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CAMPAIGNERS ATTACK COURT DRIVING FINES
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09:40 - 06 June 2007


The average fine handed out by magistrates in Staffordshire for driving without insurance is just £186.Road safety campaigners claim the low fines are making the roads in the county more dangerous.

Paul Smith, from campaign group Safespeed, said: "Where is the incentive to get insurance, at a cost of hundreds of pounds a year, if you know you're unlikely to be caught and, when you are, you walk away with a fine that is a fraction of the cost of the insurance?"

Home Office figures for 2000 show the average fine for driving without insurance in Staffordshire was £198, with 6,760 people convicted in the county.

But latest figures for 2004 show convictions were down to 6,370 and the average fine £186.

In Cheshire, the average fine fell from £211 in 2000 to £179 in 2004, although the number of motorists convicted rose.

The maximum fine for driving without insurance is £5,000.

Elliott Griffiths, chairman of the road traffic committee of the Magistrates Association, said: "The fine must be one which someone can reasonably be expected to pay within a 12-month period, and for an unemployed person, that is usually around £5 per week.

"Perhaps it is time to look at alternative ways of ensuring they have insurance cover - for instance, including third party insurance in the road tax."