Temporary car insurance expert warns splitting driving duties after a festival can lead to unlimited fines if not insured correctly

With the summer event season well and truly here, a temporary car insurance expert has issued a crucial warning to festival goers: splitting driving duties could lead to unlimited fines if not insured correctly.

New research from temporary car insurance provider Tempcover has revealed a quarter (26%) of drivers are sharing the wheel during journeys to or from events, particularly after festivals. Reasons include being too tired to drive (32%), too hungover (15%) or worried they’re still over the drink driving limit (16%).

However, people are sharing the drive often without being certain the replacement driver is properly insured, or in some cases, without any insurance at all.

Jake Lambert, temporary car insurance expert at Tempcover, is warning Brits that if you're sharing driving duties to or from events this summer, and the driver isn't fully insured, you could face an immediate £300 fine and 6 penalty points. And if the case ends up in court, that penalty could become unlimited – meaning a fine of thousands, which could be financially devastating.

The research found a fifth of drivers who are confident someone else can drive their car to or from an event, rely on the belief that fully comprehensive cover is enough but this can be a common driving mistake. Jake warns many drivers wrongly assume a fully comp policy automatically allows them to borrow and drive other cars; but this isn’t true. To drive other cars without being fined, the policy needs to include ‘Driving Other Cars’ (DOC) cover. And even with DOC, it only typically provides third-party protection when driving other vehicles, which won’t cover any damage to the car, or your own costs if you get into an accident. 

Plus, for any new drivers (those who passed their test in the last two years), accumulating 6 or more penalty points will result in their licence being revoked, meaning they would have to retake their theory and practical tests.

Commenting on the findings, Jake said: “With many taking road trips during the summer - from festivals, weddings or even a staycation - it’s completely understandable that designated drivers might not feel up to the full journey, or indeed, be legally able to get behind the wheel if they've had too much to drink.

But if someone else takes the wheel and isn’t properly insured, the consequences can be severe — even if the handover felt like the safe or responsible thing to do. To make sure the other driver is fully insured and to avoid any fines, it’s worth taking out temporary car insurance for these journeys - particularly the drive home after an event. It’s a quick and simple solution and could save you a lot of headache down the road.”