City Drivers' Drink Shame ; MOTORING: Second to Bristol in Convictions League

By Edward Stephens MOTORING EDITOR

BIRMINGHAM drivers have come second only to those in Bristol in a drink-driving convictions league of shame.

And the convictions are leading to a higher level of insurance premiums in the region.

Motorists in the city now pay the fourth highest insurance premiums in the country at pounds 552, nearly pounds 150 more than the national average.

The shock figures come in the latest survey from on-line price comparison service uSwitch. com.

They also show that Birmingham is also home to high levels of car thefts (6.36 per 1,000 people) and car accidents (4.12 per 1,000 people), ranking fifth and fourth respectively But the premiums of motorists in the region could be higher if drivers filed claims for 100 per cent of thefts and accidents.

Despite reporting high numbers of thefts and accidents, Birmingham citizens only come tenth for actual claims on thefts (2.32 per cent of license holders) and eleventh for accident claims (16.81 per cent of licence holders.

Birmingham residents are among the lowest for speeding convictions on their insurance policies although this still represents a large proportion of Birmingham's license holders at more than 18 per cent.

Aron Thompson, head of insurance at uSwitch.com, said: "The biggest 'claim shame' in all this is that innocent drivers may be paying more for their car insurance to subsidise the criminal behaviour or dangerous driving habits of others."

(c) 2007 Evening Mail; Birmingham (UK). Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.