IN a 10-month period, almost twice as many motorists have been caught driving an unregistered vehicle, in comparison to the whole of last year, according to ACT police. 

Unregistered drivers copped 1056 fines between January to October, while another 1052 were handed out to those on the road without a driver’s licence. 

This month, more than 38,300 vehicles will be due for registration in alone, police say, as well as 4600 driver license renewals, with anyone caught without their renewal facing a fine of $675. If a vehicle has been unregistered for two weeks or more it is ineligible for insurance coverage attracting an additional fine of $924, they say. 

Police are now urging motorists to ensure their licence and registration details are up-to-date before hitting the road this festive season.

“Just because you aren’t using your car everyday doesn’t mean you can let your registration or licence expire,” says the acting officer in charge of road policing, Inspector Ivan Naspe.

“While Christmas is a time of giving, police don’t want to be handing out fines for unregistered vehicles or unlicenced drivers so make sure all your registration and licence details are up to date before you hit the road these holidays.”

ACT police recently added automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) technology to a police motorcycle in an Australian first trial making it even harder for unregistered drivers to evade detection, police say.