Police mount national operation to tackle uninsured driving
17 October 2016
- MIB and National Roads Policing Intelligence Forum launch first insurance enforcement awareness week
- New data reveals top 20 hotspots for uninsured driving
- 11 postcodes in the West Midlands rank in the Top 20 hotspots for uninsured driving
- London has highest number of uninsured drivers
Operation Drive Insured, the first ever motor insurance enforcement awareness week, starts today (Monday, 17 October) and continues until Sunday, 23 October.
Organised by MIB (Motor Insurers’ Bureau) and the National Roads Policing Intelligence Forum and involving the UK’s police forces, it aims to put the national spotlight on the issue of uninsured driving and its impact; show how police are working alongside key partners to tackle the issue; and significantly increase the number of seizures of uninsured vehicles.
To mark the start of the week, MIB has published its latest hotspots data showing the top 20 postal districts for uninsured driving illustrated here
This reveals that the top 5 postal districts for uninsured driving are all to be found in the West Midlands, with the Birmingham postal district B9 leading the way.
As a whole, the West Midlands has 11 out of the 20 hotspots. Nationally, MIB estimates that 1 in 38 vehicles on the UK’s roads are being driven uninsured.
Areas where uninsured driving is a key issue
|
|
Number of hotspots in top 20 postal districts |
Estimated number of vehicles in region |
Estimated number of uninsured vehicles |
Estimated percentage of uninsured vehicles in region |
|
West Midlands |
11 |
3.7 million |
117,000 |
3.17% |
|
North West |
3 |
3.8 million |
163,000 |
4.29% |
|
Yorkshire and the Humber |
6 |
2.9 million |
96,000 |
3.31% |
|
London |
0 |
3.1 million |
191,000 |
6.1% |
However, despite not having any postal districts in the top 20, it is the London region which has the highest number of uninsured vehicles overall.
In London the total estimated number of vehicles is 3.1 million with 191,000 of these vehicles estimated as uninsured, or 6.1% (see above table).
Neil Drane, Head of Enforcement Services at MIB, said:
“By working in partnership and collaborating in this way we are determined to reduce uninsured driving numbers in the UK.
“Nationally, we have managed to reduce the estimated total number of uninsured drivers from 2 million in 2005 to 1 million now. This is in part due to police powers to seize vehicles since 2005; writing to all drivers where doubt exists that they have insurance as part of Continuous Insurance Enforcement since 2011, and running public awareness campaigns. However, this figure is still too high and is a burden on all honest motorists.”
Detective Superintendent Paul Keasey, the National Police Chiefs Council’s Head of National Roads Policing Intelligence Forum, said:
“We are delighted to be backing this awareness week. It will see police operations mounted across many areas of the UK targeting potential uninsured drivers, including daily operations in the West Midlands and London where we know the problem is acute in some areas.
“With ever-improving technology including the police’s widespread use of ANPR, Automatic Number Plate Recognition, the message from all our police forces is: you will be caught.”
The police will be seizing around 3,000 vehicles per week this year as part of their powers to tackle uninsured driving which can also include a £300 fine, six points on licences and ultimately the crushing of a vehicle.