LordThornber Posted July 4, 2011 Share Posted July 4, 2011 A brief overview, and I mean brief. Mum, Dad, 3 children under 8. Dad has cleared off, there appeared to be little or no work in him. Mum looks like she's supporting the family alone, she works nights in a care home. Mum is occasionally driving a car that lives on the drive. It has no valid tax disc and indicates no insurance using http://www.askmid.com/ Before anyone thinks, (and replies) nosey ******* etc etc, I am asking for your views on what YOU would do in respect of reporting a possible uninsured driver. Martyn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antony1969 Posted July 4, 2011 Share Posted July 4, 2011 If uninsured dob em in , no hard luck stories . Son in law last week was knocked off his motorbike one week after collecting new bike . Other guy was driving on wrong side of road and drove off after writing off bike and leaving son in law in a pile on road . The fuzz are involved and guess what the guy had no insurance . Tell the fuzz Martyn if your sure . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel B Posted July 4, 2011 Share Posted July 4, 2011 Martyn, I think you know the answer, you should let the 'officials' know, all you know is it doesn't appear to have tax or insurance, what if it doesn't have a MOT either and is a death trap? How woud you feel if she goes out and kills someone, or herself, or has her kids with her and has an accident ... doesn't bear thinking about really. Yes, you'll feel awful about 'telling' on her, but she knows it is wrong - sometimes people need others to make the sensible decision for them .... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest pelmetman Posted July 4, 2011 Share Posted July 4, 2011 Lend her your car Martyn :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keithl Posted July 4, 2011 Share Posted July 4, 2011 Same answer here Martyn. Last November I got bumped in our everyday car while waiting to exit a car park. The other driver exchanged details and asked for the opportuntiy to pay cash. I phoned him the following day and he said he would get back to me in an hour. I heard nothing for several days so put a claim in to my insurance and got my car fixed in a couple of weeks. I have now been contacted by my insurance to say his (well actually his wifes) insurance have 'declined to insure him' for the accident. I now look like having to make a court appearance thanks to him not being correctly insured. Thanks pal. So the same argument applies to someone who you suspect of being uninsured before an accident happens... DOB THEM IN. And don't feel guilty about it as it's already costing you money. End of rant. Keith. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malc d Posted July 4, 2011 Share Posted July 4, 2011 If you are feeling generous you could 'let her know' by some means that everyone is aware of what she is doing and that she is likely to be reported, and suggest that she sorts it as soon as possible ( and doesn't drive until she has). Her family situation is not really relevant, and will be worse if she's caught. :-( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tracker Posted July 4, 2011 Share Posted July 4, 2011 I too have little sympathy for uninsured drivers but under the circumstances I would be inclined to discreetly and anonymously let her know what you know and that she will be reported if she is seen driving the car without tax and insurance - and probably MOT - or if it does not get taxed within a few days - for which she will nedd an MOT and insurance. It is not only other people who are at financial risk - so are her children in the event of an uninsured accident. I see little point in kicking a struggling Mum when she is down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
art338 Posted July 4, 2011 Share Posted July 4, 2011 Report it without fail, your charges are paying for their leisure. art Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Syd Posted July 4, 2011 Share Posted July 4, 2011 Well said Tracker, that is the decent thing to do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aultymer Posted July 5, 2011 Share Posted July 5, 2011 I am with Tracker on this one. If she is caught then she will end up in court, could lose her low paid job and we all end up paying to keep her and her children. If you want to complain about someone then go after the dad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MandyAndy Posted July 5, 2011 Share Posted July 5, 2011 Catch her in the street one day and get chatting, somewhere near the car if possible, it could be she has no idea about the state of the car. Firstly in many houses the man sees to the mechanical stuff and secondly she may just have forgotten with everything else that is going on in her life right now. Yes she needs stopping but a little kindness and thought could go into it first. Mandy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maryowlgirl Posted July 5, 2011 Share Posted July 5, 2011 lots of people struggle to keep up with the upkeep of their cars but do so in case of accident etc. If it is someone you know or friendly with make sure you tell them that they are breaking the law otherwise let the authorities know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
602 Posted July 5, 2011 Share Posted July 5, 2011 Hi, Is this vehicle SORN'd? If not, DVLA will be sending her a double whammy. Ideally, a FRIENDLY visit from Plod, when the car is in her drive, would be the best solution. 602 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CliveH Posted July 5, 2011 Share Posted July 5, 2011 I was just about to post the same as 602 - the DVLA are very good at following up cars not registerred as SORN'd and which have no tax. Many police cars are equiped with recognition devices to flag up non taxed and non insured vehicles - so it is not a question of if they catch up with her - but when. I would certainly suggest the softly softly approach first in this case. But as others have said - the hassle of being hit by an uninsured driver is such a monumental pain, together with the fact that all us insured drivers then foot the bill means that turning a blind eye is not really an option. Plus the fact that the car will not have an MOT which means she could be transporting those kids about in a death trap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldlowie Posted July 5, 2011 Share Posted July 5, 2011 LordThornber - 2011-07-04 7:30 PM Mum is occasionally driving a car that lives on the drive. It has no valid tax disc and indicates no insurance using http://www.askmid.com/ Martyn Dob her in, mate. You know you want to. >:-( We had an old woman like you in our street back in the 60's and 70's, Mrs Dilling her name was. She would patrol up and down every month checking tax discs. Straight to the police (none of us had phones) if she spotted one out of date. >:-( Keep up the good work... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
