1 in 12 vehicles on Irish roads not insured – MIBI
The number of uninsured private vehicles on Irish roads grew for the third year in a row, according to new research carried out by the Motor Insurers’ Bureau of Ireland (MIBI).
Last year the total number of private vehicles driving without insurance reached 187,803.
This was an increase of 13,626 over the 2021 figure.
The data also shows that uninsured vehicles accounted for 8.3 per cent of the entire fleet of private vehicles on Irish roads.
The MIBI said that one in every 12 vehicles was breaking the law and driving without insurance last year.
Since 2020, there are now more than 32,000 additional uninsured vehicles on Irish roads, according to the figures.
The MIBI said it conducted this research by contrasting the number of private motor vehicle owners paying motor taxes with the number of vehicles who have active insurance policies.
“Clearly not enough is being done to discourage uninsured driving in this country,” said David Fitzgerald, CEO of the MIBI. “Every single time a person drives a vehicle without insurance they are breaking the law. Yet the number of uninsured vehicles continues to rise.”
He warned that within the last two years the number of private vehicles being driven illegally without insurance has grown by more than 32,000.
“That is a really, really significant increase and should be a cause of concern to anyone who is interested in the rule of law and the safety of Irish roads,” he added.
Mr Fitzgerald also said that “the most obvious solution” to stopping the increase of uninsured drivers is in the form of the new Irish Motor Insurance Database (IMID) system being fully adopted and data used by An Garda Síochána in their ANPR (Automatic Number Plate Recognition) systems and new Garda mobility devices.
“This will allow uninsured drivers to be simply and quickly identified without having to even be stopped and pulled over. It enables Gardaí to check vehicles on the road without even leaving their cars,” he said.
Mr. Fitzgerald added that Government should be pressing for “the full and immediate implementation” of that system.
“However as the relevant legislation required to completely enable that is still working its way through the Oireachtas, it would seem we still have some distance to travel before the country really clamps down on the problem of uninsured driving,” he concluded.
Under Irish law, the penalties for vehicles found without valid insurance include Gardaí having the power to seize the vehicle on the spot, as well as other significant penalties such as an automatic court appearance, five penalty points and a substantial fine.
