Number of uninsured vehicles on roads drops after new detection system, analysis shows
Tomas Doherty
The share of uninsured private vehicles on Irish roads has almost halved following the introduction of a new database system, analysis shows.
According to research conducted by the Motor Insurers’ Bureau of Ireland (MIBI), uninsured vehicles represented 4.2 per cent of the overall private fleet across the Republic last year, compared to 8.3 per cent in 2022.
In 2024 the MIBI found there were a total of 101,881 uninsured private vehicles within the overall total of 2.4 million. By comparison, in 2022 the number of uninsured private vehicles stood at 187,803 out of a total of 2.25 million.
This also means the number of uninsured private vehicles dropped from one in every 12 in 2022, to one in every 25 last year.
The Irish Motor Insurance Database (IMID) system is managed by MIBI to provide legal authorities with the insurance details for all vehicles on Irish roads. The MIBI is a not-for-profit organisation that was established to compensate victims of road traffic accidents caused by uninsured and unidentified vehicles.
David Fitzgerald, chief executive of the MIBI, said it was encouraging to see the impact the new detection system was having on the number of uninsured drivers.
"The number of uninsured private vehicles has practically halved, which is good news for all road users and anyone concerned about Irish road safety," Mr Fitzgerald said.
"From early in its development, we believed IMID would represent a powerful weapon in the battle against uninsured driving and we can now see that theory being turned into reality.
"Following the introduction of this system, last year Gardaí were able to seize 18,676 vehicles in 2024 and issue a further 26,094 summons and charges. This system allows Gardaí to see in seconds if a vehicle is uninsured or has not been added to the database, allowing them to act quickly in apprehending any offenders."
The analysis also looked at the number of uninsured "commercial vehicles" through the availability of enhanced insurance data.
The details for these vehicles are legally required to be added to the national fleet database.
The MIBI estimates around 425,000 fleet and motor trade vehicles should be listed on the database, but that so far details for just 364,889 have been provided.
Mr Fitzgerald said there was still work to do to combat illegal uninsured driving.
"This is particularly apparent in the data for commercial vehicles, where we see a higher proportion of vehicles that are either uninsured or not uploaded to the National Fleet Database by their fleet owners or motor traders.
"The fleet data is now being used by Gardaí across the frontlines and given the high number of fleet or other commercial vehicles which are not fulfilling their legal motor insurance obligations we anticipate there is likely to be a significant number of offenders identified and apprehended.
"Given these developments, we would encourage any fleet owners or motor traders who have yet to add all their vehicle details to the database to act now. Otherwise they can expect to have their vehicles stopped and potentially seized by the Gardaí in the months ahead."