Insured Drivers Pay €40 For Uninsured Drivers ?

zenno

I have just heard that all people that pay car/van etc.. insurance have to pay €40 from their insurance extra for uninsured drivers, is this really the case ? and what can be done about it ?

Why the heck should I or any other insured driver have to pay €40 out of my insurance so that uninsured drivers can get away with it.

challengemaster

It's not "so that they get away with it", it's so the poor shmuck that gets hit by an uninsured driver doesn't get shafted for something that isn't their fault. Mibi compensate for the loss/injury in uninsured cases.

And to actually answer your question as to why we all have to pay (ie. why there are uninsured drivers in the first place) - you can blame the gardaí for lack of enforcement.

coylemj

zenno wrote: »

Why the heck should I or any other insured driver have to pay €40 out of my insurance so that uninsured drivers can get away with it.

Because the money goes into a fund which ensures that if you or your loved one gets whacked by an insured driver, you will get some compensation.

There is a valid argument which says that law-abiding motorists shouldn't have to pay for this fund and that it should be funded from central Government but you can start a separate thread on that if you want to and while you're at it, start a thread on why €12 of my TV licence goes to pay for TG4 and why I shouldn't have the option to tell the Irish language mafia to p*** off and pay for their own TV channel.

coylemj

challengemaster wrote: »

And to actually answer your question as to why we all have to pay (ie. why there are uninsured drivers in the first place) - you can blame the gardaí for lack of enforcement.

Enforcement can never eliminate the problem, there will always be a problem with disqualified drivers driving around with an insurance disc on the windscreen and uninsured 'friends' driving a borrowed car who are not covered because they are under 25 or don't have a full licence (when were you last asked to show your licence?).

If the Gardai really tried to enforce the regulations, you better be prepared for very long queues at traffic checkpoints.

zenno

I see. I can't imagine many garda cars having this new camera system in their car or i could be just wrong, to catch uninsured drivers...

From the AA.

At the heart of these new enforcement measures by Gardaí is a new automatic number plate reading system which has been in operation since June 1st of this year. The new system allows Gardaí through the use of cameras installed in marked and unmarked cars to read number plates of passing cars to identify those which are uninsured.

Source: http://www.theaa.ie/AA/Ezine/AA-Ezine-September-2011/Tighting-the-noose-on-uninsured-drivers.aspx

I don't really get why people drive uninsured, because if they are caught they will obviously get a large fine and possibly 10 years banned from driving, so it makes sense just to pay the couple of hundred for insurance instead of having to pay a huge fine.

goz83

zenno wrote: »

I see. I can't imagine many garda cars having this new camera system in their car or i could be just wrong, to catch uninsured drivers...

From the AA.

Source: http://www.theaa.ie/AA/Ezine/AA-Ezine-September-2011/Tighting-the-noose-on-uninsured-drivers.aspx

I don't really get why people drive uninsured, because if they are caught they will obviously get a large fine and possibly 10 years banned from driving, so it makes sense just to pay the couple of hundred for insurance instead of having to pay a huge fine.

Sometimes they have no licence, so can't get insured.

Sometimes they have a ban on license, so can't get insured.

Sometimes they have just had a ban removed and insurance is so high, they can't afford insurance.

Sometimes they are just ignorant fcukers and don't give a toss.

coylemj

zenno wrote: »

I see. I can't imagine many garda cars having this new camera system in their car or i could be just wrong, to catch uninsured drivers...

From the AA.

Source: http://www.theaa.ie/AA/Ezine/AA-Ezine-September-2011/Tighting-the-noose-on-uninsured-drivers.aspx

Insurance doesn't cover a car, it covers the use of a car in specific circumstances so even if the owner of a car has a policy, it doesn't mean that at a particular point in time his car out on the road is covered by that policy because it could be driven by a driver who is either disqualified or underage, or the car is being driven for a purpose which is not covered like someone has an ordinary policy but is out on the road selling goods or services.

None of those situations can be detected by technology.

zenno

No wonder our insurance has gone up so much. Arseholes is all i can say.

If they can't afford insurance they should just get the fecking bus, it would be quite obvious that if they have no insurance then they have no tax nothing zero and when they do hit someone or kill someone i hope they get a long spell in prison.

Insurance doesn't cover a car, it covers the use of a car in specific circumstances

I do understand that.

Cookie_Monster

It's not €40, it's 2% isn't it? So could be a lot lot more than that depending on your insurance cost.

zenno

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

It's not €40, it's 2% isn't it? So could be a lot lot more than that depending on your insurance cost.

It could be indeed, I just heard of this this evening, i'm not exactly sure how it works out though.

oldyouth

There has always been this contribution to fund the MIB (totally separate from the Government levies). As far as I know, it it used to be far more than €40, so things are improving. I though it was common knowledge that law abiding motorists subsidise the assholes that drive uninsured

http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/uninsured-drivers-add-40-to-average-premium-232438.html

djimi

Cant speak for anyone else, but I certainly dont mind paying €40 a year to know that if some uninsured piece of scum hits me I have a route to claim for my damages.

jimgoose

Unfortunately that's the way of it. Uninsured drivers is a bit of a problem in most jurisdictions, and a costly one. Think of it as one of your Unspecified All-Risks.

Henry Ford III

coylemj wrote: »

Insurance doesn't cover a car, it covers the use of a car in specific circumstances so even if the owner of a car has a policy, it doesn't mean that at a particular point in time his car out on the road is covered by that policy because it could be driven by a driver who is either disqualified or underage, or the car is being driven for a purpose which is not covered like someone has an ordinary policy but is out on the road selling goods or services.

None of those situations can be detected by technology.

My insurance provides comp. cover when my car is parked too.

p.s. Open drive policies are available.

Liam McPoyle

IIRC the levy charged on insurance policies because of Quinn Directs shytehawkery is more than the one for the insurance compensation fund.