention of using the vehicle it is still the sole responsibility and obligation of the vehicle’s owner to ensure there is valid insurance or to formally withdraw it from use (via SORN). 

Whilst this took part in an EU court, as is the nature of the Legal System of England and Wales, parts of this legislation are still applicable in our court system.

In this instance the register keeper, Juliana did not have insurance on her vehicle whilst it was parked on private land.  As Juliana was in ill health, she had no intention of using the vehicle. However, as an incident happened in her vehicle by a named driver, the hearing was to establish if Juliana, as the owner and register keeper of an uninsured vehicle was culpable of making payment to the victims of the incident as she was at fault for not having a valid insurance policy despite having no intention to drive it. As she had not took the necessary steps to declare her vehicle of the road, she was found to be at fault.

Whilst the liability for payment of the victims of this incident would not apply in English and Welsh Courts, this demonstrates that it is the owner and register keepers’ responsibility to ensure they have taken the necessary steps to declare the vehicle off the road, which in England and Wales is done via SORN.

Your SORN will automatically be cancelled when you tax your vehicle, if you sell the vehicle, have it scrapped or permanently exported. Otherwise, you will not need to renew your SORN.

Exceptions

There are exceptions to this which are detailed in Section 144B of the Road Traffic Act 1998. Some of these exceptions include if your vehicle has been registered “between registered keepers” or registered as “in trade”.  Other exceptions are if your vehicle has been stolen and reported to the police, and yet to be recovered, or if you are not in possession of the vehicle at the time.

Furthermore, if your vehicle is under the operation or control of the emergency services or has been given permission from the Secretary of State for healthcare or local authority purposes, they will be exempt. 

If you feel that you have exceptional circumstances relating to why your vehicle was not insured, please do get in contact for a free legal advice call.

Keeping Without Insurance Penalties

In practice the DVLA will often send a letter warning you that unless the vehicle is insured or declared SORN, the registered keeper will receive a fine.

If you are issued a fixed penalty notice, it will offer you the opportunity to avoid a criminal conviction by paying a fine of up to £100 which you may pay via pre-paying and posting a letter containing the amount of the penalty in cash or other means addressed to person and address as stated in your fixed penalty notice letter, this is outlined in Section 144C of the Road Traffic Act 1998. This is not an endorsable offence, and as such you will not receive any points on your licence.

Should you fail to pay your fixed penalty could be subject to face prosecution in Magistrates Court, with a possible maximum fine of up to £1000, as well as prosecution costs and a victim surcharge. 

What to do if you are Accused of keeping with no insurance

Initially you should get a warning letter from the DVLA before action is taken, but they by law they don’t have to give you a warning so don’t be surprised if they go straight to the fixed penalty stage. 

If you are sent a fixed penalty, you have a choice to make – either accept it, pay the £100 fine and move on, or reject it and take your chances at Court.

If you take the matter to Court, you will be sent a Court summons asking you to plead guilty or not guilty. If you plead guilty, you will be given fines, costs and a surcharge to pay. If you plead not guilty the case will be listed for trial a couple of months down the line. That gives you a couple of months to prepare your defence (under one of the defences outlined in s.144B).

But be warned, if you take the matter to trial and lose, you will lose credit in sentencing meaning the fines, costs and surcharge will all increase. And in addition, any fine imposed at Court may be regarded as a conviction (whereas a fixed penalty is not), which could have other implications.

In Practice

We always urge professional drivers to seek legal advice before deciding whether to proceed with Court and a trial.

Here at Patterson Law we see a couple of mistakes get repeated regularly. The most common is where people keep an un-SORN’d vehicle on private land – thinking that because it’s on private land it doesn’t need to be insured. In December alone we had 3 enquiries on this basis. Don’t forget, if you have a vehicle, either declare it SORN or insure it, regardless of where it’s parked. If you have declared it SORN, then you must keep it off road. 

Another mistake we often see is upon purchasing a vehicle declared as SORN thinking that they don’t have to make any declaration themselves.

The earlier you can seek advice the better. If you can seek advice at the fixed penalty stage we can review the case and advise whether to pay the fine or take it to Court – potentially saving you hundreds of pounds. 

You Are Required To Prove The Driver Was Insured

Over the years the police have developed a practice of requiring proof that the person concerned was in fact insured.

If you have nominated this person as being the driver and you cannot prove that they had insurance at the time then the police will often pursue an allegation of permitting them to drive without insurance rather than charging you with failing to name the driver based on the assumption that the initial nomination was incorrect.

The rationale behind this is most likely to do with the burden of proof. If you were to be charged with failing to provide the driver then the prosecution would have to prove the person you nominated was not driving at the time.

Whereas if you are charged with permitting that person to drive with no insurance and then (due to the reverse burden of proof in relation to the documentary defences - see above) you would have to prove on the balance of probabilities that they were insured.

The position on the part of the police seems disingenuous, but effectively what they are saying is that they will accept that the individual concerned was driving at face value but they still require you to prove that the individual concerned was road legal.

Permitting somebody to drive with no insurance carries 6 to 8 penalty points or a discretionary disqualification and is almost identical to driving the vehicle without insurance yourself in terms of the relevant sanctions available.

Special Reasons Arguments

Special reasons can be found on the basis that you had an honest and reasonable misapprehension that you were insured even if the insurance isn't valid or has already been cancelled.

This would normally be with relation to the circumstances in which you were driving at the time; Namely that you were driving under the genuine misapprehension that you were insured.

Magistrates have the discretion not to impose any penalty points on your licence if you successfully argue that there are special reasons involved.

If you have been misled by your insurance company or somebody else regarding the nature and specifics of your cover, you can establish 'Special reasons'.

Assuming of course that this led you to believe that you were properly insured when you were driving.

You may also be able to use a 'special reasons argument' if your insurance company cancelled the policy without good reason and failed to notify you in advance of the offence occurring.

In order to successfully argue 'special reasons', you will need to support your argument giving evidence under oath.

It is also necessary to provide documentary evidence in order to support your defence. (see our comprehensive information page about using special reasons arguments)

More Information About Driving Without Insurance

Useful No Insurance Offence Links;

Latest figures show How Many UK Motorists caught each year for driving without car insurance?

Check If Your Vehicle Has Valid Insurance In Place Motor Insurance Database

If you are looking for an insurance quote or cover, please visit http://www.moneysupermarket.com/car-insurance/ , Compare The Market or Go Compare

Do you have any questions about being stopped for driving without insurance or permitting someone to drive with no insurance offences? Please ask and we will gladly give you legal advice based on the specifics of your case and offence.