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Police uninsured car seizures now close to a million01 Nov 2011by Robbie Dunmore According to the Motor Insurers' Bureau (MIB), since 2005, when the police were given powers to seize uninsured vehicles, they have taken possession of around 0.9m vehicles. Uninsured and untraced drivers kill around 160 and injure 23,000 annually. They add £500m to car insurance premiums nationally, that's £30 on every policy.  Of those vehicles seized, 40% are destroyed. Even where the car is returned, the process is costly to the motorist. In addition to the fixed penalty of £200, there is a £150 collection charge, £20 per day storage fee, and 6 points on the license. Recent legislation made it an offence to keep a car that is uninsured unless it is off-road and declared SORN with the DVLA. Previously it had just been an an offence to drive an uninsured car. The MIB administers the Motor Insurance Database (MID), a central record of all insured vehicles. Continuous insurance enforcement (CIE), recently introduced in this country, leads to those drivers that are keepers of uninsured vehicles that are not SORN being contacted by post. If they fail to then insure their vehicle, they are subject to the fixed penalty of £200 and potential court proceedings with a fine of up to £3,000 or seizure of the vehicle, many of which will be destroyed, especially for repeat offenders. Owing to improved enforcement, including a recent London campaign that saw 558 vehicles seized and 76 arrests in a single day, the numbers of uninsured vehicles have dropped by 13% over the last two years. Numbers are expected to drop substantially over the next year owing to the introduction of CIE. However, it is estimated that there are still over a million uninsured drivers on our roads and it is the MIB that underwrites the 30,000 claims that result from accidents with uninsured or hit and run drivers. As this activity is entirely financed by the insurance industry it is honest, legally insured, drivers that pick up all of the tab. While CIE will pick up DVLA-registered vehicles that are uninsured, written-off cars that have been illegally put back on the road or vehicles that are foreign-registered will not be identified. Nonetheless, some of these cars can be identified as uninsured via roadside numberplate recognition technology or if they are stopped by the police and checks are made. No driver should assume that they can drive uninsured with impunity. Whether CIE will be successful in substantially reducing numbers of uninsured cars will hinge on the willingness of the criminal justice system to administer tough penalties, especially the routine destruction of cars. As it's illegal to drive uninsured and you will now be pursued if you don't insure your car, it's important for everyone to ensure that they do not allow their car insurance to lapse. There are plenty of good resources where you can compare car insurance easily online. It need not take long. |
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