The MIB (Motor Insurers’ Bureau) has reported a 20% drop in the number of people driving without valid car insurance over the past four years.

In 2005 the figure stood at 1.8 million, but in 2009 that figure was reduced to 1.5 million.

Although the drop is significant, the problem of uninsured drivers on our streets is still large. MIB warns that 4% of drivers in the UK don’t have cover, the highest rate in the whole of Western Europe.

Every year, 23,000 people are injured in accidents involving uninsured drivers, and a total of 160 people are killed. The resulting payouts from the insurance companies add up to a bill of £500 million every year. But it is the rest of the driving population that has to pay for this in the form of an extra £30 on top of every premium.

The chief executive of the MIB, Ashton West, said that the reduction is a “significant step” that shows that uninsured drivers are “consistently being caught and removed from the road”. He reminded drivers that, although times are tough, car insurance is not something you can choose to avoid paying as it is a legal requirement. He also highlighted the fact that the costs are too high for the rest of motorists who have to foot the bill.

The punishment for driving without insurance can be severe, constituting a £200 fine and six penalty points on the licence. The vehicle can also be seized, requiring a £150 recovery charge to collect it.

Virgin Money Car Insurance has released results of its annual report into the most car-friendly towns in the UK.

The report looks into different aspects of each town and how these relate to the driving experience. Parking costs, petrol prices, the number of speed cameras, car parks and the levels of car crime are all taken into account to come up with the list of the most car-friendly places.

The most car-friendly town overall was revealed as St Helens in Merseyside. This knocked Telford in Shropshire off the top spot, (a position that it had held for the last two years) and into second place.

As might be expected, the worst place in the UK was London. This was partly due to the fact that London boasts 600 speed cameras. It is a position that London is used to as it has also held the worst spot for the last three years in a row.

Third place in the table was Blackburn, in fourth was Dudley in the West Midlands, and Derby came in fifth.

At the other end of the table, but better than London, were Manchester, Reading, Glasgow and Watford.

In all, the 65 biggest towns and cities in the UK were researched in order to find out the results.

Grant Bather from Virgin Money said that although the 24 million drivers in the country are often “driven to distraction” by all the frustrations of driving, “many local authorities do their best to ensure drivers aren’t treated like second-class citizens”. He admitted that everyone would have a different idea about what constituted “driving hell”, and that the research aimed to show the best and worst towns and cities for drivers.

London has been revealed as the motor-fine capital of the UK following research from Esure.

The car-insurance firm released results of a survey claiming that drivers in the capital pay a staggering £680 in driving fines throughout their lifetimes. This was way above the other geographic regions of the country.

The survey questioned 1,107 motorists across the UK on how many fines they have had to pay. Here are some of the results:

• drivers in the northeast pay an average of £352 in fines throughout their lifetimes
• drivers in the southeast pay an average of £303
• drivers in Northern Ireland pay the least at £90 on average
• drivers in Scotland pay £198 on average

There was also a discrepancy between the fines paid by men and by women. On average, men pay a total of £344 throughout their lives on driving fines, with women only paying out £210.

On top of that, 46% of men said they had been caught speeding, compared to just a quarter of women.

The results also show that the vast majority of fines are generated by speeding and parking offences. When it came to parking, 36% of respondents said that they disobey parking rules deliberately and 34% admitted that they get confused by the rules.

The head of risk and underwriting at Esure, Mike Pickard, said that running a car can be a costly business, but it is made more so by picking up fines for driving offences. He also warned that offences are there “for a reason”, adding that “they are actions that put drivers and other road-users at risk.”