Uninsured drivers pay £75m in fines

New research has found that the Metropolitan Police has obtained over £75m in fines from uninsured drivers since 2012.

According to a study carried out by Confused.com, the Metropolitan Police collected £75,756,926 in fines from uninsured drivers in the last decade. This is over double the amount collected by West Yorkshire Police, who placed second (£31,946,116).

In total, over 220,000 fines have been given by the Met over the past decade. This is over 190,000 more than the average number of fines given across all police authorities analysed (30,166).

West Yorkshire Police have collected the second most uninsured driver fines, with a total of £31,946,116. In the last decade, the force has collected 101,859 fines with the average penalty found to be £483.

West Midlands Police ranked third, with a total of £23,433,073. A total of 60,228 fines have been given within the region, the fifth-highest amount of all areas analysed. West Midlands Police have collected over threes times the amount in fines than neighbouring authority, Staffordshire (£7,243,147).

South Wales Police rank fourth, collecting a total of £18,628,716 in uninsured driver fines.

Meanwhile, the research found that uninsured drivers in Bedfordshire are likely to receive the largest fines, at an average of £522 each.

Alex Kindred, car insurance expert at Confused.com, said: “Failing to have the right car insurance policy in place could result in fines, points on your licence or disqualification from driving. Insurers appreciate that there are some emergency situations where you may need to jump behind the wheel of a car you don’t own. This is why some cover driving other cars within their comprehensive policy. But being over 25 or having a comprehensive policy doesn’t automatically entitle you to this. This must be outlined in your policy, and the car you drive must also be insured by its owner, or you risk the penalty.”