Week-long campaign by Northern Constabulary

Police crackdown on uninsured drivers

Northern Constabulary will join Scotland¿s other forces tomorrow for a weekend of enforcement against uninsured drivers and vehicles. The ACPOS-led campaign will run from 0700 on Friday 26 until 0700 on Monday 29 August 2011. Officers will be out across the Force targeting those motorists who have failed to insure their vehicles and Police will be making full use of existing ANPR (Automatic Number Plate Recognition) technology to cross check every vehicle that passes with the Motor Insurance Bureau and DVLA records. Northern Constabulary's Head of Road Policing, Inspector Derek Paterson, has urged law abiding motorists to report suspected unlicensed and uninsured drivers to Police. Uninsured drivers are costing insurance paying motorists an estimated £30 extra per annum on their insurance premiums. Northern Constabulary officers detect around 400 uninsured driver offences per year. Inspector Paterson said: "It is a legal requirement that drivers have at least third party insurance to cover their use of any particular vehicle. We would encourage law abiding motorists, who are being hit in the pocket as a result of uninsured drivers, to report anyone they suspect of driving without insurance." People can report suspected offenders to their local Police station or by calling Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 anonymously with the name of the driver, registration number of the vehicle and location where it is being driven. Inspector Paterson added: "Driving without insurance is against the law and there is every likelihood that if your drive you will be caught." The message from Police is very clear. Make sure your vehicle is insured and that you have the necessary driving licence authority to use it on a public road. The seriousness of the offence is reflected in the level of the maximum fine of £5,000, and the automatic endorsement of an offender's licence with six to eight penalty points. The courts can also order the immediate disqualification of the offender. Driving without insurance will result in the driver being issued with a £200 endorsable conditional offer of fixed penalty and six penalty points on their licence. The police also have the power to seize, and in some cases, destroy the vehicle that's being driven uninsured. Any vehicle seized under these powers will only be released on payment of a £150 fixed fee, presentation of a valid insurance certificate and £20 storage per day, up to a maximum of 14 days, after which the vehicle will be sold or destroyed. Under the new Continuous Insurance Enforcement law ¿ which affects all motorists from June 20 2011 ¿ it is an offence to keep an uninsured vehicle, rather than just to drive when uninsured. * Apart from checks by Police the DVLA work in partnership with the Motor Insurers' Bureau to identify uninsured vehicles. * Motorists will receive a letter telling them that their vehicle appears to be uninsured and warning them that they will be fined unless they take action. * If the keeper fails to insure the vehicle they will be given a £100 fine. * If the vehicle remains uninsured - regardless of whether the fine is paid ¿ further action will be taken. If the vehicle is on public land it could then be clamped, seized and destroyed. Alternatively court action could be taken, with the offender facing a fine of up to £1,000. Vehicles with a valid Statutory Off Road Notice (SORN) will not be required to be insured. The new law will run alongside the existing offence of using a vehicle with no insurance, which is enforced by the Police. The Police seize 180,000 vehicles each year for this offence, and offenders also face a £200 fixed penalty or a court fine of up to £5,000 and possible disqualification and seizure of your vehicle. The DVLA's records will be compared regularly with the Motor Insurance Database (MID) and this process will identify registered keepers of vehicles that appear to have no insurance. All drivers can check their vehicle is recorded on the MID for free - visit www.askMID.com 23,000 every year. 3. Measures already introduced in the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 gave police improved access to the Motor Insurance Database and powers to seize vehicles driven without insurance. In 2009 around 180,000 uninsured vehicles were seized.