A NEWLY-PASSED Bradford driver has admitted he may be forced to move and change postcodes after being quoted an eye-watering £39,000 for car insurance.

Musician Mikey May, 27, who passed his test last week, said that when trying to insure a 1.6l Toyota Corolla, which had been his sister-in-laws grandad’s car, he was quoted a staggering £38,900 premium by one insurance provider, with the cheapest quote coming in at £16,835.

The revelation comes as a new survey, released today by the Motor Insurers’ Bureau (MIB), states that one in four 18 to 24 year olds across the UK have considered not taking out car insurance to save money.

In Yorkshire and the Humber, the figure is said to be even higher, at 28 per cent.

Mr May, of Beverley Street, Laisterdyke, said he is now set to move to the Pudsey area to insure a newly-bought car under a Leeds postcode.

“The cheapest quote I got for the Corolla was the £16,000 one,” he said.

“My theory is that it’s because there are that many people driving around without insurance already.

“Being a new driver I had expected the price to be high, but not that high, it was unbelievable. I could have bought a Rolls Royce, crashed it, and paid it off.

“I’ve now bought another car, a Ford Fiesta, but I’m not sure how I’ll be able to get it out on the road.

“The prices are just giving companies a licence to print money, it’s bang out of order.

“I have to travel for my job, so I need a car.

“I’m 99 per cent sure I’m going to have to move to get a cheaper quote. It’s not too far away, but it’s a must.”

MIB said the attitudes of the young people surveyed were “particularly alarming” when it came to road safety.

It states that uninsured driving is a “serious issue that needs addressing”, with around 120 people killed and 29,000 injured by uninsured drivers every year.

Ashton West, chief executive of MIB, said: “We want to avoid millennials regretting their decisions, particularly when it comes to taking a risk on car insurance. Our aim is to get young people talking to each other about the serious issue of uninsured driving.

The consequences for drivers being caught without the correct insurance currently include the seizure of the vehicle by police, six points on their driving licence, and £300 fixed penalty fine. As part of our ‘Stop the Danger Drivers’ campaign, the Telegraph & Argus is calling for anyone caught driving without insurance to be hit with a mandatory ban of at least 12 months.

Commenting on the MIB survey, Neil Greig, director of policy and research at IAM Roadsmart, said: “Given the rising cost of insurance for young men and recent increases in Insurance Premium Tax I am worried, but not wholly surprised, by these results.

“There is no excuse for deliberately breaking the law on insurance and our members do support tougher penalties. “There is little evidence however that simply increasing fines and bans will work in reducing deliberate evasion.

“We need to see joined up enforcement, more ANPR cameras, and adequate traffic police around to enforce the law. “Insurance Premium tax remains a tax on the law-abiding, and we do not see any case for further increases which affect young drivers unfairly.”

According to figures released by the AA in April, average insurance premiums across Yorkshire increased by 0.8 per cent from the last quarter of 2016 to the first quarter of this year, with an average fee of £702.78.

The rate for 17 to 22 year olds rose by 1.2 per cent, with an average price of £1,327.17 for women, and £1,628.62 for men.

An AA spokesman said: “The AA fears that young drivers – most adversely affected by premium increases – may attempt to resort to illegal ways to drive, such as not taking out insurance at all or persuading a parent to ‘front’ a policy for them.

“Both strategies run the risk of both losing considerable sums of money in the event of a crash, as well as possible prosecution.

“It is calling on the government to help the industry find ways of helping young drivers start driving safely, responsibly, and affordably.”

John Mezaros, a driving instructor for the AA in Bradford, said he was “not surprised” by the figure highlighted in the MIB survey.

“There’s too much of it going on, but it’s a postcode lottery,” he said.

“You can get a quote of £500 in Bingley that will cost you £2,500 in Manningham, and it’s the same car.

“It’s ridiculous, but that’s the way it is. You see people pass a test and even if they buy an old car, it can cost them eight times that amount to insure it. There’s no logic in that.”

Sergeant Cameron Buchan, who is leading Operation Steerside, the district-wide crackdown on road safety by West Yorkshire Police, said of the 860 vehicles seized by officers since February last year, around “98 per cent” were for insurance offences.

On the results of the survey, he said: “If these drivers choose to act on their considerations, then I would be very worried.

“There is a correlation between not having insurance and driving poorly.

“The higher risk is the reason why insurance for young drivers is disproportionately high.

“I empathise and sympathise, but it is a fact of life that young drivers cause insurance companies the most concern.

“Without insurance, they run the risk of being stopped and losing their licence. It is a serious matter.”