Expert Guides & Insurance Insights

Although the number of uninsured drivers in Britain has dropped, around 1.2 million are still on our roads, which has a detrimental impact on the cost of car insurance for everyone else. But worse still, if you are hit by an uninsured driver, knowing where to claim for damage or personal injury can be very confusing.

Some people choose to risk driving without a valid insurance policy in place. However, it’s illegal to drive on the road or in a public place without any form of insurance. You need to have third-party car insurance at the very least, or you could face a penalty.

New drink-drive limits are in the pipeline and designed to make us all more responsible drivers and to make everyone around us, passengers, pedestrians, and even the neighbourhood cat, feel secure when someone is behind the wheel.

The short answer is that it depends. If you are banned from driving for less than 56 days, this is known as a Short Period Disqualification (SPD), and you will usually not have to retake your test.

Driving a motor vehicle in a public place without insurance is classed as a serious offence, and you will be issued an IN10 Conviction. IN10 convictions are issued to people who drive without having the minimum third-party-only cover in place.

Looking for the quick facts? Here are the key statistics our research into drug driving uncovered: 1 in 20 of people in the UK admit to having driven a car at least once while under the influence of illegal drugs. 3% say they regularly do so. 1 in 20 admit to having driven while drowsy as the result of taking over the counter medication

During the month of December, alcohol consumption in the UK increases by over 40%. Despite repeated government campaigns on the rules of road safety and scheduled police vigilance in the UK, every year during Christmas, around 700,000 people are said to sit behind the wheel.

In December 2014, the Scottish Government lowered their legal drink-driving limit from 80mg in every 100ml of blood to just 50mg. Why? To try and tackle an increasing drink-driving problem that was seeing thousands of motorists each year convicted or injured due to getting behind the wheel whilst under the influence of alcohol.

Did you know it’s possible to avoid a six-month driving ban as a result of a driving offence or conviction? It’s not easy, though, as you have to prove to the court that you would suffer exceptional hardship if your license was revoked.