Driving without insurance in UK?

Question

This Sat night the cops followed me home and said that they had done a check on my car and said that it has no insurance, unfortunately this is true. They didn’t arrest me, but said that I would get a court summons in the post and probably a fine, the cope never gave me anything on the night, like a ticket or anything, was he supposed to?

Has this happened to you or anyone you know? Do you know what will happen to me as I am quite worried? I am female, 21yrs old, in the UK. What will they say in court and how long does it take to receive a court summons in the post? Please help.

Answer 1

oh dear yes im afraid it happened to me to my utter shame i got 6 points on my license and a 200 quid fine

Answer 2

Hi - I'm a police officer, so let me try to unpick this for you. No, you wouldn't be given a ticket as this would not be covered by the fixed penalty scheme. Instead he will go back to the station, fill out a form and some other bits and pieces which will go through to the admin department to apply for a summons at court in the next few days. Technically, they have up to 6 months to appply for a summons, but in practice they will get it sometime this week. Now, allowing for the fact that it's Christmas etc, it will probably turn up in the first 2 weeks of January (great start to the new year....). When the summons arrives you will have the opportunity to plead guilty by post, or to go to Court to either have the case tried (if you plead 'not guilty') or to give your excuses (call 'mitigation') in person. You will almost certainly get a fine and points on your licence - which means that insurance will cost you more than it would in the future as you will have to declare it as a motoring conviction. My advice: GET INSURANCE NOW if you haven't already. This will show to the Court that you are genuine about being sorry AND is also the right thing to do! Whether or not you plead guilty and /or go to court must be a matter for you. But if you are sorrry then say so - over and over again. Your earnings will be taken into account when they fix the fine. No insurance really is out of order, although I know how much it costs for someone of your age to get it. My daughter is 22, so we've been there. Look around on the internet and compare prices. "Third party only" will always be the cheapest, but then you won't be covered if the car is stolen. Find an insurer who will let you pay monthly. It works out more expensive but it saves putting out a huge wodge of cash at a time when you can't afford to. Please understand how foolish you've been having no insurance. If you crippled someone through your driving they would have to sue you to get any money to help / compensate them. Think how you would feel if that happened to you. All the pain then all the hassle. If you can't afford the insurance, then please don't drive. And you do need insurance to get your tax disc.... Take care, and I hope it goes as well as you can hope for.

Answer 3

You will probably just get a fine and some points on your licence.Court summons can take weeks or months depending on how busy they are. However I hope you think carefully before doing this again. If you run a child over and your not insured then the family will get nothing. If you run into another car and you are uninsured YOU will have to personally pay for the damages to their car and any personal injury they may have suffered as a result of the accident. Insurance is essential.DON'T DO IT AGAIN.

Answer 4

Most people have said what needs to be said - that you are a totally irresponsible person who deserves whatever is coming to you. It will certainly be a fine of around £200 and probably six points. IF you can get car insurance after that it will be astronomical.

And don't believe what someone said - ANY conviction for an offence in a Magistrates Court is a CRIMINAL conviction, and when you apply for jobs etc you will have to declare it. NOT to do so is ALSO a criminal offence.

From what I see of the answers, not many of them would employ someone who has a conviction for driving without insurance.

AND, just when you think it can't get any worse, the police have the power to seize and crush your car.

Happy New Year.

Answer 5

Hie

They were right not to give you anything since a check on your driving documents had already been done. You will get a summon in the post and this usually takes up to three months depending on how busy the courts are. usually you will have a chance to plead either guilty or not guilty by post and if your plea is accepted (say guilty plea) then you will be sentenced in absentia and its usually a fine and points deductions also depending on your previous record if any. If you have previous convictions and they decide that you should be banned then they will postpone your case to a later date and ask you to attend the court hearing. If say in your previous convictions you had points deducted then if the points are going to exceed 12 then its an automatic minimun six months suspension.

I hope this answers your concern.

Answer 6

Well yes you will get a court summons and if found guilty, a BIG fine and possible ban (min 6 points on licence I think)
Just consider this. If you had hit and injured somebody what would happen? Their life could be ruined and no financial support because YOU didn't have insurance. I'm fed up paying extra on MY insurance premiums to cover selfish people like you

Answer 7

You will have to appear in court (magistrates) as I don't think you can plead guilty by letter for this sort of offence. The fine will be more than the insurance would have been so you are really going to be out of pocket.
I'm afraid I agree with the others who say you only have yourself to blame. There are too many uninsured drivers out there who think they're above the law.

Answer 8

The court will summon you and you will appear before Magistrates on the charge of driving without insurance. The magistrate will then decide what sentence to give you and may put points on your licence etc.
BTW criminal records these days last for the rest of your life.

Answer 9

You can bet your life on it that you will be sent a summon`s,
And i hope you recieve a custodial sentence for driving without insurance as the law is clamping down on the low life that drive around without it !
What on earth posseses people to drive around unisured ? if you had an accident and injured somebody what would you of done ?
I am amazed that they never took the car off you at the scene of the crime ( because that`s exactly what it was ) and had it crushed !
You deserve everything that is coming to you .
Low life !

Answer 10

you could wait a few weeks for a court summons. you will probably get points on your licence and a fine, its usually about 6 points.

Answer 11

If you are driving without insurance I hope the court comes down on you like a tonne of bricks. A stupid thing to do - think if yourself and others who are on the roads and sort yourself out!