I do wonder if there may be some delay between the (variable) speed changing and the time where drivers are booked for speeding.
I have been on motorways doing 70mph and just as I approach the gantry showing the variable speed limit it changes to, say, 50 mph. What is one meant to do? Brake hard to immediately reduce speed by 20mph before hitting the speed check marks painted on the roadway?
1 minute.
It's now incumbent on a driver to ensure their vehicle is on the database themselves via
No, I didn't get that memo either. But you can bet that I've checked my car
Typical target the owners instead of the culprits, rather than just fining the guilty parties (the insurance companies) for failing to update it.
SteveW
Where does it say its the drivers responsibility to ensure its on the MID?
It is the drivers responsibility to ensure they are insured to drive the car. You can drive a car that isn't on the MID if you have the right sort of insurance.
On the site:
QUOTE If your vehicle details are NOT on the Motor Insurance Database you are at risk of being fined and facing court prosecution. You may also be stopped by the police and have your vehicle impounded, and possibly disposed of, if proof of insurance cannot be provided. ENDQUOTE
AFAIK only a motor traders policy.
There have been a few reported cases in the papers where people had the insurance certificate on them, but the police no longer believe them (as they said, how do they know it's not been cancelled ?).
So the MID is the source of truth, and it's the drivers responsibility to check the car they are driving is shown as insured. If it isn't and they are stopped, it's their expense. Which can be a lot when the car is towed and stored and you need £300 to get it back.
I think that I would be tempted to take the insurance company to the small claims court for any costs caused by them failing to update the database.
SteveW
Your comprehension skills are letting you down.
And you'd lose. I asked the same question in the legal ngs. The view was that it's incumbent on the driver of a car to ensure it is legal to drive. That includes checking the MID. If you check the MID and the car is unlisted, you contact your insurer and make them list it.
Last two cars I've had as courtesy cars, I checked.
NB "risk of" and "may" and "if proof of insurance cannot be provided"
That's all a bit of an exaggeration.
You started off with a scare story:
"It's now incumbent on a driver to ensure their vehicle is on the database themselves via
Let's get clear first that there are no costs unless the police seize your vehicle. They are very unlikely to do that just because the car isn't on the database . They know full well that (a) the database is not updated in real time and (b) insurers and brokers make mistakes. If you carry a copy of an insurance certificate which shows you are insured to drive it and ID they probably won't take it further for the average reader of uk.d-i-y. They'll also usually try to phone your insurer before seizing the car. Otherwise they'd be constantly seizing cars that have just been bought and insured.
On top of that the police can and do exercise discretion to refund the charges where the seizure was lawful but resulted from the failure to update the database , absence of certificate and inability to contact the insurer.
And if all that fails there's the possibility of recovering costs from whoever failed to update the database if they failed to correct a mistake that was drawn to their attention.
But the key point I'd suggest is that it does pay to carry the insurance certificate and ID.
I'm glad I've seen this. I didn't know there was a way for the public to check their own entry on the insurance database.
I wonder what the legal position is about driving when there is no entry in the database but you know that you are insured because you've just taken out/renewed the policy. Are you supposed to cancel your journey until the clerical error has been rectified and the entry is visible in the database?
Yes I have always carried around a printout of the insurance certificate - either a photocopy of the paper copy that I've received or else a printout of the online entry with online insurance/renewal. That way I can give my policy number to the other person if I'm in an accident, in addition to name, address, car reg. And I always have my driving licence on me: it stays in my wallet which is always in the pocket of whichever trousers I'm wearing, along with car/house keys and (except when it's being charged) mobile phone.
Likewise, I've checked both my car and my wife's.
That is reasonable for courtesy cars, hire cars, borrowing someone else's car, but not for your own - you have paid, you have received confirmation and emailed documentation, why would you be expected to do more? Are you also expected to check before starting every journey, just in case they have erroneously removed you from the database?
SteveW
The problem is if you don't check, and get stopped, it's your lookout.
Ultimately you have to trust the database. Checking every journey is a bit onerous, but it should certainly be consulted whenever you change car/ policy/details.
but the driver may not be the owner or the registered keeper so it may not be his car so that paragraph doesn't make sense.
I am insured to drive another car with the owners permission, its quite common on insurance policies.
Do we know if he got it back or even tried to?
Someone drove a newly-bought car on the basis of a policy he held on another vehicle but had with him no evidence of that cover, and where we are told the police phoned the company he said covered him and were told he wasn't covered. .
And that's a case where the car was never going to be on the database.
The hotspots map is interesting. It could be a map where all the 'Norwegians' are. Curious.
Bill
Good grief, you still are unable to comprehend simple English .
Seems rather skimpy. I sure there must be many more uninsured vehicles.
Tim
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