Cheap motor insurers ask is it a fair cop gov?
Insureyourmotor.co.uk figure out if statistics add up. They promise that their cheap motor insurance ones do. They know you won't question their prices, service or quality when it comes to finding the cheapest motor insurance online. Insureyourmotor.co.uk's number is the only digits you need worry about - give the cheap motor insurers a bell today. One of their journalists uncovers some startling figures of his own..
Number-crunchers at the home-office have been burning the candle at both ends in order to put the finishing touches to their yearly traffic offence report. Albeit about a year late by my reckoning. Living for their one moment in the spotlight they've done their calculus in a way that would make their mothers proud. Fathers too, if they had them. And collated, packaged and sellotaped something many of us with motoring interests have been waiting for with baited breath. It landed here on my desk at Insureyourmotor.co.uk this morning, and nearly went straight through the cheaply made flat-packed work station I'm shackled to, such was its findings.
Not since balding men with ill-fitting linen suits first started sharpening pencils have statistics returned headline figures such as 13.5million. That's precisely the number of traffic offences dealt with by the boys in blue during 2004 it's been revealed. And nigh on one third more than the report had highlighted a decade earlier. With more figures to play with than Mattel's product-testers had to fiddle with in the 1980's, here's a quick look at what's what;
* Almost 1 in every 2 cars or Lorries registered in the UK has been involved in a motoring offence.
* 466 offences recorded per 100 vehicles in 2004, compared to 355 in 1994.
* Men are worst 'serious case' offenders -90% of those offences were committed by men.
Their list of demeanours include; drink/drug driving (92,300 of these led to prosecution at magistrates court, up some 90,000 on 2003), theft of a motor vehicle, causing death or bodily harm and, bizarrely - loading offences.
* The most common offences for women being; obstruction, waiting, and assorted parking offences (the largest percentage of tickets were issued across the board in this category - accounting for some 8.6million toward the 13.5million total). Aswell as speeding and road tax evasion.
* Roadside cameras have provided evidence for 2,038,500 offences (up 6%) compared to 1998 when only 447,000 were caught by traffic cameras. Of these 2m cases, 94%, involved speeding. The rest were for jumping red lights. Police themselves dealt with 2.1million speeding offences, careless driving prosecution rose by 60%
* Fixed penalties account for 11million offences - fundamentally the bulk of statistics. Of these 7.7m were parking tickets from local authority wardens (an increase of 7% on the previous year), the remainder were insurance, tax disc and mot violations.
* In other driver-related offences 75,400 road users were handed £30 fines for using hand held mobile phones in 2004, the first year it became an offence to be seen doing such. Good news on this particular front that the fine is doubling to £60. Plus 3 points on your license.
* Breath tests were up 8% from the amount carried out for the same period in 2003, reaching 578,000 in England and Wales . But the number of positive tests, or drivers refusing tests, fell by 3% for the same period to 103,000.
Many of These Home Office released figures will again spark fury amongst the many law-abiding motorists who see traffic cameras as being nothing more than a cheap and cynical source of continual revenue by the government, especially those bitter and twisted after been caught by the fuzz doing 31mph in a built up area. On a BMX. This, coupled with the underlying fact that we all know its just bone idleness taken to a new, impressive plateau by those of distinctive helmet. So, its good news to hear that Transport Minister Stephen Ladyman has taken this opportunity to announce that permission had been granted for a further 233 camera sites, increasing presence from 4314 to 4547. Good move.
Tony and his chums are pledging to plough £110million of fine moneys accumulated into the governments coffers (or private pension plan as its known in Westminster ) on road safety, as their figures show that 9 people are killed every day and an average of 85 injured on our roads. Therefore some of our money going back into the health service to help some of these injured may help.
Another of Tony's chums, Lord someone or other with a made-up name and a comfy seat, with part-time Lord Chancellor duties, announced a bulk 'summary justice' system that would cover thousands of 'high-volume - low level' offences, including speeding, would be set up to ease the burden on the courts, ensuring small crimes would be handled quicker and more directly. And naturally give more bean-counters something to dedicate their miserable life's too, so affording their mothers ironing and rent charges.
Insureyourmotor.co.uk's charges are minimal. And our cheap motor insurance policies are incomparable. If it's cheap motor insurance you want, then there's only one number you need. The one found on Insureyourmotor.co.uk's website. Call it today.
Date - 21/09/2006
