Insurance companies, in conjunction with the police, are determined to put a stop to people driving without insurance.
Michael Kemp, former motoring editor with the Daily Mail, looks at how they plan to deal with the problem and the implications for all motorists.
EVERY driver in a public place is to be traceable by law via database of insured vehicles to identify who was driving what, where and when.
To be set-up next year, for launch in January 2003, the new EU ordered record will, among other things, make it easier for police to trace drivers in camera trap violations.
Revealing the massive insurance upheaval to business, Geoffrey Bray, chairman of Chippenham-based vehicle management specialist Fleet Support Group, said last night: "In every walk of UK life road vehicle use will be affected, even transformed. We are exploring ways to help employers administer the new welter of detail to be recorded by law.
"What one has to keep in mind is that Britain has at least one-million uninsured drivers.
"They caused personal injury claims of £100m in 1995 and claims this year are on course to total £265m."
Under the new scheme, the constantly updated database will be accessible only by insurers and police, who can cross-reference it with driver and vehicle licensing records if they wish.
The main object of the new Europe-wide law is to identify uninsured drivers, by electronic elimination.
Millions of motor policies are to be re-written resulting in many higher premiums. And administrative demands on companies threaten higher parking, car rental and garage charges.
Nearly every UK business, most garages, vehicle breakdown-recovery operators, car parks, leasing, self-drive hire and courtesy car operators will be affected.
Family motorists are expected to escape the notification nightmare but revised terms could more rigidly restrict private car use to policyholder and named drivers only.
Those allowed to drive a car will be quickly traceable.
Out will go blanket policies and 'any person driving on the order or permission of the policyholder'.
That 'simplicity' will be outdated from July 1 and legally 'dead' at the end of 2002.
In will be the law from January 2003 that will require recorded notification within five days of insurance in place on every road registered vehicle each time its use is changed. A change of driver will be change of use.
If a parking attendant moves a car, however little, his 'driving' will have to be recorded by his employer and reported to his insurer for recording on the database.
Every hired vehicle and courtesy car will require recorded driver cover for however short the period, so may used cars displayed for sale.
Britain, now finalising introduction of the EU law, is expected to demand a record of vehicle make, type, registration number, insurer/insurance certificate number, date, time, place, driver name/employer each time a licensed vehicle is moved in a public place by anyone other than its insured named driver
Ever-changing notification will apply to 'all mechanically propelled vehicles licensed for road use' including plant machinery.
Self-insured fleets like Royal Mail and corporation buses will be separately but similarly regulated.
The legal record of who was driving is being demanded by the EU 4th Motor Directive. Similar driver records will operate in each EU country.
OBJECTIVE: 'To improve the situation for people who while visiting a EU state are injured by vehicles registered in a member state other than their own and to assist a claimant's ability to track an insurer when pursuing a claim against a driver or insurer.'
IMPLICATIONS: Marsh UK in Bristol, part of world leading international risk management and insurance services giant Marsh McLennan who lost around 50 staff in the New York World Trade Center terrorist attack, says: "Police will have access to the register to check insurance details on any vehicle as part of the process to identify uninsured drivers.
"Insurers may require individual registration numbers of every vehicle insured under all motor fleets for all policies renewing from January 1, 2002 including mobile plant licensed for road use.
"It is likely all vehicles passing through a motor trader will need to be declared and there may be a UK requirement to log make and model of each vehicle. To meet the five-day deadline (or face criminal penalties) may mean operators will need to provide information direct to their insurers.
"Few UK fleet operators have systems to record change as it happens. Currently there is often no control over temporary hired or borrowed vehicles covered under a fleet policy.
"There will certainly be no records kept for vehicles temporarily driven by employees in the course of their business such as moving or parking third party vehicles as is often the case within the hotel industry."
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