Uninsured man had 11 people in Audi A4, including 4 children in the boot

A Leicester driver has been banned from the roads for a year after being caught driving with 11 people in his car – including four in the boot. Leicester magistrates banned Zoltan Lakatos and gave him 14 days to pay £1,325 in fines and costs after hearing of his overloaded Audi A4 saloon. Six of the passengers were children – including the four in the boot. When Lakatos, 38, of Martin Street, Belgrave, was interviewed by police, he was told of the importance of securing young children in the car.

Lakatos, through a Hungarian interpreter, replied: "It doesn't matter, they are only children." Prosecutor Ian Johnson told the court how Lakatos was stopped at 10.30am in St Nicholas Circle in Leicester city centre on June 18 last year with four people in the boot and another five in the back seat. Lakatos was in the driver's seat and there was a 49-year-old woman alongside him in the front passenger seat. The four people in the boot – who were lying on top of each other – were an 11-year-old girl, a 10-year-old boy, a seven-year-old boy and a five-year-old girl.



Mr Johnson said the five people in the back seat were a 65-year-old man, a 49-year-old woman, a 24-year-old woman, a three-year-old and a nine-month-old infant. Lakatos, who did not attend court, was found guilty in his absence of using a motor vehicle to carry passengers in such a way as to create a danger of injury to them. Mr Johnson said: "There were 11 people in that vehicle – and to add insult to injury it was not covered by any form of insurance." Lakatos was also found guilty in his absence of not having any insurance.

Chairman of the bench Simon Edwards said using a motor vehicle and causing danger to passengers would normally be a lower level fine, but because of the aggravating circumstances due to the fact that there was no insurance and due to the number of persons carried, they were going to give a higher level fine. He was able to fine Lakatos the higher amount of £700 with £85 costs and a £15 victim surcharge. Mr Edwards said: "Because the offence is so serious we are going to impose a 12-month discretionary driving ban." He also fined Lakatos £525 for driving without insurance.*

*I have to say that had Mr Lakatos insured this car, I strongly suspect it would have cost him considerably more than £525 per annum. Probably more than the £1,325 he was fined in total. So in that respect he's probably saved himself some money.