AA shines the spot light on uncertified driving

Results of a new poll carried out by AA Motor Insurance released today show that plenty of motorists have committed an offence by allowing one or more of their compulsory certificates to expire: NCT, Car Tax or motor insurance.
Of the 15,300 people polled by AA Motor Insurance 33% admitted to driving around at some point  with an expired NCT disc, 33% without valid car tax, 4% with an expired driver’s license and 2% with an out of date motor insurance disc.  Despite the risk of penalty points, fines, mandatory court appearances and even disqualification from driving if convicted a lot of motorists have been willing to take a chance.
“We get honest motorists who let their certificates slip for perhaps a few weeks because they have been slow to re-tax the car or have delayed the NCT appointment.” Says AA Director of Insurance John Farrell.
“It is very serious to drive your car without insurance, and it adds hugely to the cost for all motorists, but  at the same time a lot of people reported to us that they had simply forgotten to change the windscreen disk and driven with last year’s one still on display.”
While the AA survey spoke to AA customers there is a broader problem with a reckless minority of motorists who are deliberately driving uninsured and even in some cases displaying fake windscreen disks.
“As many as 5% of cars out there are uninsured at any one time.” Says Farrell. “This is paid for by the rest of us and it is a serious issue. That sort of wilful evasion is targeted by the Garda, and rightly so.”
The individual comments section of the AA Motor Insurance poll does however suggest that when it comes to expired motor certs more often than not the infringement was unintentional and that the motorists in question were quick to put the situation to rights once they realised their oversight.  Some on the other hand did confess to deliberately putting their renewal on the long finger down to personal cash flow issues.
The AA also reminds those driving vehicles aged ten years and over that new legislation introduced on June 1^st of this year means they are now required to have their vehicle NCT tested annually.
Drivers aged 24 and younger were indentified during the AA Motor Insurance poll as the group most likely to have driven with lapsed insurance with 4% within this category saying they had done so.  The AA fears this figure might be higher again when those who consistently run the risk of driving without insurance are factored into the mix.  
County level data
Tracking well above the national average at 49%, more motorists in Cavan than in any other county said they had driven untaxed at some stage.  Following Cavan, 44% of the Carlow drivers and 43% of the Roscommon drivers surveyed indicated they had also done so whether deliberate or not.  Inversely Dublin and Donegal drivers emerged as least likely to have done so.
Monaghan (6.3%), Leitrim (5.1%) and Longford (4.6%) drivers were identified by the survey as most likely to have driven on a public road even though their motor insurance has expired.  Inversely Kilkenny (0.5%), Offaly (0.7%), Tipperary (0.9%) and Waterford (0.9%) drivers emerged as least likely to have done so.
Drivers interested in sharing their feedback on the topic are invited to post a comment at: http://blog.aaireland.ie/
Ends
Notes to the editor;
Fig. 1 % of respondents who have driven around knowing that the following were out of date (Based on 15,327 responses):

Fig. 2 % of respondents AGED 17 – 24 yrs olds who have driven around knowing that the following were out of date (Based on 330 responses):

Fig.3 % of respondents AGED 25 – 35 yrs olds who have driven around knowing that the following were out of date (Based on 3,224 responses):

Fig.4 % of respondents AGED 36 to 45 yrs olds who have driven around knowing that the following were out of date (Based on 3,224 responses):

Fig.5 % of respondents AGED 45 to 55 yrs olds who have driven around knowing that the following were out of date (Based on 4,040 responses):

Fig.6 % of respondents AGED 56 to 65 yrs olds who have driven around knowing that the following were out of date (Based on 1,122 responses):

Fig.7 % of respondents AGED 65+ yrs olds who have driven around knowing that the following were out of date (Based on 1,122 responses):

Fig. 8 County by county split of whether or not motorists have ever driven around in the knowledge that their NCT certification was out of date. (Based on 15,328 responses)

Fig. 9 County by county split of whether or not motorists have ever driven around in the knowledge that their Car Tax was out of date. (Based on 15,328 responses)

Fig. 10 County by county split of whether or not motorists have ever driven around in the knowledge that their Motor Insurance was out of date. (Based on 15,328 responses)