One in 13 private vehicles on the roads are being operated without insurance, according to a new analysis from the Motor Insurance Bureau of Ireland (Mibi).
The bureau, a not-for-profit organisation which was set up to compensate victims of crashes caused by uninsured vehicles, said the number of such vehicles on the State’s roads reached 174,177 in 2021. This was a rise of more than 23,000 vehicles since 2018.
The Mibi said the latest rise in the number of uninsured private vehicles was making the situation “problematic”.
The bureau was supported by the Parc Road Safety group whose spokeswoman Susan Gray said figures provided through Parliamentary questions showed a significant decline in the number of Garda vehicles fitted with devices to detect uninsured vehicles.
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The Mibi analysis is based on comparison of the total number private vehicles on the State’s Motor tax data base, and figures which showed the number of private vehicles which are insured.
The resulting analysis showed 7.8 percent, or about 1 in 13 of the 2.23 million private vehicles in the State’s overall fleet, were uninsured.
The Mibi called on the Government to pass the Road Traffic and Road Bill, which it said would empower further rollout of the Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) system.
The ANPR system allows a Garda car to instantly read a number plate and compare the number to the Motor Third Party Liability Insurance Database. The system allows the Garda to identify uninsured vehicles simply by scanning their licence plate.
The Mibi said the ANPR system was “currently operating in a limited capacity” but even so was identifying 128 vehicles a day on average.
Parliamentary questions
David Fitzgerald, chief executive of the Mibi said the issue of limited capacity could be dealt with under the provisions of the Road Traffic and Roads Bill, which is currently before the Oireachtas. This legislation would further enhance and empower the ANPR system by widening the scope of its targets to include fleet vehicles such as car hire which had flexible insurance arrangements.
Mr Fitzgerald was supported by Susan Gray of the Parc Road Safety group. Referring to a series of parliamentary questions initiated by former TD Tommy Broughan, she said in 2016 some 103 Garda vehicles were equipped with ANPR, 91 of which were in roads policing units, the remainder being used by detectives sections.
But in 2017 Fianna Fail Deputy Jim O’Callaghan was told the number had dropped to 99 vehicles fitted with ANPR, some 89 were in the roads policing units.
In 2020 Green Party TD Patrick Costello was told the number of ANPR systems in Garda cars had fallen to 76, some 74 of which were in roads policing.
Ms Gray said the figures showed only 24 percent of roads policing vehicles were fitted with ANPR and she said supported the call for a wider roll out and use of the system.
