LONDON: The police are now vested with powers to seize and even dispose of vehicles driven by uninsured drivers. The officers will use automatic number plate recognition cameras, which are connected to a database that has details of all registered vehicles in the U.K.
Transport secretary Alistain Darling said the new system that has come into force today will help police to make out whether a passing car is uninsured and then take action against the driver. The department of transport figures out that there are some two million uninsured drivers in the country.
The police can seize vehicles driven by those without proper insurance papers. Subsequently, drivers who are unable to produce the papers at a police station will face prosecution and officers can dispose of the vehicle if it is not reclaimed within 14 days.
The government has also enacted a law whereby keeping a vehicle without insurance itself will be an offence even when it is not driven.
The government is of the view that uninsured drivers are 10 times more likely to have been convicted of drink-driving, six times more likely to have been convicted of driving an unsafe vehicle and three times more likely to have been convicted of driving without due care and attention.
Darling said every law-abiding motorist pays an extra 30 pounds a year because of uninsured drivers.
The Motor Insurers' Bureau (MIB) has provided the police in Greater Manchester, Merseyside, the West Midlands and West Yorkshire with data on potentially uninsured vehicles from the Motor Industry Database. This data, together with other police and DVLA intelligence, is being used alongside the automatic number plate recognition cameras.
The government has also announced a major expansion of wheel clamping to deal with minor motoring offences. Motorists could find their vehicles immobilised or impounded rather than being taken to court. This is intended to remove several millions of minor crimes from the court system so that the working of the courts is eased.
Posted
on : Wed, 09 Nov 2005 16:15 GMT | Insurance News
By : Anne Philips
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