The government(s)' responding to "Uninsured Motorists"

A while back, Jam321, brought us a thread entitled Uninsured Motorist-Watch Out-Big Brother Is On To You....

Recently, I found this example of how our brothers and sisters across the pond are being subjected to a 'solution' to this 'problem.'

CCTV at petrol stations will automatically stop uninsured cars being filled with fuel

Downing Street officials hope the hi-tech system will crack down on the 1.4million motorists who drive without insurance

Automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras are already fitted in thousands of petrol station forecourts.
Drivers can only fill their cars with fuel once the camera has captured and logged the vehicle’s number plate. Currently the system is designed to deter motorists from driving off without paying for petrol.

But under the new plans, the cameras will automatically cross-refererence with the DVLA’s huge database.

When a car is flagged as being uninsured or untaxed, the system will prevent the fuel pump being used on that vehicle.

The proposals will have a huge impact - forcing drivers to insure and tax their car if they want to drive.

One in 25 drivers in the UK do not have insurance - one of the worst records in western Europe.

Imagine that; the possibility that any bureaucratic or technical glitch can keep you stranded at a gas-station (petrol?) until you can unravel the matter with authorities who rely on 'Big Brother' systems to keep the populace in check.

I also note that the article cites statistics....

According to recent figures, around 160 people are killed and 23,000 injured by uninsured and untraced drivers every year.

A virtually meaningless statement that does not distinguish between "uninsured" and "unknown". Also, it fails to mention the causes of such tragedies and accidents... only that the insurance cartel has not been p[aid tribute and therefore citizens who dare to drive are 'criminals' for that failure.

Only now the system is being set up to "punish" based upon the accusation of a database system....

Sadly, the poor employees who simply ply their trade managing transactions between drivers and their employers will now face the wrath of the disenfranchised... while having no authority to either override the matter, nor and responsibility for the act of denial of exchange in the first place.

A tangled web, certainly.

Because of the offenses of some, all are subject to the scrutiny of Big Brother... the benefit of whose actions is largely one of increasing revenue for the Insurance Industry... and to a lesser extent, providing incentives for unsavory people to steal license plates.... or gas.

I wonder if this will represent the 'next step' here in America? I wonder if our politicians will even care - since they are mostly driven around as just about everything they do is purportedly "business of the state?"

We should all move to a shared car system like ZipCar....then insurance is included and you don't have to own it.

ZipCar

And their insurance page reads:

what's the deal with insurance? For Zipcar members 21 years of age or older, our insurance coverage consists of a combined single limit of $300,000 per accident, meaning that all third party bodily injuries, or property damage costs relating to the accident are covered in the aggregate up to $300,000. For drivers under 21, we provide coverage up to state-mandated levels, which vary by the state in which the accident occurs. The Zipcar vehicles are covered under a comprehensive vehicle collision policy.

For both third party and Zipcar vehicle damage claims, the member may be responsible for a damage fee of up to $750 if they're involved in an incident during their reservation. Members age 21+, who have had no accidents in the last 12 months, have the option to purchase a damage fee waiver to reduce that amount or eliminate it altogether.

We provide Personal Injury Protection (PIP), or "no-fault" coverage, at statutory limits if you're injured in an accident. You may also use your own health care coverage in case of injury.

If the total amount of the injuries and/or property damage exceeds our coverage limits, Zipcar members are responsible for this excess and will be contacted by either Zipcar, our insurance provider, or the insurance company representing another party involved in the accident.

Members engaging in prohibited uses of our Zipcars are not covered by our insurance policy. A non-member driving a Zipcar is not covered, and we will revoke membership if we learn about unauthorized use. Zipcar's insurance coverage does not extend to members in any vehicle other than a Zipcar.

If you have any questions or concerns about the insurance coverage Zipcar provides and whether it works for your personal situation, we encourage you to consult with a licensed agent and put them in touch with us if needed. Insurance can be tricky and we want you to be informed. You can reach us at [email protected].

Great post!

As a motorist, in the UK, who is insured, and whose premiums keep going up and up, despite being almost 30, having been driving without incident since I was 17 and driving a small, low-powered car, I welcome anything that helps bring premiums down.

The two biggest reasons why motor insurance premiums are so high in the UK is because of 'no win, no fee' claims lawyers who encourage people to make false injury claims, and because of uninsured drivers.

I'm normally very suspicious about 'Big Brother' like happenings, but the price of insurance in the UK is getting stupid now and a lot of things need to be done.

As much as I hate uninsured motorist on the same road as I am and are one of the main reasons for the ever increasing rates. I do know that this has a very scary potential for abuse. Besides the techinical glitch issue there is also that they could shut an entire country down if they want. Very scary and too much power if you ask me.

In Michigan insurance is high plus we pay for an uninsured motorist fund every year. So because I have insurance I have to pay to cover those that don't. I'm glad everything I do is tax deductble.

This high-tech scheme sounds all well and good, but who is going to pay for it and install it at every forecourt in the country? The oil companies? I doubt it, unless they then pass along the cost as an overhead to the price of fuel. The taxpayer? Quite possibly, but where will the money come from if the treasury is already struggling.

The oil companies don't really give a bugger about whether the car filling up on their forecourt is insured / taxed or not, as long as they get paid for the fuel, so where is the incentive for them to pay for this?
The taxpayer is already stretched enough as it is and will certainly not welcome having to pay for a system such as this.

