Own a car? Dont worry, its getting better under the tories.

[BolshieBastard]

No, not the fuel duty rises which are all the fault of those beastly Lib Dems or even the last Government.

No. If you have a car that's off the road for storeage or restoration, you'll have to insure it soon. All part of the drive to clamp down on uninsured drivers. Nothing like hammering all the law abiding car owners to 'catch' the crims, is there?

Drivers to be banned from keeping uninsured cars off road - Telegraph

Under the new system the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) will work alongside the Motor Insurers' Bureau to identify uninsured vehicles, many of which are never taken out on to the road. Their owners will then be contacted by letter to warn them they face a £100 fine if the car or van is not insured by a certain date.

If the vehicle remains uninsured, regardless of whether a fine has been paid or not, it could then be seized and crushed,

[AtW]

LOL FOAD.

AtW in "Clippy" mode.

Uninsured vehicles cost honest motorist (that's means motorist who pays all taxes honestly - a concept that might sound too alien to dodgy offshore scheme users) a LOT of dosh - maybe breaking legs of uninsured drivers is a tad too extreme and probably against human rights act (what isn't?), but taking cars that are not insured off the road is a good thing. If they take your flashy BMW that you were so proud of then it's a double win.

[Spacecadet]

is there any way to "unregister" a car from the DVLA?

[BolshieBastard]

is there any way to "unregister" a car from the DVLA?

Only by declaring it scrapped or exported AFAIA.

[Platypus]

Bolshie, what's your point?

That this is a dastardly Tory stealth tax, or a sledgehammer to crack a crime walnut ?

If the former, have the balls to say so.

If the latter, I expect that any government would have enacted it.

[BolshieBastard]

Bolshie, what's your point?

That this is a dastardly Tory stealth tax, or a sledgehammer to crack a crime walnut ?

If the former, have the balls to say so.

If the latter, I expect that any government would have enacted it.

My point is by all means target 'uninsured' drivers but, law abiding people take cars 'off the road' for many reasons. They shouldnt be targeted by an ill thought out and blanket scheme that lumps these law abiding people with those deliberately driving uninsured.

Oh, and its not a question of having 'the balls' to say something the original posting wasnt about. OK?

[The_Equalizer]

If your vehicle is off the road then it should be registered as SORN (Statutory Off Road Notification) for the purpose of road tax. Why then would the government now ask for it to be insured too?

[RichardCranium]

This is old news, Shirley? Link from TWO YEARS AGO!:

Government Announces Car Insurance Crackdown

Tough new laws could make keeping an uninsured vehicle an offence, the Department for Transport has indicated.

If the plans enter statute, it would be an offence to own or keep a car in the UK without appropriate car insurance. Existing legislation merely prohibits driving without car insurance.

Who was in power in January 2009? The current bunch of bastards or the previous bunch of bastards?

[RichardCranium]

Here's the Guardian's coverage from January 2010:

Motorists face curb on all cars without insurance

Motorists have a year to get cover or face fines, even if their vehicles are not used. Are the new rules going too far, too fast?

Reports suggest up to 2 million people a year drive without insurance. Photograph: David Levene

Plans published recently by the Department for Transport (DfT) will soon make it an offence purely to be the registered keeper of an uninsured vehicle, while police will not have to prove it was in use.

The Continuous Insurance Enforcement proposals, due to be introduced in early 2011, will replace existing laws, whereby a prosecution can take place only if an uninsured motorist is caught at the wheel of a car. An initial penalty of £100 will be applied, followed by further fines of up to £1,000 levied by a magistrate's court.

[VectraMan]

If your vehicle is off the road then it should be registered as SORN (Statutory Off Road Notification) for the purpose of road tax. Why then would the government now ask for it to be insured too?

Somebody who's prepared to drive uninsured is not going to worry about falsely declaring it SORN too.

The crazy thing is the fines are often less than the cost of insurance.