7:00am Wednesday 3rd March 2010
By Paul Broome
A HEREFORDSHIRE town is among the worst in the UK for uninsured motorists, according to new figures.
Leominster was rated ninth in a list of no-insurance hotspots by price comparison website moneysupermarket. com.
Around one in eight young male drivers in the town has a conviction for driving without insurance, according to quotes the company has analysed over the last 12 months.
Martin Rover-Parkes, vice-chairman of the Herefordshire Advanced Motorists (HAM) group, said insuring your vehicle was absolutely essential.
“If you have an accident, people often say ‘it’s only a car’. However if you are not insured and you seriously injure someone, then that poor person is going to have no financial support to look after his or her life.
“I think young drivers feel they can’t afford insurance after buying the car, taxing it and paying out for petrol. They often take the risk.”
Uninsured drivers cost the insurance industry an estimated £500 million a year.
The Scottish town of Sanquhar in Dumfriesshire topped the chart, with 28 per cent of men in their early 20s having convictions on their licence for the offence.
Steve Sweeney, moneysupermarket.
com’s head of car insurance, said: “Whatever the distance, driving without insurance is illegal.
“Anyone caught doing so could face hefty penalties, which include a £200 onthe- spot fine and six points on their licence.
“Unfortunately, with recent news that the cost of comprehensive car insurance increased by almost 19 per cent in 2009, we could see the number of uninsured drivers on our roads increase in the future.”
HAM, which is affiliated to the Institute of Advanced Motorists, runs a Mydrivealive initiative for 17 to 30-yearolds teaching them better, safer driving.
The course is led by other young drivers who have qualified as advanced drivers.
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