Impounding foreign registered cars with no insurance

T

therave

Registered User
Messages
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hi all,
i just caught a bit of this on the news last night and so i am unclear as to what will happen ,but the news said that there is a new law in force from tonight whereby the Gardai can impound any foreign registered car in this country that does not have insurance... i would appreciate comments or if somebody could verify the above
 
how would the Gardai know if the foreign vehicle does or doesnt' have insurance? UK cars dont have to display insurance discs, only tax discs so how could you tell if it was insured or not? If they were to display an insurance certificate from their home country, how could the Garda tell if it was real??
 
Does anyone know if any Irish-owned cars without insurance have ever been impounded ?

Given that the estimated non-insured rate is 10-15% (from memory) there would seem to be huge scope for impounding - assuming there was enough storage space.
 
Speech by Martin Cullen T.D., Minister for Transport

13 April 2006

The Government has this morning approved the Heads of the new Road Safety Bill, 2006.



5. Detention of uninsured, untaxed, unlicensed vehicles
  • Increased powers to allow Gardai impound untaxed, uninsured , unlicensed and uncertified vehicles, including foreign registered cars. The Bill will close the existing loophole which states that only vehicles 'registered' in the State can be impounded where they do not have valid insurance in place. Now, all vehicles 'within' the State will be covered. The measure means that An Garda Síochána can impound vehicles, in the event of their being untaxed, uninsured, being driven by an unlicensed driver, without a valid NCT certificate or DOE certificate.
 
There is no real indication within that though of how it might be enforced though. I can't see it really being plausibly implemented.
 
I can't see it really being plausibly implemented.
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I also have my doubts. Hence my query about Irish-registered cars being impounded. I have my doubts that this was ever used much in the past.
 
The Garda have been circulated with copies of all other Member States Insurance Certificates so they will know what to look for. Insurance Discs are only an indication of having Insurance, the Certificate is the important document. Over 11,000 vehicles were impounded last year so the Garda do impound vehicles and by the end of the autumn vehicles without valid NCTs or DOE certs (or their EU equivalents) will also be liable to be impounded and if your tax disc is out of date by more than 2 months then that can be impounded too.
 
There is no real indication within that though of how it might be enforced though. I can't see it really being plausibly implemented.
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Very simple really, any driver/owner of vehicle involved in a crash or speeding/drunk driving incident, or which comes to Garda attention in another way, will be asked to produce insurance documents within x number of days. If this is not produced, Gardai have power to impound. If documents are produced, it is very easy for Gardai to check the details with the relevant insurance company abroad - assuming (quite reasonably, imho) that they will have english-speaking staff available for this purpose. (If not I'm sure it is not beyond the Gardai's capability to have pre-printed faxable foreign-language forms for this purpose). If documents don't show up as correct, or are otherwise deficient, Gardai again have power to impound
 
This has to be a good thing, There was a report in a local paper in Galway in the last few weeks where there were a person was caught driving the same foreign registered car for the 6 time in 5 years with no tax or insurance. So they must have some way of checking!
 
incredible in Galway.
but surely it will be a waste of Garda tme and effort if they suspect that the car is uninsured and then wait for the person to bring the cert,what will probably happen is the person won't show up with their proof and then the garad will have to go looking for them.i think it shoudl be like in other countires where you need the proof with you when driving the vehicle and then it could be easily impounded by the gardai
 
therave said:
i think it shoudl be like in other countires where you need the proof with you when driving the vehicle and then it could be easily impounded by the gardai
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This could have serious implications. I for one would have felt rather aggrieved to say the least if my (fully insured) car had been impounded last September while I was awaiting receipt of my updated insurance disk which was late coming from the insurance company.
 
and I am in a queue for the nct. had to change from Dundalk to Monaghan to get a 'vacancy' during August.
 
I don't think the Gardaí are going to impound a car which is displaying an insurance disc which is out of date by a month or a couple of weeks - common sense will have to prevail. Similar problems existed when you couldn't tax your car without a valid NCT - because of the delays experienced with NCT, thousands of cars were not taxed - they have now changed this and you no longer need a valid NCT to tax your car. If you have recently changed your car, you should have proof of purchase displayed indicating the purchase date which should cover you for non display of valid tax or insurance details.
 
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