Those who risk breaking the law by not renewing their MOT, paying for their road tax or driving without insurance could soon be under the watchful eye of roadside speed cameras if a leading road safety charity gets its way.

An IAM Roadsmart survey of 2,000 UK drivers found that nine out of ten believed that speed cameras should be be an option for the authorities to catch out those who choose not to maintain their motoring paperwork.

With more than 630,000 unlicensed vehicles on the roads the problem is costing the British taxpayer a pretty penny, and more worrying is the data which shows that someone is injured by an uninsured driver on UK roads every 20 minutes. And for those 25 per cent of car owners who don’t know when their next MOT is due, perhaps the threat of being caught by a speed camera will help them remember.

“These results paint a very clear picture. Law-abiding motorists are in favour of the police using existing equipment to help make our roads safer by catching motorists who think the rules don’t apply to them,” said Neil Greig, director of policy and research at IAM RoadSmart.

“Of course, the primary purpose of catching speeding motorists is paramount but it should not be overlooked the suffering that drivers of vehicles which are uninsured, unlicenced and without a valid MOT can cause other road users.

“Getting lawbreakers off our roads could significantly help reduce the number of casualties caused by motorists with no regard for their motoring responsibilities.”

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