As for high insurance premiums, they have more to do with all the fraudulent injury claims submitted by dishonest "law" firms than uninsured motorists. The growing number of uninsured cars on the road is more a symptom of the increasing cost, rather than a main cause of it.

Originally posted by OliArtist
As a motorist, in the UK, who is insured, and whose premiums keep going up and up, despite being almost 30, having been driving without incident since I was 17 and driving a small, low-powered car, I welcome anything that helps bring premiums down.

The two biggest reasons why motor insurance premiums are so high in the UK is because of 'no win, no fee' claims lawyers who encourage people to make false injury claims, and because of uninsured drivers.

I'm normally very suspicious about 'Big Brother' like happenings, but the price of insurance in the UK is getting stupid now and a lot of things need to be done.

They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.

Enjoy your safety.

Let this be a lesson for everyone whose governments - whether at the local level or national - wants to implement some new technology for the public's 'safety' or to curb scofflaws. The technology WILL be used for more nefarious purposes down the road. Their attention will turn from people breaking laws to people not breaking laws.

Don't even get me started on that criminal enterprise Redflex.

I appreciate the notion of this somehow magically 'lowering' insurance premiums...

But does that really ever happen? Will people send billion less to the insurance companies every year because now they don't have to worry about 'uninsured' motorists? Really?

Frankly, I doubt it. I've heard this kind of thing before... In this country it was about the health care insurance costs being so out of whack because doctors malpractice insurance fees were so high. The they passed new laws to 'help with that'... but costs have done nothing but escalate since then.

I don't ever believe them when they say we will pay less... and as presumptuous as it may sound, I would urge you not to expect to pay less either. They NEVER charge "less"... that is not how the bible of profit (actuarial tables) are designed....

It's like being an American and being told the economy is getting better... yet I still can;t purchase as much as I used to with the same money, we still have depression-level unemployment, and with the exception of big business bonuses and investments... "real" people don't get the 'improvement' part of the story in their "real" lives at all.

Something I have been pushing for for years (at the State level of course) is "pay at the Pump."

This aggravates the crap out of insurance companies ! In any given State you calculate how many crashes and costs to repair the cars. **No, this does count civil lawsuit damages.

Divide by number of vehicles registered. Add that amount to the cost of gasoline, diesel. Bio-fuels and electric vehicles present a slight challenge here.

The money goes into a special nobel Prize-like Fund which grows until it 'generates' enough in interest to pay all typical related fees to car crashes
At this point it is a self-sustaining fund. It is feasible ! No more insurance agents, etc. Do you and I "owe" these agents and companies a better standard of living than some of us make ? Heck NO !

Worst case scenario is that we fund this separate car crash fund each year and it covers the precise costs. Everyone is then "insured." ideas on 'how' to include all-electric cars ?

reply to post by Maxmars


You are right on the money when you say that if all uninsured drivers were busted,premiums would NOT go down.
As if any big company could allow their profits to take a dive...
Same as saying if there was no unemployment the government would be able to lower taxes...Utter baloney,for the same reason-They need profits to keep going up,such is they way our economy is designed.

Those garage cameras I had heard about a year or two back.
We also have the "blue camera"network throughout the UK-You cannot enter or leave a town or city in the UK without driving past a blue camera.

We were originally told these were to monitor traffic congestion-But I have since learned that they are now all connected to the police ANPR network,and may also in fact have facial recognition ability.

Talk about mission creep...

I hate these damn cameras-and that is coming from a law abiding motorist,who has never had an endorsement or even a speeding ticket in my 20 years of driving.
And yes I pay my extortionate insurance bill every year.

Call me old fashioned,but I do not believe I should be monitored everywhere I go just in case I misbehave in some way...
I have read a lot of history in my days,and ALL other countries who have monitored their citizens to the extent the UK does now have always been considered bad.Soviets,Nazis,Saddam etc..All evil for monitoring their own people-but when they do it in the UK we are supposed to think its for our own safety and security.
Utter claptrap IMO.
I await the solar flares...

So if I walk to the corner station with my gas can to get some fuel for my Lawn mower will I need proof of insurance for the mower as well before I can pump a gallon of gas? what about people then use gas for other things and don't drive? Will you need to insure your pressure washer? or your generator? Lots of people bike and walk and don't drive, but they still use gas for other things.
DH

This makes me SO angry! I also don't quite get the whole idea behind uninsured drivers being the ones that mow down children and little old ladies, really? I know for a fact that if I happened to be driving with no insurance (I DO have insurance so no need for any flaming thanks) I would be on my best behaviour in order to not draw any unwanted attention to myself and my lack of said insurance!

Maybe if it wasn't so extortionate in the first place we wouldn't have a problem but when your annual premium is more than the value of your actual car......something is VERY wrong with that! It's like your home insurance costing you at least £100,000 a year if you think of it in those terms.

Wait for it....

Everyone on that terrorist watch list or that no fly list will soon find the gas pumps closes to them too

Originally posted by OliArtist
As a motorist, in the UK...

That's too bad.

You folks will put up with anything then beg for more of it once the Stockholm syndrome kicks in - then you start demanding that "there ought to be a law", that other people should have less freedoms, and that this is somehow all a good thing (Stockholm syndrome).