AA says that drivers will “despair” at Prisons and Courts Bill postponement

Drivers will “despair” that the “whiplash gravy train” has been given “the green light to carry on”, due to the General Election, according to the AA.

The Prisons and Courts Bill, which contained reforms to how whiplash injures are compensated, has been dropped by the Government prior to polling day on 8 June. The AA has expressed disappointment at the news and the fact that it is not clear as to whether or not the Bill will be picked up again in future parliamentary sessions.

Michael Lloyd, the AA’s director of insurance, said: “This is the second time that the reforms have been dropped.  They were shelved last October following the Brexit vote, but were re-introduced by the new government.

“Drivers have seen their car insurance premiums rocketing and most will react with despair that the whiplash gravy train once again has the green light to carry on.

“There was some hope that if claims could be stemmed it would help to bring premiums down.  There seems little prospect of that now.”

The AA has also released research from a poll conducted with Populus of over 19,000 drivers, which has found that almost two thirds (63%) say they have been cold-called by personal injury claim firms or CMCs within the past 12 months, urging them to make a claim for a past collision even if they had suffered no injury.

A third (34%) were called more than ten times.