If you find yourself going to your car one day and realising that your car has been damaged by another car or road user but they have not left you any contact details, depending on the extent of the damage, you may find yourself exploring avenues to recover your repair costs.

The Untraced Drivers’ Agreement 2003 includes compensation for property damage resulting from accidents occurring on or after 14 February 2003.

In order to be able to make a claim though the Motor Insurance Bureau (MIB) you need to be aware of the following and take the following steps:-

Claims for property damage must be made within 9 months of the accident date and subject to a £300 excess.

Personal injury claims must be made within 3 years of the date of the accident.

To make a claim:

•    You firstly need to report the incident to the Police. This must be done within 14 days of the accident occurring. If it is damage to property, they must be notified within 5 days.

•     Secondly, make enquiries to see if you can identify the driver, check any information you may find out with the Police. You could even try making contact with the motorist in person, and/or tracing the registered keeper via DVLA and contacting them. Their failure to notify you may have been accidental. They may not even know that they caused damage to your vehicle.

•     If you have been unable to identify the driver, next try to identify the vehicle involved through any registration number you may have obtained from any passer-by or witness to the incident. 

•     Finally, contact your own insurers as your policy conditions will demand that you report all accidents. They may be able to trace the other party’s or his/her insurers. Your insurer also has access to the Motor Insurance Database which may contain details of the motorist’s insurers.

Motorists complying with the law and ensuring that they have a valid motor insurance policy in force when they drive on public roads will be pleased with the planned measures to come down more heavily on motorists who drive without car insurance.

Drivers using cars on our roads without the minimum legal requirement are costing the compliant drivers dear so it is extremely pleasing to see the government giving increased powers to police authorities to try and secure compliance.

Even with the introduction of such initiatives, there of course, remains a chance that some people may not get their letter, are on holiday or simply forget and there is the risk that some people will see a £100 penalty as a cheaper option that insuring their car but the issuing of warning letters and the targeting of persistent offenders will hopefully serve as sufficient warning to anyone tempted to try and save a little money.

After the warning letter has been sent, a £100 fine will be imposed on those breaking the law.

Following that, anybody who is still found to have no insurance, faces losing their vehicle.

Compounding the misery for the offender will be the conviction that they can expect to receive being added to their licence which will, in all likelihood, increase their next insurance premium further.

Scheming motorists deliberately causing road accidents with the intention of lodging fraudulent car insurance claims should expect to be prosecuted as specialist officers in police forces across the country continue to investigate hundreds of suspicious collisions.

The impact of such activities can have devastating affect on the innnocent individuals involved affecting not only their no claims bonus.

For the poor, innocent victims in these “pre-planned”accidents there is in fact a risk that their confidence can also take a knock causing them to think carefully about actually giving up driving altogether. This could be particualrly prevalent for new, infrequent and drivers possibly nearing the end of their driving careers.

If you suspect you have found yourself to be a victim of such a devious scheme, raise your suspicions with your local police force and thay may find that you have provided enough information for them to investigate. You never know, they may already have their eye on the people involved so do not let the experience put you off. Most certainly do not give up driving.

Get yourself back driving as soon as you can, just like your parents would have told you when you fell off your first bicycle when learning to ride it.

Brush yourself off, learn by your experience, but above all, do not let the incident influence your decision on whether to continue driving.

Few families or businesses have escaped some kind of illegal activity involving vandalism; break ins, theft or accidents involving their cars. In fact, it is pretty much a given, that if you haven’t been affected in some way as yet, you will be at some time in the future.

You don’t have to be the offender, you can simply be in the wrong place at the wrong time, or just a victim caught up in a series of unfortunate events.

Well, if you have been a victim, here are a few examples showing the laws of this land working for you and punishing the offenders*.

