The days of uninsured drivers are numbered, according to one industry expert.

Jim Fitzpatrick, the minister of transport, has confirmed the delivery of a consultation paper concerning uninsured drivers which the British Insurance Brokers Association (Biba) says will finally clamp down on this issue.

Graeme Trudgill, Biba's technical and corporate affairs executive, said: "I'm glad to say that the minister confirmed their commitment to continue enforcement - it will be happening and they will be delivering and funding the new regime."

He added that while it is great news, the paper will take time to go through, with the consultation document detailing how the new system will work being drafted in the next few months and then being aired for around three months.

It will then take a further year for various people and groups to respond to the proposals, after which lawyers will need to sort out the nitty gritty details.

Mr Trudgill added: "So it will probably be about two years before this will actually be working. But it is going to be working.

"The government have committed and said that, so it is great news in the fight against uninsured driving."

Under the new proposals there will be two databases – one will feature registered car owners and their insurance policies and the other will featured uninsured cars, in a bid to catch out those drivers lacking cover.

The new regulations, experts hope, will stamp out the problem of uninsured drivers on British roads, which is currently a sizable issue.

According to the Motor Insurance Bureau, there are around two million uninsured vehicles on the UK’s roads with Barkerend in Bradford singled out as the worst area of the country.


However, last year the police only seized 150,000 uninsured vehicles.

Furthermore, this problem is having a direct effect on those motorists who do pay for insurance, as policies are an average of £31 per year more expensive to compensate.

According to a YouGov survey 87 per cent of motorists previously felt that the government has not been doing enough to tackle the problem, making Mr Fitzpatrick's recent announcement a welcome departure from the previous apathy.

Mr Trudgill concluded: "[The new legislation] should make the roads safer, it should mean people are paying a smaller levy on their insurance premium, the government will make more on the insurance premium tax income.

"So everybody wins basically apart from the villains who have to comply."