Garda arrest driver found to be disqualified after he came to pick up uninsured friend

A man has been arrested and two cars were confiscated after a driver arriving to collect the owner of an uninsured vehicle was found to be disqualified from driving. Gardaí stopped a BMW on the M50 after it was flagged by automated number plate registration technology (ANPR).The car was flagged as having no active insurance. It also has not been taxed for 274 days. Gardaí seized the car under section 41 of the Road Traffic Act.The driver then asked a friend to collect him after his vehicle was seized. When the friend arrived in an Audi, he was arrested. READ MORE“Turns out the Audi driver had an active court disqualification, and an active bench warrant was also in existence,” the Garda said.“The only place this pair will be road-tripping to is the District Court,” the Garda said on social media.Motor insurance is compulsory in Ireland for any vehicle being driven on public roads. They must also pass vehicle safety testing and annual tax must be paid.Driving an untaxed vehicle is penalised with a fixed charge notice of €60.Uninsured driving can lead to a fine of up to €5,000 and five penalty points, and repeat offenders may face a prison sentence of up to six months.In 2025, 19,673 vehicles were seized for driving without insurance. A further 25,009 charges and summonses were issued for that offence over the same period.About one in every 15 vehicles in Ireland is uninsured, according to estimates from motor insurance body the Motor Insurers’ Bureau of Ireland (Mibi).At the end of 2025, Mibi said there were 211,371 uninsured or unregistered vehicles being used – about 6.5 per cent of the overall number on the roads.