Hard-pressed motorists will get little comfort from comments this week by the head of one of Ireland's insurance companies. With motoring costs rising and the price of insurance a significant element, the revelation by FBD chairman Mr Michael Berkery that uninsured drivers were costing the rest of his customers an average of £65 a policy seems alarming.

It certainly lends weight to his call for a national database of registered vehicles which would allow gardai making spot checks to ascertain whether the motorist is indeed insured.

By Mr Berkery's reckoning between 6 and 10 per cent of motorists are not insured and some can be difficult to spot. Apparently 31,000 policies were cancelled last year by insurance companies - often because motorists paid only the first monthly instalment and then nothing more. However, such drivers would still display a "valid" insurance disc, making it impossible for them to be caught in spot checks.

With all the emphasis being placed by Government and the insurance industry on reducing lawlessness and carnage on our roads, Mr Berkery's plan for a national database and a Garda clampdown, including the confiscation of uninsured vehicles, sounds sensible - more so than stopping motorists exceeding 40 mile an hour speed limits on some of our best dual carriageways.

dcoyle@irish-times.ie