Just under four hundred claims have been made for traffic accidents caused by uninsured drivers in Galway in the past five years.
Figures released by the Motor Insurers Bureau of Ireland show that from 2018 to 2022 there were a total of 394 such claims made in Galway.
The year with the fewest claims in Galway was in 2021, where they reached a low of just 46 after declining each year from a peak of 112 claims in 2018.
However, the following year saw claims to MIBI in relation to accidents in Galway rise again to 73 in 2022.
Nationwide there were a total of 10,376 such claims submitted to the bureau over the five year period from 2018 to 2022.
Speaking about the claims figures, MIBI Chief Executive David Fitzgerald said that the cost of these accidents is borne law abiding motorists.
They “effectively have to subsidize these claims” each time they renew their insurance he added, saying that the average motorist has paid an extra €150 – €175 to cover the cost of accidents caused by uninsured and untraced drivers over the past five year.
“Unfortunately as the number of uninsured vehicles grows, the number of claims relating to accidents caused by uninsured drivers also rise.”
“With the level of uninsured vehicles on Irish roads potentially the highest in the EU, we need to do all we can to discourage people driving illegally without insurance.”
Earlier this year the MIBI published research showing there were almost 188,000 uninsured private vehicles on Irish roads last year and that the Republic of Ireland may now have the highest level of uninsured vehicles in the EU.
They also predicted that the number of uninsured vehicles on Irish roads could pass 200,000 in the next 12 – 18 months if “significant action” isn’t taken.
