I felt a momentary wave of shame when I read this morning’s news that the number of cars being driven without insurance reached its highest peak in 17 years, with an estimated 300,000 cars on the road each day without insurance.

That’s because, until recently, I was one of those people getting behind the wheel — a nice middle class man driving uninsured for a whole year.

I took my Volkswagen Polo down to university, volunteering to do shuttle runs to the supermarket for my housemates as well as having a more convenient way to get home after one cancelled train too many. However, unbeknownst to me, my plucky Polo — ironically, parked outside the police station we lived next to — was thoroughly illegal. No tax, no insurance, no MOT. But I had no idea.

While I was away at university, letters reminding me to pay up were being delivered to my home address and, following several past incidents, I had placed my nosy parents under strict instructions not to open my post. “Here are the results of your STI test” is not news you want Mum and Dad to feast their eyes on.

As for any email reminders of my impending illegality? Like my life at that time, if I did receive any communication, it got bogged down in more important stuff like conversing with lecturers about my dissertation or fiddling with links for ghastly grad scheme assessments.

I could forgive you for judging my carelessness as I put life admin on pause while living it up at uni but I know I’m not the only young person who has fallen into this trap. I have friends who missed the memo on the MOT as well as those who have found themselves on the receiving end of threatening letters and court appearances for other things as simple as using an out-of-date railcard. At times it can feel as if these things are designed to catch you out. Filling in endless forms, shopping around for a better deal on your insurance and filling in more forms can leave you overwhelmed.

So yes, there’s the admin. Then there’s the elephant in the room — the dreaded cost of living. I didn’t realise but, if I had, it would have eaten into my beer money and also diminished the funds set aside for my food bills and skyrocketing rent.

I also think of people like my parents, whose vehicles are even more essential to their daily life. They need to drive to work and get around, especially considering our rural location. They also have a mortgage and bills, and have now been on the receiving end of another pummelling thanks to the spike in fuel caused by Trump and Netanyahu’s war in Iran. The rise in living costs makes upkeep and car insurance seem all the more daunting.

While I’m no longer driving without insurance and I’m paying my way, I do spare a thought for those who have been weighed down by life’s endless bureaucracy recently, especially those who are also spinning a number of increasingly expensive plates.