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  "path": "/lifestyle/cars/dvla-prosecutes-widow-car-insurance-justice-system",
  "publishedAt": "2026-05-28T11:49:45.000Z",
  "site": "https://www.gbnews.com",
  "tags": [
    "Support for lower national speed limits grows amid major push for safer roads and motorways",
    "Bicycles prioritised over car owners on busy road with controversial new £2million 'cycle street'",
    "UK celebrates landmark electric car milestone as millions of drivers prepare for EV switch",
    "The GB News Editorial Charter"
  ],
  "textContent": "\n\n\nA widower has been handed a six-month conditional discharge and ordered to pay a victim surcharge after being convicted for failing to insure her late husband's car.\n\nAn 81-year-old woman, from Liverpool, said she became confused about the rules after her husband died and the car was transferred into her name.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nThe pensioner had become ill and had to stay with her daughter in London over Christmas for support, resulting in the car insurance mix-up.\n\nConcerns came to light after the DVLA found that the Volkswagen Polo had not been insured under its new registered keeper on December 3 last year.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nTRENDING\n\nStories\n\nVideos\n\nYour Say\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nThe pensioner wrote to the court explaining the circumstances, detailing how she had recently lost her husband and was struggling with illness and bereavement.\n\nThe letter read: \"I am 81 years old and was recently widowed following the death of my husband late last year.\n\n\"During this difficult period, the vehicle was transferred into my name, and I was unfamiliar with the insurance requirements following the transfer. As a result, I did not receive the earlier correspondence regarding this matter and was unaware that there was an issue requiring my attention.\"\n\nThe widow also revealed she has since been diagnosed with cancer and continues to receive hospital treatment, adding that it was an \"extremely distressing and difficult time for me\".\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nShe said she would never intentionally keep a vehicle uninsured, adding that the situation arose due to \"confusion, illness, bereavement and absence from home rather than any deliberate action\".\n\nThe case was handled under the Single Justice Procedure, a controversial fast-track court process used for lower-level offences.\n\nIn the UK, drivers caught travelling in uninsured cars can be slapped with a minimum £300 fixed penalty as well as issued six points on a driving licence.\n\nIf the case goes to court, this could increase to an unlimited fine and a driving ban, with police given the power to seize or destroy the vehicle.\n\n### LATEST DEVELOPMENTS\n\n\n\n\n  * Support for lower national speed limits grows amid major push for safer roads and motorways\n  * Bicycles prioritised over car owners on busy road with controversial new £2million 'cycle street'\n  * UK celebrates landmark electric car milestone as millions of drivers prepare for EV switch\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nThe Lincoln-based magistrate accepted the woman's guilty plea to keeping a vehicle without insurance, handing down a six-month conditional discharge and a £26 victim surcharge fine.\n\nCampaigners have consistently argued that vulnerable people can be convicted through the SJP process without their personal circumstances being properly considered.\n\nUnder the current system, prosecutors at the DVLA do not routinely see mitigation letters before cases are decided, meaning some prosecutions may continue even when they may not be in the public interest.\n\nThe Government launched a consultation last year on possible changes to the process, including whether mitigation letters should be reviewed before cases proceed.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nSarah Sackman, Minister of State for Courts and Legal Services, said: \"We want to understand how the Single Justice Procedure could be improved to ensure cases brought are in the public interest.\n\n\"This could include all SJP prosecutors taking reasonable steps to ascertain a defendant's situation, including any vulnerabilities, before pursuing a prosecution that might lead to a criminal record.\"\n\nIn its response to the consultation, the DVLA said it supported the idea of prosecutors seeing all mitigation letters and encouraged defendants with strong personal circumstances to contact the agency directly.\n\nThe agency also encourages anyone who receives a letter about enforcement action to get in touch directly.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n**Our Standards: The GB News Editorial Charter**",
  "title": "DVLA prosecutes widow for failing to insure late husband's car amid calls for justice system overhaul"
}