PRESS STATEMENT – PRESS STATEMENT – PRESS STATEMENT

IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SDLP MLA BURNS: CONCERNED ABOUT UNINSURED DRIVERS

SDLP South Antrim MLA Thomas Burns said he is alarmed by police estimates that there could be up to 45,000 uninsured cars on our roads.

He said: "The police operate on the basis of experience which shows that untaxed vehicles are more likely to be uninsured and unroadworthy and the driver is more likely to be unlicensed. It seems our tax evasion rate is about 5 percent and research indicates that driving without insurance is probably about the same level.

"According to a report just released by the Criminal Justice Inspection the number of ‘underclass’ vehicles – untaxed, unlicensed, uninsured or unroadworthy and possibly all of the above – may be as high as 45,000. Apart from the higher risk of causing personal tragedies, uninsured drivers add about £30 a year to all insurance premiums.

"The Department of the Environment’s current corporate plan aimed to take 8000 unlicensed vehicles off the road by 2008. It seems to me that even if this target is being met, it is simply inadequate in terms of the scale of this problem. The Environment Committee is scheduled to examine road safety on Thursday, and I will be asking it to take a closer look at this problem."

ENDS