By Adam Morris
The cost-of-living crisis and soaring car insurance quotes have been blamed for an increase in Scottish drivers being caught without cover.
Figures obtained by 1919 have revealed thousands of motorists were issued with a criminal endorsement – called an IN10 – in 2023, the highest in at least four years.
A total of 6,751 drivers were reported to the DVLA, risking punishments such as fines and points being applied to their licence.
That is the equivalent of more than 18 people a day being apprehended north of the border, with any offence remaining on a driver’s record for four years.
Motoring bodies said driving has become a particularly expensive pursuit for young people, an issue that has triggered a UK-wide increase in people risking being uninsured on the road.
“For young drivers, the cost of getting onto the roads legally – learning to drive, getting a vehicle, taxing it, and insuring it – is becoming an extremely costly process,” said William Porter, policy and public affairs manager for charity IAM RoadSmart.
“The growing number of drivers in Scotland getting caught driving without insurance is a worrying trend, exacerbated by the increasing cost of car insurance.”
The organisation said it had written to the UK Government asking it to consider reducing the standard rate of insurance premium tax, to offer breaks to young drivers who passed additional safety courses, and consider setting up a taskforce for young motorists.
The DVLA statistics also revealed the areas of Scotland most common for dodging car insurance.
Over the past five years, motorists in Glasgow were most likely to be apprehended, with 5,636 incidents recorded, followed by the Lothians with 3,896 and Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire with a combined 2,328 cases.
“The growing number of drivers in Scotland getting caught driving without insurance is a worrying trend, exacerbated by the increasing cost of car insurance”
The five-year total for Scotland is just below the 25,000 mark, while the 2023 total represented a three per cent rise on the previous year.
Car insurance companies came under fire last year for hiking prices.
They blamed more thefts, adverse weather induced by climate change, and increases in their own costs amid inflation rises, although in recent months premiums have begun to reduce again.
The Motor Insurers’ Bureau told 1919 that police seizures of uninsured cars are also on the rise in Scotland, with 2024 likely to be a record year once all statistics have been processed.
Martin Saunders, the organisation’s head of enforcement, said: “It’s really important to us to reduce the level of uninsured driving on the road.
“We know that times are tough for many people right now and increased cost-of-living pressures may cause more people to make the wrong decision to drive uninsured, but this is not the right way to save money.”
A spokesperson for the DVLA said: “Driving without insurance is a road traffic offence which is a matter for the police.”
Number of uninsured drivers caught since 2020 by postcode area
| Postcode area | Number of uninsured drivers |
|---|---|
| Aberdeen | 2,328 |
| Dundee | 1,398 |
| Dumfries and Galloway | 821 |
| Edinburgh/Lothians | 3,896 |
| Falkirk | 1,213 |
| Fife | 1,635 |
| Greater Glasgow | 5,636 |
| Inverness/Highlands | 1,038 |
| Kilmarnock/Ayrshire | 1,767 |
| Motherwell/Lanarkshire | 2,140 |
| Paisley/West of Scotland | 1,375 |
| Perthshire | 744 |
| Orkney | 243 |
| Scottish Borders | 423 |
| Shetland | 97 |
| Western Isles | 120 |
| Total | 24,874 |