WILTSHIRE Police is targeting the thousands of uninsured drivers estimated to be driving along the county’s roads.

The force is joining a national week of action to catch out drivers without insurance as another way of making the roads safer.

Over the past nine months it has been taking part in Operation Tutelage which uses automated systems to identify whether drivers have the right records to be behind the wheel.

It has sent out more than 1,400 warning letters since the operation began to encourage drivers to update their records.

“We are trying to keep Wiltshire’s roads safe and reducing the number of uninsured vehicles in our county both directly and indirectly helps us to achieve this,” said Sgt Drewett, of the Roads Policing Unit.

“There is of course both the financial cost and personal misery associated with a collision involving an uninsured vehicle. Sadly, we are aware that over 6,000 drivers across Wiltshire continue to make this choice and our aim is to reduce this to zero.”

Figures from the Motor Insurers Bureau indicate that uninsured drivers are ten times more likely to have a drink drive conviction. The vehicle itself is also around six times more likely to be used in a defective condition.

“We’ve been seizing vehicles for either no insurance or no licence since 2005 and during that time, I would estimate we have seized approximately 25,000 vehicles from across Wiltshire,” Sgt Drewett added.

“Over half of these have been crushed and therefore permanently removed from our roads.

“The introduction of Operation Tutelage has however enabled us to take a far more targeted approach. We are the first to accept that vehicles can be uninsured for a variety of reasons, some of them administrative, some by virtue of a financial situation and others as a result of a conscious decision to evade insurance and with it the legal obligation to insure.

“We are simply encouraging those that have inadvertently fallen foul of the law to remedy the situation, thereby enabling us to focus on those drivers that continue to take the risk. Of course, this also includes the more seasoned criminal elements, so this is not just about no insurance and the generally law abiding motorist.”

Driving without insurance carries a fixed penalty of £300 and six penalty points, which if not paid could end in drivers being disqualified.

Drivers can check their insurance or tax status for free at askmid.com and the MOT can be checked at www.gov.uk.