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IRISH DRIVERS PAID out almost €59 million in 2010 as a result of uninsured drivers and hit and runs.
The Irish Daily Mail carries a report today which reveals that the Motor Insurance Bureau of Ireland has handed over almost €230 million in the past four years to bereaved families, €58.9 million last year alone.
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The MIBI is funded by insurance firms, so this cost is passed onto drivers and is the equivalent of around €40 per insured driver. The MIBI did manage to recover almost €6 million last year by taking uninsured drivers to court. However, the difference in the money paid and the money recovered must by covered by other Irish drivers.
Last year 15 people were killed by uninsured and hit and run drivers. The report in the Irish Daily Mail highlights that some drivers do not realise they don’t have insurance when they take a car out on the road.
Insurance premiums look set to increase next year as a result of a ruling in the European Court of Justice which means that companies can no longer take gender into account when calculating premiums.
Read more in today’s Irish Daily Mail (print edition): Drivers with no insurance cost us €59 million>
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I was under the impression that it is not being downgraded to a fine. If your over 80mg you still have to go to court and charged criminally. Currently if your under 80mg you walk whereas the new law wont let those bearly under off the hook so likely i.e the fine and penalty points. As far as I am aware the fine only applies to first time offence as well, if your caught over 50 a 2nd time you go to court. So in effect the laws are being made stricter ? Correct me if I have this wrong.
is being over the limit classified as being drunk. or is it only a name or level of intoxication when your driving, being labelled drunk carries a negative aspect to having a social drink. I’m all for reduced alcohol blood limits when it comes to driving. just wondering on the naming terms
The problem with this is of course, that it is impossible to ‘know’ if a person is over the limit. The figure could be a lot more. Very few people are actually aware of the quantity of alcohol that would set them over the legal limit. It is more often less that they expect.
No wonder drink related accidents are so high. If in an accident the driver has zero alcohol only the passenger in the back seat is over the limit that accident is classed as being “drink related” if a pedestrian over limit is tipped by a car through his or her own fault it is drink related.
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