KEY POINTS:
Transport Safety Minister Harry Duynhoven believes there is a considerable ground swell of support for compulsory third party vehicle insurance.
The government is preparing plans to require every driver to have at least third party cover, so others will not be left out of pocket when a crash occurs.
Mr Duynhoven says at least a third of motorists do not have any form of vehicle insurance and insurance companies spend up to $80 million a year recovering crash costs from uninsured drivers.
He believes compulsory insurance would change attitudes to driving and could even reduce the number of crashes.
He says if young people, for example, wanted to get a good insurance rating which would entitle them to a lower premium, then they would be more inclined to be safer drivers and would avoid speeding tickets, general offending and crashes.
Mr Duynhoven says a crash caused by someone on a low income can have a major impact on that person's finances for years as they pay it off, but he says if they had third party insurance, they would be protected for a very modest amount of money.
He says conversely, a motorist hit by an uninsured driver can spend years trying to recover costs.
"I think there are enough people over the years who have had crashes with uninsured drivers and have had huge problems getting money out of them."
Mr Duynhoven says New Zealand is one of the only countries in the world that has not had, since ACC was introduced more than 30 years ago, a compulsory insurance regime.
A discussion paper is being drawn up and will be available for public comment.
- NEWSTALK ZB
