Double Indemnity

There have been some alarming reports recently concerning the number of uninsured drivers currently trawling the UK 's roads. Figures as high as 20% are touted, with an estimated cost of compensation hiking premiums by as much as £45.

Most stories focus on the increasing numbers of cash-strapped motorists 'creatively' adjusting some fine details on their proposal forms. These largely technical offences are, of course, easy to identify and punish simply because the offenders have, at least made some effort to obtain cover.

Like many areas of life in the increasingly Orwellian Britain of the early 21st Century, the quickest route to a successful prosecution and lucrative revenue is via the generally law-abiding citizen. Much harder to find real criminals because we don't have their details on a database.

To this end, the Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) camera provides an ideal way of checking up on any lapses by individuals already known to the system. Take road tax. Because you've paid it one year, the authorities can quite easily spot if you fail to renew it. Don't buy it in the first place and you stand a fair chance of getting away with it.

The same applies to insurance. The way the present hopelessly convoluted system works is that, in order to obtain your road fund licence, you must first present proof of third-party cover and vehicle roadworthiness [MOT] - even though the validity of either document doesn't necessarily cover the full period applied for. Crazy.

One might be forgiven for drawing the conclusion, because it is the tax disc which is required to be displayed on the vehicle, that the government places revenue above any issues of safety enforcement. Surely not.

There needs to be a drastic rethink. It has often been suggested that road tax be levied on fuel. On the face of it, a perfectly simple and fair solution. The problem, of course, is that without the ubiquitous little disc of paper [Why are they circular, anyway?], the roads would be awash with unlicensed vehicles.

The answer is very simple. Put the tax on the gas-guzzlers via fuel tax and put an MOT disc on your windscreen. Forget the present ludicrous exemption for new vehicles. They are no less likely to develop dangerous faults over the course of a year.

You can't realistically have an 'insurance disc' because it is the driver and not the car which is required to be covered. [Yes, I know, stick the insurance disc on the driver].

It is, perhaps, surprising that there are not more calls for filling station forecourt staff to verify fuel sales against number plates. A similar ethic is, after all, becoming common practice in some car parks, where your registration is recorded in order to prevent you from donating an unexpired ticket to a fellow motorist.

As with most innovation, there needs to be a political will. But, with an election looming, such fresh thinking might just prove to be a vote-catcher.

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