• Driving without insurance was the fourth most common motoring offence in 2019
  • Male drivers were responsible for 8 in 10 uninsured motoring offences in 2019

Adrian Flux, one of the UK’s leading car insurance brokers, analysed the most recent motoring offences data from the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) to find out the most interesting trends in motoring offences and violations over the past ten years.

Across all regions in England and Wales, the report reveals that West Yorkshire had the highest number of uninsured drivers per 1,000 people in 2019. This was shortly followed by Bedfordshire and Lincolnshire.

In fact, with a rate of 2.58 uninsured drivers per 1,000 people, West Yorkshire is approximately 77% above the average rate for England and Wales as a whole (1.59 per 1,000).

The ten regions with the highest rate of uninsured driving offences per 1,000 people in 2019, can be seen here:

  1. West Yorkshire
  2. Bedfordshire
  3. Lincolnshire
  4. Metropolitan (Greater London)
  5. Northamptonshire
  6. Gwent
  7. Humberside
  8. Kent
  9. Lancashire
  10. Norfolk

Despite seeing a decrease of almost one thousand offences year-on-year, at 6,999 offences in 2018 and 5,991 offences in 2019, West Yorkshire remains the area with the highest rate of uninsured drivers.

A wider look

Driving without insurance was the fourth most common motoring offence in 2019, behind speeding, licensing offences and failing to present ID.

Adding to this, the number of uninsured drivers increased year on year over a five-year period (2015-2019) until 2019, when the number of uninsured drivers rapidly fell. In fact, in 2018 there were 95,280 uninsured drivers which decreased to 89,818 in 2019.

The report also found that:

  • Male drivers were responsible for more than 8 in 10 uninsured motoring offences in 2019, accounting for 85.4% of all uninsured drivers in 2019
  • Younger generations were the most likely to be uninsured, with two thirds of all uninsured drivers (74.2%) aged 39 or under
  • The highest percentage of uninsured drivers were 30-39 year olds at 28.8%, while the second highest percentage of uninsured drivers were 25-29 year olds at 20.1%

Gerry Bucke, General Manager, Adrian Flux: 

“As a very serious offence, it is shocking that driving without insurance was revealed to be the fourth most common motoring offence in 2019. In fact, it’s against the law to drive a vehicle on public roads without insurance and if you are caught doing so, you could receive a hefty fine or worse. Being properly covered ensures the safety and protection of all road users. This is why it is vital that drivers ensure they are appropriately insured.”