BRITAIN’S worst hotspots for dodgy driving have been revealed – does your neighbourhood feature?
New data from the Motor Insurers’ Bureau (MIB) has uncovered the worst offending areas for uninsured driving across the country.
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Birmingham is the clear leader, with the two worst hotspots – the B11 and B21 postal areas – taken by the city.
Five of the top 15 places are taken by Birmingham postcodes.
The DA17 postcode in Bexley takes third place, with Wolverhampton‘s WV2 coming in fourth.
NE29 in North Tyneside is fifth, and Buckinghamshire’s HP12 takes the number six spot.
Seventh is the B18 Birmingham postcode, with SK1 in Stockport in eighth place.
Number nine is Birmingham once again – the B8 postcode specifically.
Tenth is WS4 in Walsall.
Eleventh is CV7, Solihull, with BL7 in Bolton coming in twelfth.
Birmingham appears once again with the B33 postcode taking number 13.
Doncaster’s DN8 is fourteenth, and finally Milton Keynes’ MK7 takes the fifteenth spot.
The rankings are based on two years’ worth of MIB claim data.
The chart was released on Monday to coincide with their annual ‘Operation Drive Insured’ campaign.
This week-long vital road safety initiative, running 11-17 November, sees MIB collaborating with all UK police forces to get uninsured drivers off the road.
Along with the rankings, the MIB released the story of Ian Lee, who was on his way home from the office when he was hit by a stolen lorry.
He said: “I’d just set off from the traffic lights and, all of a sudden, there was an almighty crash.
“There were shards of glass all over the passenger seat and dashboard.
“I was shunted over to the other side of the road and it was all bit of a blur. I got out to have a look and saw this lorry on my car.”
Ian did not initially notice any injuries – he was just grateful to be able to walk away.
But the next morning, he realised something wasn’t right. His shoulder hurt and he was only able to lift his arm part of the way into the air.
Ian needed injections into his shoulder over the coming months, and he can still feel the injury to this day.
Ian called his insurance company from the roadside. As the lorry was stolen, with cloned plates and the drivers nowhere to be seen, his insurers provided initial support before advising him to contact MIB.
They then started the process to get Ian compensation for the injuries he received.
Ian said: “It allowed me to think about getting on with life.
“You’ve got bills to pay and you don’t really want to get into debt through something that’s not your own fault.
“Getting a claim from MIB definitely helped to alleviate some of the stress that was involved.
“When I look back, actually I was really, really lucky to get out of that one. I’d be much happier if there were no uninsured drivers on the road.”
While Ian was able to walk away from his collision with an uninsured driver, many are not so lucky.
Every 20 minutes someone in the UK is hit by an uninsured or hit-and-run driver and, tragically, each day at least one person suffers injuries so severe they need life-long care, the MIB says.
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