Defences to Driving Without Insurance

Defences to driving without insurance are limited but do exist. The Road Traffic Act 1988 is clear in defining the requirement for a driver to ensure that they have an appropriate policy in place. This does not however mean that there are no defences, and this article helps discuss what options are open to you if you have found yourself charged with such an offence.

Driving without insurance – The statistics

Defences to driving without insurance are well sought as this is one of the most common motoring offences, we receive enquires about. Every motorist is required by law to hold a valid insurance policy when driving or keeping a vehicle on UK roads. However, according to a recent study by the Motor Insurers Bureau scheme, there are a shocking one million uninsured drivers on UK roads, accounting for 4% of all motorists in the UK. This article outlines the many ways you can unintentionally find yourself driving without insurance and the potential defences available to you.

Reasons you may have driven without insurance.

There are a number of reasons a motorist can find themselves without insurance such as, but not limited to:

• The motorists insurance policy expiring unbeknownst to them
• The motorist mistakenly taking out the wrong insurance policy
• The motorist failing to updating their registration details when changing over a registration plate
• The motorist being misinformed they held a valid insurance policy by a parent or partner
• The motorist being misinformed by an employer they were insured to drive as part of their employment
• The motorist only holding personal and not business insurance

If you have been charged with driving without insurance; we would always recommend obtaining legal advice from a motorist specialist, who will be able to advise you if you have a potential defence available to you and the best course of action moving forward. Our driving without insurance page can help you get the support you need.

Legislation & Sentencing.

Section 143 1(a) of the Road Traffic Act 1988 outlines the legislation for this offence stating:

‘a person must not use a motor vehicle on a road or other public place unless there is in force in relation to the use of the vehicle by that person such a policy of insurance.. as complied with the requirements of this part of this Act..’

Pursuant to the Magistrates Guidelines, driving without insurance carries a sentence ranging from a six penalty point endorsement and a band c fine; to a driving disqualification of up to 12 months. When determining where you would fall within the remit of the guidelines, the Magistrate Judges will take into consideration how many (if any) factors of culpability and harm are present. For example; factors indicating higher culpability include:

• a motorist who has never passed their test
• driving for hire or reward
• driving a goods vehicle
• providing false details
• sustained periods of driving while uninsured

Factors that indicate greater harm include:

• being involved in an accident where injury has been caused
• being involved in an accident where damage has been caused.

_________________________________________________________________________________

Need advice about IN10? Ask our expert motor offence solicitors – 

call 0333 443 2366 or send an enquiry.

_____________________________________________________________

Defences to No Insurance

Driving without insurance is a ‘strict liability’ offence, which essentially means that if you drive without insurance you are guilty of the offence and thus should plead guilty. As a result, there are very limited defences available for this offence. Potential defences include:

If you were not the driver at the time the offence was committed, this is of course a full defence. You will need to nominate the driver by responding to your Section 172 notice (Notice of Intended Prosecution), providing the persons details where possible. If do not know who the driver was, as a result of you vehicle being stolen/used without your consent, you should make the police aware of the as soon as possible, as you may later need to evidence this if your matter proceeds to a court hearing.

If you were in fact insured to drive at the time of the offence, you will need to provide supporting documents to evidence that you held a valid insurance policy for the type of journey you were taking at the time of the offence.

If your employer advised you that you were insured to drive a company owned vehicle . If you were advised by your employer that you were insured to drive a company vehicle as part of your employment duties – you may have a defence. Section 143 Road Traffic Act 1988 states that a person will be not convicted of driving without insurance if the following is true.

• That the vehicle did not belong to him/her and was not in his possession under a loan agreement or contract hire;
• That he/she was using the vehicle in the course of his/her employment
• That he/she did not know, or have any reason to believe that a sufficient insurance policy was in place to cover the use

If all the forementioned points apply, you would may a statutory defence to the offence of driving without insurance. This will of course depend on the terms of your employment and most notably if your insurer has informed you that you were insured to drive. It will also likely be imperative that your employer prepare a supporting statement or attend court to assert the same.

There are some circumstances that will not amount to a full defence but ought to be taken into consideration by the court. The law does make provisions for those who have made a genuine error or have special circumstances as to why the offence was committed. This is called a Special Reasons Argument.

