You will commit an offence if you use, or to let another person use, a motor vehicle on a road or public place which does not have in force in respect of it an insurance policy which at the very least insures against third party risks and which complies with section 143 of the Road Traffic Act 1988.

If you have been charged with this offence then you should contact keepmedrivingas soon as practicable so that we can advise you on the options open to you. This is a complicated area of the law and there are a number of defences which can be brought.

It is important that you realise that it is not necessary for you actually to be driving the vehicle – merely use it. Therefore, if the vehicle is stationary or parked on a public road and there is no valid insurance the offence will have been committed. However, it will have to be shown that you actually had use of the vehicle for a case to be proved against you. Thus it may be a defence to show that at the relevant time you had leant or sold the car to a third party and could not therefore be regarded as having any control or use of the vehicle. Note, however, that it is not a defence for you to say that you were unaware that it was not insured.

It is quite common for allegations to arise where company cars are involved. For example, the employee may not be aware that the company has failed to insure the vehicle. If this instance arises then you should contact keepmedriving as a matter of urgency since you will be the one who is regarded as having control of the vehicle and therefore be ‘using’ it for the purposes of this legislation.

Finally, even though you may have committed a technical offence, it may be possible for us to argue that you should not receive a ban or penalty points there are special reasons which apply. This could include, for example, that the insurance company had cancelled your insurance without notifying you or that you believed that insurance had been effected by your employer but without your knowledge it had not been finalised or the insurance company had not issued a policy.

In the event that you are convicted of this offence then you face a penalty of between 6 and 8 penalty points, a fine of up to £5,000 and even the possibility of disqualification. The extent of the sentence will depend to an extent upon whether the court believes that the offence was not committed deliberately and possibly without your knowledge.

If you have been charged with an insurance offence then contact keepmedriving either by completing the appropriate online information form which you will find in the Getting Help section, by requesting a free call-back using the free, no-obligation call-back form to the right or by phoning us during office hours on 084 4804 4804

The offence of driving with no current MOT

Section 47(1) of the Road Traffic Act 1988 states that it is an offence for anyone to drive, or allow or cause to be driven, a vehicle which requires, but does not have, a valid Ministry of Transport (MOT) test certificate.

Section 47(2) states that the vehicles to which this applies are those first registered over three years ago, or

“those which, having a date of manufacture not less than three years before that time, have been used on roads (whether in Great Britain or elsewhere) before being registered”

In addition, certain vehicles which are used to carry passengers need to be tested after one year. These are:

• a motor vehicle used for the carriage of passengers and with more than eight seats, excluding the driver’s seat, or
• a taxi (as defined in section 64 (3) of the Transport Act 1980), being a vehicle licensed to ply for hire, and
• an ambulance

Penalties for driving without an MOT

The penalty for driving a vehicle that has not successfully passed an MOT is likely to be a fine, the severity of whihc will depend upon the extent of the offence and whether it was in respect of a private vehicle or one being used to carry passengers or goods. However, it will not on its own result in either the imposition of penalty points or a disqualification.

Exemptions and defences

There are a number of exemptions or defences which you might be able to take the benefit of in relation to this offence.

If you are taking the vehicle to an MOT testing station for the purposes of having a test carried out when you are stopped then you may be able to avoid being convicted provided that you can show that it was “by previous arrangement”. However, you should note that even if the test centre is one which does not require that a test be booked, you may still be found guilty if you cannot show a “previous arrangement” – that is to say that you have contacted the test centre and made arrangements to bring the vehicle in for testing at a particular time.

The other main exemption is in relation to vehicles brought from abroad. If you can show that the vehicle has only been brought into Great Britain temporarily and has an appropriate registration mark for the company from which it came then you will be able to avoid prosecution.

For more information, or to speak to one of our solicitors, please contact keepmedriving either by completing the appropriate online information form which you will find in the Getting Help section, by requesting a free call-back using the free, no-obligation call-back form to the right or by phoning us during office hours on 084 4804 4804

It is an offence for you to drive a vehicle without a licence appropriate to a vehicle of that class or to drive a vehicle on a provisional licence unless accompanies by an appropriate person. If you have been charged with any offence of this nature then you should contact keepmedriving as a matter of urgency so that we can advise you as to the most appropriate steps to take.

If you are convicted of driving without a valid license then you are likely to incur between three and six penalty points and a fine of a maximum of £1000. You can also be banned from obtaining a license for a certain period of time.

If you are a learner driver and hold only a provisinal licence then you will be committing an offence if you do not drive with “L” plates on your vehicle and have with you in the car a full licence-holder to supervise who must be at least 21 years of age, and have held a full licence for at least three years.

You may also find that, because you were not licensed to drive, that any insurance in place for the vehicle you were driving has been rendered invalid. Therefore you may also be charged with driving a vehicle without valid insurance.

Finally you should be aware that the licence which you hold must be for the type of vehicle that you are driving and that an ordinary car licence will not necessarily entitle you to drive other vehicles such as large goods vehicles (LGV) or passenger-carrying vehicles (PCV).

If you have been charged with driving without a licence you should contact keepmedriving either by completing the appropriate online information form which you will find in the Getting Help section, by requesting a free call-back using the free, no-obligation call-back form to the right or by phoning us during office hours on 084 4804 4804