Police given powers to seize uninsured vehicles
The Department for Transport has announced that it will be giving the police new powers to impound vehicles driven without insurance as part of a wide ranging crackdown on uninsured drivers.
Responding to the Greenway Report into uninsured driving the Government said it accepted the “broad thrust” of the report but said there is “considerable work ” to be done with the industry in drawing up detailed proposals.
Measures trailed include giving the police the power to seize and in some cases destroy uninsured vehicles and linking the DVLA’s Vehicle Register and the Motor Insurance Databases to allow police to know which vehicles on the road are uninsured.
It will also be working with the industry to ensure simpler notification procedures, so that no motorist is in doubt when their insurance expires, and sending out automatic reminders to motorists who forget to insure on time.
An estimated one million motorists in the UK drive without insurance and figures from the Association of British Insurers (ABI) suggest that compared to drivers with insurance the uninsured are 10 times more likely to have been convicted of drink driving and six times more likely to have been convicted of driving a non-roadworthy vehicle.
The ABI estimates that uninsured drivers add up to £30 a year on each motorist’s insurance premium.
Road Safety Minister, David Jamieson, said: “We know that law abiding motorists are fed up with paying the price for the small, hard core of anti social motorists who drive uninsured, often in untaxed or unsafe vehicles.
“The Government is determined to tackle head on the menace of uninsured driving.
“The message to the small hard core of anti social motorists who drive without insurance is clear- uninsured driving is unacceptable.”
Caroline Flint, Home Office Minister added: “Uninsured driving victimises the law-abiding motorist. This report gives a sensible way forward to tackling the problem and across Government we will work hard to take forward its recommendations.”
The AA said that the recommendations in the Greenaway report are sensible and long overdue. Its head of road safety, Andrew Howard, said:
” We’ ve had a piecemeal approach to prosecuting motoring offences for many years – up to now, if someone is caught driving without road tax, their insurance details are not automatically checked. This report has addressed this loophole, but it also needs to happen when people are caught for other offences, such as speeding.”