Special Reasons Argument

 As established in R v Wickens (1958) 42 Cr App R 436 (CA), for a matter to be defined as a special reason it must :

• Be a mitigating or extenuating circumstance
• Not amount in law to a full defence
• Be directly connected with the commission of the offence
• Be a reason which the court ought properly to take into consideration when imposing a sentence

The most common special reasons arguments for no insurance are as follows:

 A genuine and honest belief: If at the time the offence was committed you held an honest and genuine belief you were correctly insured to drive your vehicle, this could qualify as a special reason (Rennison v Knowler (1947)). This special reason would be relevant in the following circumstances:

• If you were informed by a parent or partner that they had insured you to drive/added you to their policy and thus at the time of the offence believed you held a valid insurance policy. In order for this special reasons argument to have reasonable grounds of success, the person who informed you that you were insured to drive will need to prepare a supporting statement and attend Court to assert the same.
• If your insurance policy has been cancelled unbeknownst to yourself. This could be a result of you policy not auto renewing as it normally would or a payments defaulting, resulting in the policy being cancelled by your provider. In order for this special reasons argument to have reasonable grounds of success, you would need to evidence that you previously held a valid insurance policy in place prior to the policy being cancelled. The policy should also have only been cancelled a reasonable amount of time prior to the offence being committed. For example, a policy which was cancelled within the preceding month is much more believable than if your policy has not been in place for six month. You will also need to evidence that you have previously paid for your insurance policy. Again, these payment must have only recently been missed. This of course, will differ dependant on whether you pay for your insurance policy on an annual or monthly basis.
• If you completed your registration details incorrectly. You may have taken out the correct insurance policy but either yourself or your insurance provider recorded your registration plate details incorrectly, unbeknownst to you . In order for this special reasons argument to have reasonable grounds of success, you would need to obtain a supporting letter outlining the mistake was an admin error on their end that has since been resolved (if your insurer is at fault). If the fault is a personal admin error, you would need to demonstrate to the court that you have made regular payments for the insurance policy and that it is for the correct make/model of vehicle – the only error is the registration plate. This argument will be much stronger if the mistake is only a letter/number different to the correct details.
• If you have been sold a fraudulent insurance policy. With technology advancing and both online and in person insurance scams becoming more prevalent – an ever increasingly number of people are falling victim to insurance fraud. If you held a genuine and honest belief the policy you had taken out was legitimate, you could run a special reasons argument on this basis. In order for your special reasons argument to have reasonable grounds of success, you would need to evidence that you have made payment/s for this policy, that you were provided with confirmation of the sale of an insurance policy and a certificate of insurance. It would also further assist your case, if you can evidence any correspondence you have had with the person you bought the policy from.

__________________________________________________________________________

Need advice about IN10? Ask our expert motor offence solicitors – 

call 0333 443 2366 or send an enquiry.

_____________________________________________________________

Defences to Driving Without Insurance – Conclusion

If you have been charged with driving without insurance and believe you may have a potential defence or special reason available to you not refenced above, please telephone our office for a free initial consultation, where one of our motoring experts will be able to advise you further.

Our leading team of motoring offence solicitors at Caddick Davies have a reputation for success when it comes to defending motorists charged with driving offences. We work with clients all over the UK and are rated in the top 20 law firms on TrustPilot. 

For efficient and effective legal advice for motoring offences, please get in touch to discuss your case with our friendly team today. 

• About
• Latest Posts

Neil Davies

Motoring Lawyer at Caddick Davies Solicitors

Caddick Davies is recognised as one of England and Wales’ leading motoring law firms, offering specialist Speeding Solicitors, Drink Driving Solicitors & Dangerous Driving Solicitors.We provide advice and representation on all motoring offences including speeding, the avoidance of disqualification on penalty points or “totting up” (exceptional hardship), driving without due care and attention (careless driving), dangerous driving, drink driving, as well as a range of services related to medical revocation of a driving licence.

Latest posts by Neil Davies (see all)

• Can The Police Use Dash Cam Footage to Prosecute? - June 19, 2024
• Appealing Against A Driving Disqualification - June 18, 2024
• Back To 20mph: The Change In Speed Limit from 30 to 20 mph In Wales - June 12, 2024