Warning for all motorists (From Swindon Advertiser)

Warning for all motorists

3:08pm Wednesday 2nd May 2007 in

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MOTORISTS who get behind the wheel without any insurance should beware.

This month will see a police crackdown on rogue drivers.

Every day in May officers from Wiltshire Police's roads policing unit will be making checks at various locations in the county.

Five motorists were caught out in the first day alone.

The operation will cover the entire county and officers will be carrying out checks on minor roads as well as main roads.

Chief Insp Nick Elton, the head of roads policing, said: "This is a significant operation and we will be specifically targeting motorists using information supplied by the Motorists' Insurance Bureau.

"Using automatic number plate reader technology we will be able to check up to 3,000 vehicles an hour that are travelling on our roads to see if they have a valid certificate of insurance."

Police say drivers without insurance are nine times more likely to be involved in a collision than a driver who does have insurance.

"This is mainly down to the fact that non insured drivers are six times more likely to drive a non-roadworthy vehicle, three times more likely to have been convicted of careless driving and 10 times more likely to have been convicted of a drink drive offence," Ch Insp Elton said.

"These figures clearly speak for themselves."

Drivers who are convicted of driving without insurance face a maximum of eight penalty points on their licence and their vehicle will be seized and could be crushed.

If the case goes to court they can face a £5,000 fine.

"There are going to be checks every day of the month," Ch Insp Elton said.

"Five vehicles were seized for no insurance on the first day and that is five too many.

"Every vehicle out there should be insured. These five decided not to for some reason and their cars have been taken."

he recovery fee for vehicles that have been seized is just over £100 and the owner must also pay a storage charge for each day before they collect it.

If the vehicle is not collected within 30 days the car is crushed or sold at auction.

Ch Insp Elton said about 50 per cent of the cars seized are crushed.

The UK has one of the worst records in Western Europe for uninsured driving, with an estimated one in every 20 cars on the road being driven without proper insurance cover.

This results in every honest motorist in the UK paying up to £30 of their insurance premium to compensate those who are involved in collisions with drivers who do not have insurance.