THAMES Valley Police has taken more than 3,500 uninsured vehicles off the road last year across Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, and Oxfordshire.
Police forces submit monthly statistics surrounding vehicle seizures to the Motor Insurer’s Bureau, which is tasked with reducing levels of uninsured driving and compensating victims.
These figures showed that 3,564 uninsured vehicles in 2023, an increase of nearly 14% on 2022.
Operation Tutelage was among the initiatives which contributed to the numbers, leading to 586 cars being identified as vehicles of interest.
Of those, 25 led to arrests for criminal offences, 90 led to arrests for impaired driving, 23 for driving while disqualified, and 354 arrests for other offences.
This amounted to the discovery of an additional 492 offences on top of the original reason for stopping the vehicle.
Uninsured vehicles cause significant risks to other road users, as those involved in collisions can be left out of pocket when claiming for medical care, property repairs, or other support.
Officers use automatic number plate recognition cameras which are built into police vehicles, to detect other cars without insurance.
Cars flagged by the system are stopped and drivers unable to provide proof of insurance have their vehicles seized.
They are also potentially liable for a fixed penalty of £300 and six penalty points on their driver’s license.
The fine could be unlimited should the case go to court, those without insurance could face an unlimited fine and be disqualified from driving.
Owners must also pay a fee to release their vehicles, often at a premium due to their driving record, and unclaimed cars are crushed.
Head of the Joint Operations Roads Policing Unit Superintendent Colin Hudson said: “In many cases, vehicles being deliberately driven without insurance are an indicator of other offences.
“For example, our roads policing teams will routinely stop vehicles for having no insurance and further uncover the driver has no licence, or the car is stolen, or there is evidence of crime, often serious in nature.
“The fantastic work our officers are doing in identifying and removing these vehicles from our roads will make them a safer place for all motorists and help keep communities safe by disrupting criminals using the roads.”
Simon French, Law Enforcement Liaison Officer at MIB, said: “We work closely with the police throughout the year, including our colleagues across Thames Valley, to get dangerous uninsured vehicles off the road.
“Tackling uninsured driving isn’t just about getting people to pay premiums – data shows us that those who deliberately drive uninsured cause more frequent and, often, more catastrophic collisions too, so it’s about making roads safer and fairer for everyone.
“Our message is simple: drive with adequate insurance or you will be caught.”
