Is it the law to have your Certificate of Insurance with you?

doubledown

Hi all.

Just a quick question. I was stopped at a routine checkpoint last week on my way home. I had everything to do with my car in order - Insurance Disc, NCT Certificate and Tax - all clearly displayed and up to date. I also had my full driving licence on me and ready to showit. The bangarda checked everything over and then asked me if I had my insurance certificate. When I said no, she asked me to pull over and told me I had to produce the document within 10 days to a Garda Station of my choice.

Is this the law? What's the point in carrying the certificate if you have a valid disc? I don't fancy leaving it in the car as it has my address on it. Has anyone else heard of this or had a similar experience?

ncc98071

Same thing happened me and I didnt get a chance to show the insurance cert till 12 days after been stopped
Up in court now for now showing it
annoying when I had all the relevant discs displayed

faceman

You didnt do anything wrong and the gardai are entitled to ask for it giving you 10 days to produce it if they want. I have mine in the car now just in case i am stopped as i dont want the hassle of having to go to a station.

They should be asking for it more to try clamp down on those who drive illegally without the right insurance, or any at all.

Biro

I get asked for it now at checkpoints too.
What the hell is the point in cluttering our windscreens with sh!te when we're forced to bring the cert anyway? Either do it one way or the other. Typical Irish backwards method of everything.
I refuse to put the NCT "disk" on my windscreen, I just keep the cert in the glovebox. Plastering the windscreen with stupid holders and disks is just lunacy. Bring the certs and produce them when asked is what I'm in favour of, just have the tax disk in the windscreen, like in the UK.

ballooba

You can get a credit card sized copy to keep in your wallet. Eagle Star offer it anyway.

Robbo

Biro wrote: »

I get asked for it now at checkpoints too.
What the hell is the point in cluttering our windscreens with sh!te when we're forced to bring the cert anyway?

For a named driver to be able to prove that they're actually insured on the policy that's on the disk?

Gregor Samsa

Robbo wrote: »

For a named driver to be able to prove that they're actually insured on the policy that's on the disk?

Then why don't they put the names on the disk?

TestTransmission

Axa gave me a card with the policy number and my name on it.Fits into me wallet

Mena

Hmm, wasn't aware that the actual cert was required as well. I'll be taking mine along with me from now on, if only to avoid having to pop in and produce it within the 10 day limit.

tinkerbell

I didn't know this! I think my insurance cert is in my glovebox ... at least I hope it is. Thought you only needed the actual disc! :eek:

fletch

I keep my policy number as a text message in my phone. Would this suffice if I was stopped by a Gard? Like the OP, I don't fancy keeping it in my car for fear of a break in and possible identity theft.

Stephen

The policy number is on the insurance disc too anyway.

seamus

The policy number is written on your disc.

There is no legal requirement to carry your insurance certificate on or about your vehicle, only the disc.

A Garda however is perfectly entitled to ask you to produce within ten days, no matter what you have on yoru phone, in your wallet or on your windscreen.

D_murph

well that is a load of crap anyway.

as another poster on here asked, why do we have to bother putting the disc on the windscreen at all so?

its an "offence" to have something impairing your view through the windscreen, yet you must have up to 3 discs on there depending on if your car is of NCT age. yet theyre still not happy with that FFS :rolleyes:

while were at it so we might as well bring the receipt from the tax office, the NCT cert and your birth cert, passport and garda i.d. with you everywhere just in case they dont believe you are who you say you are even from your driving license photo.

its ok though cos i never have anything else to be doing so i have plenty of time to be calling into garda stations proving that i am insured, great laugh :rolleyes::rolleyes: :mad:

Henry Ford III

I can confirm it's not a legal requirement to carry your motor insurance policy.

Biro

D_murph wrote: »

while were at it so we might as well bring the receipt from the tax office, the NCT cert and your birth cert, passport and garda i.d. with you everywhere just in case they dont believe you are who you say you are even from your driving license photo.

Exactly! Stick all up on the window! Pure daft.

ScouseMouse

The reason you have to present your policy to the station is because the disk in your windscreen means very little. If you jump into my car, which has a disk, you are not insured to drive it. I am, my wife is named on the policy - so she is, but you are not. There is nothing on the disk in the windscreen, that says YOU are insured to drive that car. It is a reasonable check by the guard that YOU are insured.

The crap starts when, like me, you present to Tallaght station but they didnt log it. So I get a summons to Richmond court for not having insurance. The fecking row I caused. The Sergant on duty didnt know what hit him.

fletch

superscouse wrote: »

There is nothing on the disk in the windscreen, that says YOU are insured to drive that car. It is a reasonable check by the guard that YOU are insured.

Surely a call to your insurance company when you are stopped should be sufficient then rather than having to go to the hassle of producing it at the station?

ninty9er

fletch wrote: »

Surely a call to your insurance company when you are stopped should be sufficient then rather than having to go to the hassle of producing it at the station?

How many insurance companies can you name that have someone available to answer that question at 2 am??

D_murph

fletch wrote: »

Surely a call to your insurance company when you are stopped should be sufficient then rather than having to go to the hassle of producing it at the station?

that would be the easy way to do it but..........:rolleyes:

msg11

Stopped last night by the gardai. He asked me for my license, which usually means to me, everything.

Gave him the envelope, license, insurance, cert of insurance, log book, nct report form.

Was let on my way....

Wonder why sometimes do we display anything??

LarWright

phutyle wrote: »

Then why don't they put the names on the disk?

The Disc shows that someone somewhere has insured the car, the Cert names the people legally insured to drive it. If they put the names on the Disc, it'd take up more space etc....

ncc98071 wrote: »

Same thing happened me and I didnt get a chance to show the insurance cert till 12 days after been stopped
Up in court now for now showing it
annoying when I had all the relevant discs displayed

It's annoying having to go to a Garda station alright, but in fairness, there's no excuse for not doing it within the 10 days. They're open 24/7!! If you were out of the country, bring travel docs to show the Judge etc....

Henry Ford III wrote: »

I can confirm it's not a legal requirement to carry your motor insurance policy.

This is true aswell... OP, the reason the Garda asked you on the spot for your cert, would be to save you the hassle of going to the Garda station, if you didn't have it on you, that's why she pulled you over, to take details so she could make sure you produced it.

The long and short is, if you want an easy life, carry the Cert on you. I personally don't, but work accross the road from a Garda station so it's too handy to produce if I have to.

Just remember.... The Garda can "nearly" do what they want, when they want, to who they want. I hate it myself, but if you ever complain, they do SFA about it!

ScouseMouse

fletch wrote: »

Surely a call to your insurance company when you are stopped should be sufficient then rather than having to go to the hassle of producing it at the station?

Do you really think a guard is going to stand there while you are on hold waiting to speak to someone. What if its after 5pm?

Ah come on now....

D_murph

superscouse wrote: »

Do you really think a guard is going to stand there while you are on hold waiting to speak to someone. What if its after 5pm?

Ah come on now....

course not, the doughnuts are being delivered as you speak and he/she doeasnt want to be late and all the nice ones are gone.

besides its much easier to inconvenience you isnt it than themselves...:rolleyes: