IMID system has come into effect. Don't worry if you keep it.

The new Irish Motor Insurance Database (IMID) system has come into effect. Don't worry if you keep it. If you drive a vehicle without insurance  you will be caught.

Research by the Motor Insurers Bureau of Ireland (MIBI) found that 101,881 uninsured private vehicles were driven last year.

The percentage of uninsured private vehicles on Irish roads has almost halved following the introduction of the new Irish Motor Insurance Database (IMID) system, which aims to help Gardaí identify uninsured drivers more easily.

This figure is 4.2% of all private vehicles on Irish roads, representing a reduction of almost 50% compared to 2022, meaning that the number of uninsured private vehicles has fallen from one in every 12 in 2022 to one in every 25 last year.

There were approximately 187,000 uninsured vehicles on Irish roads, four times the EU average, based on MIBI research in 2022. 

The IMID database was first launched last year. The data contained in the database includes policyholder details, vehicle registration numbers, and the names of drivers permitted to drive the vehicles covered by each policy.

This information is provided by motor insurance companies, brokers, fleet owners and motor dealers, and is shared with the Department of Transport and the Gardaí. The driver numbers of each insured driver are also included.

Following the development of IMID, MIBI was able to check the number of uninsured commercial vehicles for the first time. It is now legally required to add details of these vehicles to the national fleet database. However, MIBI estimates that around 425,000 fleet and motor trade vehicles should be listed on the database, but so far details of only 364,889 have been provided.

From the beginning of its development, the Department of Motor Vehicles believed that IMID would be a powerful weapon in the fight against uninsured driving. 

Following the introduction of this system, Gardaí were able to seize 18,676 vehicles and issue 26,094 summonses and charges last year, the department says.