A new proposal by the government to mete out fines to uninsured drivers has been welcomed by the insurance industry as a positive step, which will help both the insurer's and law-abiding drivers who end up paying extra in premiums because of the uninsured.

Jim Fitzpatrick, the Road Safety Minister, unveiled the plans earlier today, which are the latest in a series of measures introduced by the Brown government in an attempt to cut the number of people who run the risk of driving without car insurance.

According to the new rules, unless the owner has filled out a form called a Statutory Off Road Notification, which formally signifies that the car is off the road and is unable to be driven, they are liable to a £100 fine. According to Fitzpatrick, leeway will also be granted for exceptional circumstances.

The fine could rise to £1000 if the case goes to court and may also result in clamped or towed.

“The selfish minority of drivers who refuse to insure their cars push up premiums for other motorists and kill or injure thousands of people each year. Increased police powers already mean more than 400 uninsured vehicles are seized every day but these tough new measures will leave uninsured drivers with nowhere to hide,” said Fitzpatrick.

Insurers welcome new measures

A number of leading figures from the insurance sector were on hand to applaud these new measures, which they hope will lessen the financial impact that these drivers have on the insurers themselves and also other customers who often have to foot the bill for the uninsured.

"We are supportive of initiatives to crack down on uninsured driving, not least because it costs £500 million a year which is paid by honest drivers. Uninsured drivers kill 160 people a year so this is a safety issue too." Said Malcolm Tarling from the Association of British Insurers(ABI).

Tarling's support was mirrored by the response from the British Insurance Brokers' Association (BIBA) who stressed the need for the measures to be introduced swiftly.

“It is vital that the proposed new measures, making it an offence to keep an uninsured vehicle, are implemented swiftly and with the full force of the law so that it can cut straight to the centre of the UK’s lawless uninsured drivers. There should be no escape,” said Graeme Trudgill, BIBA spokesman.

There was one note of caution sounded though, with the AA highlighting a need for flexibility within the law and that avenues for appeal should be kept open.

“There could be cases where letters get lost in the post or a motorist could be away for an unexpected lengthy period of time and simply forgets,' a spokesman said. In any bureaucracy things can go wrong and should not inevitably result in a £100 penalty,” added a spokesman.

The Department of Transport's latest figures put the total number of deaths attributable to uninsured drivers at 160 per year, with around 23,000 injuries.