UK proposing gas pumps automatically stop filling vehicles found without auto insurance

[webby]

Study finds one in 25 drivers without auto insurance in the UK

The British sure love their surveillance cameras, don't they? As if living in the police state that is modern Great Britain isn't bad enough for motorists, what with all the speed cameras and the like, there's a new plan afoot: Keep the uninsured from pumping gas.

According to The Mirror, a new government proposal would have surveillance cameras at gas stations determine whether a vehicle carries valid insurance and registration before turning on the pumps. Automatic license plate recognition is already in place at thousands of British fueling stations, acting as a deterrent to driving off without paying. The new measure would be as simple as allowing the systems to cross-reference databases of the national Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency, according to the report.

One in 25 drivers in the UK are uninsured, according to The Mirror – some 1.4 million motorists. While the report calls this rate "one of the worst records in western Europe," it's far better than here in the United States.

According to data from 2009, published by USA Today, nearly 14 percent of U.S. drivers, or one in seven, has no insurance. In that report, the south stood atop the list of U.S. states with the highest rates of uninsured drivers, with Mississippi, New Mexico, Tennessee, Florida, Oklahama and Alabama all topping 20 percent.

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what would you think about gas stations doing this here?

 

[KennyGS]

In PA, your car cannot be registered with the state, or pass an emmission test without valid auto insurance. If you don't fulfill those two annual requirements, your vehicle will be missing two windshield stickers, and a license plate sticker, which are both viewable by a law enforcement official.

In my mind, adding a validation system at the fuel pumps will force everyone else to unfairly pay extra (time and money) for the evildoers in the world.

 

[ethlar]

unfortunately not all drivers maintain insurance on their cars after their inspections and whatnot. Several years ago my mom was in an accident with an uninsured driver, their policy had been lapsed for 6 months because the person responsible just decided to stop paying, there is no line of communications between insurance companies and dmvs. When i got rear ended i was told i was lucky the person who hit me had insurance because in VA its popular to have insurance on the car at inspection time, get the stickers, then cancel the policy to save the money.

Not letting uninsured drivers get gas would work but having the insurance companies report it to dmvs who can flag plates for police would probably work better

 

[KennyGS]

The sale of gas through the black market would occur, and uninsured drivers could still drive.

 

[jasonandre]

I know in Louisiana and Virginia, you must have insurance on your car at the time of registration. Should you stop paying for insurance, the insurance companies report the lapse in coverage to the state, which then puts a hold on your license so that you cannot perform any other transactions with the state DMV until you clear the hold and/or pay the fine for the lapse in coverage.
I've even heard of some states putting their own form of insurance on the vehicle for those who have let their coverage lapse, then sending the bill to that person and thus forcing them to pay for it.

 

[wanga]

New York also requires the insurance company to report a lapse, then New York fines the living piss out of you and takes your life away.

 

[webby]

people have already stated the obvious with getting their plates renewed or whatever. Many states require you to show proof of insurance at that time. I know instances of people who will get insurance for renewing plates, and then calling insurance in say less than a month saying they're no longer driving the car or whatever... then continue driving. As long as they don't get into an accident or pulled over by police,... you've got a year of driving insurance free, for like 1 month of insurance cost. Rinse/repeat the following year.

my dad was hit by an uninsured motorist who was found doing this same thing ^^ he had been in a similar incident a year or so prior with another car

 

[RaskyR1]

I'm 100% for it!

Not being able to get gas is a much more effective way of keeping these dead beats off the road. Just because they can't get tabs or pass emissions on their car doesn't mean they won't drive it, legal or not.

Reduce the number of uninsured motorist and the insurance cost should go down.