It is against the law to use a vehicle if you do not have a valid insurance certificate that says you are covered to use it at that particular time.
Driving without insurance is treated very seriously in the Magistrates Court because of the potential implications if you were to crash when uninsured.
To be found guilty of driving without insurance the Prosecution simply have to prove that you were driving a motor vehicle on a public road at the time of the alleged offence. Because this is a documentary offence the burden passes to the Defendant (you) to prove that you were actually insured at the time you were driving. This is because it would be almost impossible for the Prosecution to prove that you were not insured and they would have to go through every insurance company in the Country using their insurance database to try and establish there was no certificate in place.
One of the most common ways in which people get caught out with the no insurance law is that they may not actually drive the car, but the law states that you only have to have use of the vehicle in order to be liable for punishment under the no insurance law. Having use of the vehicle can simply mean having the vehicle parked on a public road outside your house and if it is not insured, then you can be prosecuted.
Another common way in which people get accused of driving with no insurance, not believing that they have actually done so is when they believe that their fully comprehensive insurance policy means that they can drive anyone’s car with their permission. Many insurance policies do not actually state that this is allowed.
It is extremely important to make sure that you fully understand the terms of your insurance policy and that whenever you drive either your own car or someone else’s, that you are actually insured.
Related posts:
You must log in to post a comment.