by Molly Kerridge
A Lutterworth teenager was given a six-month driving disqualification at Leicester Magistrates’ Court last Thursday (OCT01) after driving uninsured during his first driving lesson.
Jordan Snow, 19, was learning to drive with his step-dad in a car borrowed from his uncle in early May when he hit a stationary car, shunting it into another car behind it.
The learner driver turned into a side street from a main road and put his foot down too hard to avoid an oncoming vehicle, causing him to collide with a parked car in Church Street, Lutterworth.
Although there were no casualties, the police were called to the scene to assess the damages to the affected vehicles.
It was revealed that Snow was uninsured to drive his uncle’s car and he was summoned to the court last Thursday.
Prosecutor Stacey Mills said: “He put his foot down harder than he thought and before he could brake he collided with a parked car in Church Street.
“He thought that because his father was covered, he would be okay to drive.”
Snow chose not to be represented by a solicitor and was eventually given a six month disqualification and a £120 fine, in addition to legal costs and a victim surcharge.
A spokesman from Leicester Driving School said: “There is definitely more of a risk learning to drive with family rather than professional instructors.
“In family cars, there are only one set of controls, and family members aren’t, in my opinion, trained to see the dangers the learning driver could encounter.”
In 2020, there was an estimated 1 million uninsured drivers in the UK, and about 3,000 are caught every day.
The spokesman continued: “Sometimes, parents of learning drivers aren’t aware that if they insure themselves to drive their car, it doesn’t cover anyone else driving that car.”
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