No Insurance? No Licence? No Car!!!

• No Insurance? No Licence? No Car!!!
  
  Tayside Police is warning car owners in the area that if they are caught driving a car without a licence or without insurance, their car could be seized and crushed.
  
  
  
  Section 152 of the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 provides an amendment to The Road Traffic Act 1988, and gives police officers the power to seize vehicles being driven without insurance or an appropriate driving licence.
  
  
  
  An RAC Foundation and Max power study carried out in February 2005, showed that 30% of young drivers had driven without insurance whilst 77% of people know someone who has driven without insurance. It is estimated that 5% of all motorists now drive uninsured which adds between £30 and £60 on the average insurance premium.
  
  
  
  Chief Inspector Sandy Bowman, Head of the Road Policing Unit, said,
  
  ‘‘ Where a police officer has reasonable cause to believe a vehicle is being driven on a road whilst the driver is unlicensed or uninsured, that officer will require the driver to immediately produce their driving documents. If the driver fails to do so the vehicle may be seized. The driver will be issued with a seizure notice at the roadside, and will then have seven days to produce valid documents and obtain a release notice from divisional police headquarters before the vehicle is disposed of. The driver will also be liable to pay the recovery and storage cost for the vehicle which is currently £105 recovery plus £12 per day storage.’’
  
  Statistics show that uninsured drivers are six times more likely to drive an unroadworthy vehicle, up to nine times more likely to be involved in an accident, and are more likely to be involved in a hit and run collision. They are three times more likely to have been convicted of careless driving and ten times more likely to have been convicted of drink driving.
  
  
  
  Chief Constable of Tayside Police, John Vine, added,
  
  “ We are sending a clear message to all motorists. Unlicensed and uninsured drivers are a threat to all road users, and we aim to remove that threat by removing their means of transport. In other words - if they have no licence, no insurance, then soon they will have no car.
  
  
  
  “ It is the law abiding citizens who are paying the consequences for these irresponsible, selfish drivers, and quite rightly they are fed up of it. We deal with a large number of offenders each year, but these new powers provide an immediate solution to these offences.’’