• Four months imprisonment for a 26 year old male convicted of theft for a motorised vehicle.
• A fine of £160 plus court costs £43, £15 victim charge, disqualification of holding and obtaining a driving licence for 3 years for a 51 year old male, convicted of Drink Driving.
• A £250 fine, £60 court costs plus £15 victim charge coupled with 24 month disqualification from holding or obtaining a driving licence for a 40 year old male
• A £175 fine, £45 court costs and £15 victim charge for a 41 year old male convicted for failing to notify the Secretary of State of the transfer of a vehicle to another person
• A £175 fine, £15.42 back duty and £45 costs for a business using a vehicle without a valid road tax  licence on one of their vehicles

Not all of these offences will necessarily affect insurance premiums but most will.

*Source: Evening Herald, Plymouth, reporting cases dealt with in Plymouth Magistrates Court, November and December 2008

The weather of late across the UK has not been very driver friendly and many will have noticed themselves slipping, sliding or aquaplaning.

This can generally be attributed to incorrect tyre pressures, excessive speed, poor driving or worn tyres.

The minimum legal requirements for the amount of tread on tyres has been set for a reason - it is to assure public and driver safety and should not be ignored. Fail to comply and your personal safety and driving licence can be at risk, both of which can affect your insurance premiums.

The law requires that a tyre must comply with a number of legal requirements.

As the car driver, you are responsible for ensuring the correct fitment and condition of tyre, tread depths etc.

You are recommended to check your tyres on a weekly basis at least for tread depth, tread condition, inflation pressure, tread/sidewall damage and any signs of irregular wear.

If in doubt, get a specialist tyre supplier to have a look as soon as possible.

 None of this will take very long once you have done it a few times and more experienced.

The penalties for having illegal tyres are currently up to a £2500 fine and 3 penalty points PER TYRE!

As a guide:

• Do not mix your tyres – all radial or all cross ply is recommended

• Tyre size - ensure the tyre is the right size recommended by your car manufacturer

• Tyre pressures – again, ensure your tyres are inflated to the recommended pressures laid down by your car manufacturer

• Cuts/damage -  A cut longer than 25mm or 10% of the section width of the tyre , whichever is the greater, measured in any direction on the outside of the tyre and deep enough to reach the ply or cord would deem the tyre illegal.

• Cord showing - If any cord is exposed, the tyre is illegal and should be replaced immediately

• Lumps/bulges – if you notice any on your tyre – get it checked out immediately

• Depth of tread - A minimum of 1.6mm in a continuous band throughout the central three-quarters of the tread width, throughout the whole of the circumference is the required minimum requirement

• Spare tyres – the sensible thing is to apply the same rules to your spare tyres although some manufacturers now supply spares that may be of a smaller size and marked “Temporary Use Only”. When driving with one of these fitted to your vehicle, speed should be restricted to 50mph

Accidents are frequent on the road and your insurance is designed to protect you from their financial costs.

Within the UK, the Road Traffic Act 1988 Part V1, Section 143 defines the compulsory insurance requirements for motor users. Fail to comply and you could face stiff fines, points on your licence and possibly even a custodial sentence. In short, fail to comply and like any other illegal activity, and you should expect to be prosecuted.

Every person driving a motorised vehicle on a UK road, irrespective of whether they are the car owner, registered keeper or just using the car for the day, must ensure both they, and the vehicle, are insured against liability for injuries to others (including passengers) and for damage to property resulting from use of a vehicle on a road or other public place.

Whilst you could be prosecuted for driving without insurance even if you were the innocent victim in the car accident, if you are deemed to be at fault, the consequences are much more severe.

You will find yourself not only liable for the cost of any damage to the other car or property but you could find yourself legally responsible for the cost of providing care and compensation to anyone injured and with the cost of compensation for injuries now costing £’000’s on average.

If your policy has run out and/or you simply don’t have the funds to purchase insurance at them moment, lay the car up (off road) and do not let your peers pressure you into driving it around uninsured.

It is, quite simply too big a risk and ill advised.

Motorists deliberately causing road accidents with the intention of lodging fraudulent car insurance claims against an innocent third party continues to receive police and insurance companies attention.

The incidents are predominantly caused by a driver stopping quickly for no apparent reason, hoping the driver of the car behind them will not be able to stop in time and collides with the fraudster’s vehicle.

These fraudsters do not always work alone and have colleagues in a separate car who manoever themselves into the spot behind the driver they are trying to catch out and drive very closely to their back bumper.

