Millionth car seized in insurance crackdown

Police seized the one millionth uninsured car caught in a crackdown that began in 2005, revealed the Motor Insurers' Bureau (MIB) which recently re-launched its uninsured driver campaign.

Since 2005, when police were given powers to stop vehicles identified as being driven without insurance, an average of 500 vehicles have been seized each day. Of those, an estimated 30% are crushed.

The milestone was welcomed by Penguin Insurance who said it underlined the progress being made by police and the MIB in the fight against uninsured drivers. West Midlands Police alone have seizing, on average, one uninsured vehicle per hour.

Police identify them with automatic number plate recognition technology which compares registration numbers against data provided by the motor insurance database operated by the MIB.

Every year, uninsured drivers kill 160 and injure 23,000 innocent people. What's more, the cost of the work carried out by the MIB adds around £33 to every honestly bought car insurance policy. It is not a victimless crime.