1 in 12 vehicles on Irish roads not insured – Motor Insurer’s Bureau of Ireland
The number of uninsured private vehicles on Irish roads grew for the third year in a row, according to new research carried out by the Motor Insurers’ Bureau of Ireland.
Last year the total number of private vehicles driving without insurance reached 187,803, an increase of 13,626 on 2021.
The figures show that uninsured vehicles accounted for 8.3% of the entire fleet of private vehicles on Irish roads.
This means that one in every 12 vehicles was breaking the law and driving without insurance last year.
The MIBI said since 2020, there are now more than 32,000 additional uninsured vehicles on Irish roads.
Under Irish law, the penalties for vehicles found without valid insurance include An Garda Síochána having the power to seize the vehicle on the spot, as well as other significant penalties such as an automatic court appearance, five penalty points and a substantial fine.
The MIBI undertakes this research by contrasting the number of private motor vehicle owners paying motor taxes with the number of vehicles who have active insurance policies.
It is a not for profit organisation that was established to compensate victims of road traffic accidents caused by uninsured and unidentified vehicles.
“Clearly not enough is being done to discourage uninsured driving in this country,” said David Fitzgerald, CEO of the MIBI.
“Every single time a person drives a vehicle without insurance they are breaking the law. Yet the number of uninsured vehicles continues to rise.
“Within the last two years, the number of private vehicles being driven illegally without insurance has grown by more than 32,000. That is a really, really significant increase and should be a cause of concern to anyone who is interested in the rule of law and the safety of Irish roads.”
Mr Fitzgerald said if the current trend were to continue then we are likely to pass 200,000 uninsured vehicles in the next 12 to 18 months.
“The most obvious solution to all this is also easily within reach, in the form of the new Irish Motor Insurance Database system being fully adopted and data used by An Garda Síochána in their Automatic Number Plate Recognition systems and new garda mobility devices,” he said.
He added that this would allow uninsured drivers to be simply and quickly identified without having to even be stopped and pulled over.
It would enable gardaí to check vehicles on the road without even leaving their cars.
They could also use their mobility devices to quickly check the insurance status of vehicles and drivers, thus speeding up the validation process in front line operations.
“If the Government wanted to take action on this issue they would be pressing for the full and immediate implementation of that system,” Mr Fitzgerald said.
“However as the relevant legislation required to completely enable that is still working its way through the Oireachtas, it would seem we still have some distance to travel before the country really clamps down on the problem of uninsured driving.”