Once in place, the driver of the first car brakes sharply, the innocent victim in the vehicle behind, being aware of how close the car behind them is to their own car and fearing they themselves will be shunted, fails to brake quickly enough and collides with the fraudsters vehicle.

The driver of the first vehicle will appear uninjured at the time but subsequently claim for personal injuries from the victims insurance policy affecting their no claims bonus.

The only comfort these innocent drivers can take from the experience is that:-

1. Police forces across the UK are always on the look out for this kind of activity and the number of prosecutions for such activity is increasing.

2. Insurance companies record all claims on a central database which will alert insurers to possible fraudsters which the insurance companies can then pass on any suspicions to the police for further investigation.

Over the course of many research projects, it has been established that most drivers believe their own driving skill is above average.

Even drivers opting to take a Driver Improvement Course rather than being prosecuted for Careless Driving following their involvement in an accident rated themselves above average*.

Few realise how often their actions whilst behind the wheel could lead to prosecution irrespective of whether they are involved in an accident.

The Road Traffic Act states that it is an offence to drive a mechanically propelled vehicle on a road or other public place without due care and attention. Prosecution will surround proving the driver in question was not driving to the required standard.

You may notice that the law states a “mechanically propelled vehicle” meaning the driver does not actually have to be driving a motor vehicle.

Furthermore, the offence does not have to take place on the public road but anywhere where there is public access. 

Drivers could be prosecuted for driving whilst :

• Eating, drinking or smoking
• Retuning their car radio or CD player
• Trying to read
• Playng music too loud affecting other road users and preventing them  from hearing other road noises clearly

Penalties following a conviction for careless driving can vary from a fine, 3 – 9 conviction points put onto the driving licence, and even disqualification at the court’s discretion.

* Source: Department for Transport

Drivers will be aware of the powers of the courts and the police to impose penalties for driving offences.

These are known as convictions and can seriously affect the premiums insurance providers will charge you for an annual motor insurance policy.

Just like any other offence, the courts’ powers attempts to balance the penalty for breaking the law with the severity of the offence.

Each endorsement carries a unique offence code which in turn attracts ‘penalty points’ on a scale from one to eleven, depending on the severity of the offence.

The endorsement (and penalty points) are added to your driving history and recorded  on your licence. Some offences can even result in a lengthy disqualification and/or a prison sentence.

The penalty points associated with conviction codes varies from 3 to 11 points.

The period endorsements will remain on your licence varies from 4 to 11 years.

It is also worth noting that there is a system whereby if you build up 12 or more penalty points within a period of three years, you will be liable to be disqualified under the ‘totting-up’ system.

Finally, new drivers need to be especially careful as your driving licence is automatically revoked (withdrawn) if you build up six or more penalty points within two years of passing your first driving test.

You can learn more about convictions and penalty points from the DVLA by clicking here.

It is said that car tax evasion is more than three times higher in Northern Ireland than it is in the rest of the UK.

Fail to display a valid Road Fund Licence in your car, anywhere in the UK, and you will receive an endorsement on your driving licence which could in turn, affect your insurance premium, together with up to a £1,000 fine.

New legislation introduced last October means that cars not displaying a tax disc can now be clamped or removed from any public place and during a two week period in September last year, the Driver Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) and police ran a pilot scheme in Belfast, clamping more than 300 unlicensed vehicles.
 
The pilot operation showed that more than 50% of those vehicles that were not displaying a road fund licence didn’t have valid insurance either, and 40% of those vehicles that were old enough to require an MOT Certificate didn’t have one.

Owners of clamped vehicles can expect to pay up to £260 to get their vehicle released or be required to pay £100 if they can provide evidence of a valid Road Fund Licence.

Fail to reclaim your vehicle within 7 days and you may find your too late – your car may be crushed.

Try to cancel your insurance policy and you could find yourself punished financially again as refunds, following cancellation of a motor insurance policy, usually attract cancellation charges and you could find yourself losing more than the cost of the Road Fund Licence depending how much your insurance premium was at renewal.