Nearly one in every three (29 per cent) British motorists says they would be prepared to report an uninsured driver to the authorities, even if they were a friend or family member.

The research, which has been conducted by Churchill Car Insurance, shows that a significant proportion of the law-abiding British motoring public find uninsured drivers a particular menace.

Nearly nine out of ten (87 per cent) would not get into the car with someone they knew was uninsured and over one in ten think the offence is worse than driving under the influence of drink or drugs, or speeding.

Frances Browning, a spokesperson for Churchill Insurance, noted that the majority of Britons grossly underestimated the fine for the offence – the majority (58 per cent) thought the fine was as much as £2,000, which is ten times the actual punishment of a £200 fixed penalty notice.

“It is obvious that drivers in the UK feel the current fixed penalty for uninsured driving is far too low, with 35 per cent claiming the fine should be increased to at least £1,000 putting it in line with being caught without a TV licence – a considerably less serious offence,” she said.

“The fine needs to rise to become much more of a deterrent for anybody thinking of driving without insurance. A fixed penalty fine of just £200 is less than the cost of the average premium and the balance needs to be redressed to help eradicate uninsured driving.”

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