Officers seize 41 uninsured vehicles being used on Warwickshire’s roads

Forty-one drivers had their uninsured vehicles seized between 21-27 November 2022 as part of a national Operation to reduce the number of uninsured drivers using the roads.

Twelve of the uninsured drivers were also found to have no driving licences.

One disqualified driver was also reported. This is a serious motoring offence and as such the driver could face serious penalties including a custodial sentence.

During the operation three drivers were arrested -  one for taking a vehicle without consent, one person for shoplifting and another for failing to provide any details. 

The operation is so important because every year more than 130 people are killed on the roads of Great Britain by uninsured drivers.

In Warwickshire, in 2021, officers issued 816 Traffic Offence Reports for the use of a motor vehicle on a road/ public place without third party insurance. 85% of the drivers were male with the highest number of offences being between the ages of 26-29 years old.

This is not a victimless crime as £53 is added to everyone’s car insurance premium every year towards the £394 million national annual levy needed to support the victims of uninsured drivers.

In the current financial climate, we are all paying the price.

There are other costs to society as figures from the Department for Transport indicate these collisions cost the wider economy a further £2 billion a year in the cost of providing emergency services, medical care, loss of productivity and property damage. 

Uninsured drivers are often linked to wider road crime and whilst there are criminals who knowingly drive a car without insurance or who withhold information or lie to get a cheaper quote, some insurance offences are committed unwittingly.

To drive a car both you and the vehicle must have the correct insurance. This means that even if you are insured to drive any car, the vehicle needs to be covered in its own right.

Inspector Jem Mountford said “This week of action is really important to protect the vast majority of good law abiding drivers using our roads in Warwickshire.  In 2020 officers removed 1,970 vehicles under S165 of which 1148 were disposed of via scrapping or auctioning. We will continue to target uninsured drivers as part of our regular patrols of Warwickshire’s road network because uninsured drivers are significantly more likely to cause a death or injury on the road and are also often involved in wider road crime.”

If you know someone who is driving uninsured, please report them to the police on 101 the non emergency number or report anonymously to independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

For more information please visit Vehicle insurance: Driving without insurance - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)