Sussex schoolboy Callum Oakford was killed on New Year's Day by an uninsured driver. The driver was jailed for eight months for failing to stop and for driving without insurance, licence or MOT. The sentence was later reduced to six months on a technicality, provoking outrage and dismay from campaigners who have been pressing the government to step up action against drivers who fail to insure themselves.

This Wednesday motor insurers, road safety campaigners and law-abiding car-owners hope their cause will be boosted by the publication of Professor David Greenaway's government-commissioned report on uninsured driving. More than one million drivers - 5 per cent of British motorists - drive illegally without insurance. Accidents involving these drivers cost more than £500m a year, adding 6 per cent to the insurance premiums paid by every insured driver.

Worse is the misery that some of these drivers inflict on the relatives and friends of those killed as a result of their driving. Research by the Association of British Insurers has shown that uninsured drivers are far more likely to be involved in serious driving offences than insured drivers. They are 10 times more likely to drink-drive and six times more likely to drive an unroadworthy car.

Malcolm Tarling, spokesman for the ABI, says: 'Uninsured drivers represent a great danger - it's not just the lack of insurance but everything else that comes with it. The more [uninsured drivers] we can weed out, the safer the roads will be.'

Some police forces have been conducting a pilot test of the Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) system - the CCTV camera system used to record number plates for London's congestion charging scheme - and the system is due to be rolled out nationwide in September. The system will be linked to the DVLA and the national police computer, increasing the chance of catching unroadworthy and untaxed vehicles and those involved in speeding. By extending the link to the Motor Insurers' Database, it will help to identify uninsured vehicles as well.

But as insurer More Than points out, it's one thing to link databases and quite another to make good use of the information it could generate. In Sweden the equivalent of the DVLA and insurance databases are linked, and owners of vehicles shown to have no insurance are sent a letter asking them to provide proof of insurance. Sweden has an uninsured driver rate of 0.1 per cent, compared with Britain's 5 per cent.

David Pitts, head of motor insurance at More Than, says the police should be more proactive. During the ANPR trial, the police were only able to respond to 8 per cent of the hits picked up by cameras owing to a lack of resources, and concentrated on those involving either multiple offences or major crime. 'We want the police to follow through and act on information about uninsured drivers before they have an accident,' says Pitts.

Many of those convicted of driving without insurance are men below the age of 25. For them the average fine of £150 to £200 is worth risking compared with the £1,000 to £2,000 cost of buying insurance. A More Than survey into attitudes towards uninsured drivers shows that most people would like much stronger deterrents to back up better detection. A third want to see offenders given a lifelong driving ban, and the same number favour confiscation of the vehicle. A further fifth want bigger fines, and 16 per cent would like offenders imprisoned.

Those convicted will face higher insurance premiums as and when they eventually buy a policy. Laurence Loughnane, head of underwriting for Norwich Union, says the insurer is well aware of this Catch-22 situation, and is trying a different method of combating the problem. It is sponsoring a pilot scheme run by Gloucester City Council to educate those convicted of uninsured driving about insurance and the impact they have on others by driving without. Those who opt to join the scheme will avoid a fine but still face penalties on their licence - if they have one.

Unfortunately this does not help those who become victims of uninsured drivers. Legitimate drivers with fully comprehensive insurance have to pay at least the excess on any claim on their policy if involved in an accident with an uninsured motorist. Drivers with third-party cover have to apply to the Motor Insurance Bureau for compensation, paying an excess of £300.

Collision course

If the person with whom you have collided is unable to produce insurance documents, get as many other details as possible: name, address, telephone number and licence plate number. Ask to see a driving licence or some other proof of identity. Do not admit any responsibility. If anyone is hurt, call the police straight away. Tell your insurer as soon as possible.