Crosby Finance

Driving in the UK without motor insurance is illegal, fact.

This fact alone however, does not prevent many people from doing so. On the contrary, there are hundreds of thousands of motorist across the UK that drive without car insurance.

Recent technological developments, combined with harsher punishments may make such motorists think twice before they take to the road uninsured again though.

The technology in question is known as “Automatic Number Plate Recognition” or “ANPR”. Such systems can be used by CCTV cameras, mobile police cameras or “in car” police cameras to quickly “read” a vehicles registration plate.

Roadside police across the UK have been using ANPR to quickly identify whether a vehicle posses motor insurance, and if not, to ensure the appropriate measures are taken.

As a great deal of the vehicles seized have been deemed “unsafe” and therefore a hazard to other motorists, the most appropriate measure has been to have them crushed.

The Association of British Insures (ABI) has revealed that over the past year 100,000 vehicles not possessing any motor insurance have been seized, of which around 45,000 have been crushed.

“These figures show that the determination of the insurance industry and the police to drive them from our roads is beginning to bear fruit. However we need to ensure that the penalties they face reflect the seriousness of this crime,” said Nick Starling, Director of General Insurance and Health at the ABI.

The seizure rate of 100,000 is up by 22,000 from 2006 and this is thought largely, to be a result of ANPR systems.

“The fight against uninsured drivers has now stepped up a gear, and we expect vehicle seizure numbers to increase over the coming months,” added Ashton West, Group Chief Executive of the Motor Insurers’ Bureau.