postnote Posted July 5, 2011 Share Posted July 5, 2011 LordThornber - 2011-07-04 7:30 PM A brief overview, and I mean brief. Mum, Dad, 3 children under 8. Dad has cleared off, there appeared to be little or no work in him. Mum looks like she's supporting the family alone, she works nights in a care home. Mum is occasionally driving a car that lives on the drive. It has no valid tax disc and indicates no insurance using http://www.askmid.com/ Before anyone thinks, (and replies) nosey ******* etc etc, I am asking for your views on what YOU would do in respect of reporting a possible uninsured driver. Martyn Sell the car spend the money, crush the Mum :D :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnP Posted July 5, 2011 Share Posted July 5, 2011 Whilst I have every sympathy with those struggling financially and perhaps with families to bring up I do think that the lady should be reported. Not only is she putting the public at large in danger but no doubt her young family if they were passengers in the car. IMHO anyone caught driving an uninsured vehicle should have it crushed immediately. No excuses. People must learn to take responsibility for their own actions or lack of action. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malc d Posted July 5, 2011 Share Posted July 5, 2011 JohnP - 2011-07-05 5:03 PM In my opinion anyone caught driving an uninsured vehicle should have it crushed immediately. No excuses. That could be the waste of a perfectly good car. Confiscate it, sell it at auction, and give the proceeds to charity. ( Preferably an old motorhomers support fund). ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnP Posted July 5, 2011 Share Posted July 5, 2011 Whilst I agree with confiscation and then selling a good car with the proceeds going to charity I think that crushing would soon get the message over. Perhaps the insured should decide on which charity is to be used. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LordThornber Posted July 5, 2011 Author Share Posted July 5, 2011 Thankyou for all you responses. There wasn't ever any doubt in my mind that something needed to be done because of the law breaking element - however, as I said, my description was very brief, there are other factors involved, (domestic violence being one), but of course they're not excuses to drive illegally. I have decided to speak to our local PC/PCSO and get a log number too. Martyn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tracker Posted July 5, 2011 Share Posted July 5, 2011 602 - 2011-07-05 7:25 AM Ideally, a FRIENDLY visit from Plod, when the car is in her drive, would be the best solution. I think the days of a friendly visit from plod are long gone? From all that I read and see recently it seems that there are no grey areas left and the need to raise funds means that any dead cert will be prosecuted and fined as much as the courts can get away with imosing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aultymer Posted July 5, 2011 Share Posted July 5, 2011 "Whilst I agree with confiscation and then selling a good car with the proceeds going to charity I think that crushing would soon get the message over. " Emm, just who would benefit from the 'message'? The lady concerned would have lost her car, the carbon used in it's manufacture would be lost, a usable car would be lost and no one would get any satisfaction apart from the 'hang em' brigade. Great message compared to a quiet word resulting in the car being taxed or sorned with benefit to all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
postnote Posted July 6, 2011 Share Posted July 6, 2011 aultymer - 2011-07-05 11:10 PM "Whilst I agree with confiscation and then selling a good car with the proceeds going to charity I think that crushing would soon get the message over. " Emm, just who would benefit from the 'message'? The lady concerned would have lost her car, the carbon used in it's manufacture would be lost, a usable car would be lost and no one would get any satisfaction apart from the 'hang em' brigade. Great message compared to a quiet word resulting in the car being taxed or sorned with benefit to all. I still say. “Sell the car spend the money, crush the Mum”. Not only will be an example to others, but she can’t do it again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
602 Posted July 6, 2011 Share Posted July 6, 2011 Hi, Just suppose you were disqualified, for whatever reason. Your family depend on your income, your disabled grandmother depends on you visiting her, your employees depend on you being in your office everyday. Would you honour your disqualification? Would you be tempted tp drive? Some normally law abiding people would, some wouldn't.. What this woman is doing is wrong. Depending on circumstances, it may be forgivable, right up till the time she injures somebody, so she needs stopping before that happens. Does it really matter if a desperate woman breaks the law and isn't punished. How many of you have exceeded the speed limit within the last week? Are you going to drop into the local police station and confess? I can see a diffence between this woman feeling that she needs to use her car, and the Yob down the road who wants to use his car, and doesn't give a damn. But their ain't no friendly policemen any more. So send an unfriendly copper round to give her a caution, and clamp her car in her drive, until such time as she can become legal. Doh! I forgot, the law can't do that. 602 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
donna miller Posted July 6, 2011 Share Posted July 6, 2011 I really think that the full facts should have been established before any action was taken. Far too many people have made judgement based on assumptions with no proof whatsoever. Ok so the vehicle isn't taxed, or just isn't displaying a tax disc, could be for a dozen reasons, several of which are legitimate, if the vehicle is not parked on a public highway, there is no legislation in place reference displaying it, in areas of high vehicle crime a tax disc will get you a few bags of whatever is your drug of choice. MID, just because you've checked on the website and found nothing against that car means absolutely nothing, mistakes happen, brokers make mistakes entering details, my own car was not on the database for a year because they entered an 'N' instead of an 'M' on the details, this only came to light when I went to tax it online. The car could belong to a dealer (motors, not drugs), they do not have to list every car with their insurers unless they are kept for personal use, when the previous owner cancels their insurance the broker should inform the MID and have the details ammended, the majority do, some however, slip through the net. As for those saying that "the car will definately not have an mot", how do you deduce that? Uninsured and un-licenced drivers are despicable and deserve to be punished, however, guilt by assumption is not acceptable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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