Massive drop in number of motorists driving without insurance following database introduction
It comes after the recent introduction of the Irish Motor Insurance Database (IMID), which allows gardaí at checkpoints to identify any uninsured vehicles within seconds through their hand-held mobile devices or via automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) systems.
This is being credited with a fall of 86,000 in the number of uninsured private vehicles on the roads over the past two years.
Traditionally, this country has had the highest level of uninsured vehicles in the European Union.
In the past, the rate has been three times that of the UK and four times the average across the European Union and the European Economic Area.
But the new roadside detection system used by gardaí has seen the numbers taking the risk of driving without insurance plummet.
The database was created following collaboration between the Motor Insurers' Bureau of Ireland (MIBI), Insurance Ireland and Irish-based insurers.
Figures compiled by the MIBI show that the number of uninsured drivers on the roads has fallen from 188,000 in 2022 to 102,000 last year – a fall of almost 86,000 in the two-year period.
In percentage terms, the current number of uninsured vehicles represents 4.2pc of the overall private fleet in the State.
This is down from 8.3pc in 2022, a 50pc reduction, the MIBI said.
This also means the number of uninsured private vehicles has dropped from one in every 12 in 2022, to one in every 25 last year.
Advanced work on the motor insurance database has allowed the MIBI to look at the number of commercial vehicles on the road.
They can be insured on an individualised basis, with specific vehicles tied to each policy.
We can now see that theory being turned into reality
Or they can use fleet or motor trade policies, where the insurer allows for the motor insurance to be transferred from one vehicle to another within a specific group of vehicles. The details for these vehicles are required by law to be added to the National Fleet Database (NFD), which is a dedicated subsection of the motor insurance database.
MIBI said since November 2023, fleet and motor trade policy-holders who do not provide the required information to the fleet database are committing an offence.
They are liable to be prosecuted and subjected to fines of up to €500 per vehicle.
The MIBI estimates approximately 425,000 fleet and motor trade vehicles should be listed on the NFD.
So far, the details for 364,889 have been provided.
The MIBI's analysis shows as many as 109,000 commercial vehicles are either uninsured or have not yet been added to the national fleet database.
Chief executive of the MIBI, David Fitzgerald said it is encouraging to see the impact that the new detection system is already having on the number of private uninsured vehicles on our roads.
'Following its introduction, the number of uninsured private vehicles has practically halved, which is good news for all road users and anyone concerned about Irish road safety,' Mr Fitzgerald said.
He said the MIBI view was that the motor insurance database will represent a powerful weapon in the battle against uninsured driving.
'We can now see that theory being turned into reality,' he said.
Uninsured drivers add between €30 and €35 to each compliant driver's annual insurance premium.
The MIBI was set up by insurers to compensate victims of road traffic accidents caused by uninsured and unidentified vehicles.
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