Efforts by police to crackdown on uninsured driving have led to a 4% increase in the number of seizures of uninsured vehicles, figures from the Motor Insurers’ Bureau (MIB) have revealed.
In 2015 121,000 cars were seized by police, compared to 116,000 in 2014. In 2016 police have apparently made 72,000 seizures to date.
Police were given the power to stop and seize uninsured vehicles in 2005, and use Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) to quickly identify uninsured vehicles on the roads. They work closely with the MIB, which holds the insurance records of around 37 million vehicles.
“Our working partnership with the MIB is excellent and it is constantly evolving,” explained Superintendent Paul Keasey, Chairman of the National Roads Policing Intelligence Forum. “My message to members of the public driving without insurance is quite simple. Don’t. You are running a dangerous gauntlet that could see you lose your car or worse.”
The possible penalties for drivers caught driving without insurance include six points on their driving licence, £300 fixed penalty fine and seizure of their vehicle. According to MIB, around 30% of vehicles seized without insurance are crushed.
However, despite the fact that an uninsured vehicle could ultimately be crushed, MIB estimates that around one million vehicles in Britain are currently uninsured, which amounts to one in every 38 vehicles on the road.
“MIB has long supported and remains committed to working with the police to reduce the number of people driving without insurance and to raise awareness of the impact of uninsured driving,” commented Neil Drane, Head of Enforcement Services at MIB. “The fact that the police have seized their 1.5 millionth vehicle for no insurance shows the progress that has been made so far and we will continue to work together to tackle the issue.”
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