Newark police target uninsured drivers

Uninsured vehicles are being removed from the county’s roads thanks to an ongoing Nottinghamshire Police operation in partnership with the Motor Insurers’ Bureau (MIB).

Uninsured vehicles are being removed from the county’s roads thanks to an ongoing Nottinghamshire Police operation in partnership with the Motor Insurers’ Bureau (MIB).  Operation Tutelage is enabling officers to ensure motorists’ policies are valid and up-to-date to better target uninsured drivers.

The Force has been sending letters to the registered keepers of vehicles identified through continuous checks against the Motor Insurance Database (MID) as having been driven without insurance. The letters encourage vehicle owners to make sure they have valid insurance before continuing to use their vehicles on the road. If these vehicles still show up as having no insurance at a later stage, they are then put on an Operation Tutelage ‘hotlist’ which alerts officers that the vehicles are still being used on the road.  

Any such vehicles can be seized and will not be released until a valid policy is produced and a release fee paid. After 14 days, a vehicle will be disposed of to cover recovery costs.  PC Paul Matthews, from the Tactical Road Policing Team covering Nottinghamshire, said: "We strongly believe the best course of action is to work with the public to identify where no insurance is potentially held and invite owners to rectify the issue without the need for prosecution.

"Last month (February 2018) we sent out 138 letters and we’ve seen about a 70 per cent compliance rate, with these vehicles being removed from our database. That’s pleasing but it also means about 30 per cent of owners are continuing to drive without valid insurance. These vehicles and owners are actively being targeted by us and will ultimately face enforcement. Driving without insurance carries a fixed penalty of £300 and six penalty points at the roadside. If the matter goes to court it is an obligatory endorsement of six to eight points, with the option of a discretionary disqualification and an unlimited fine. Owners caught driving without valid insurance will also face the added penalty of having to pay substantially more for their next insurance policy as a result of their offending."

Neil Drane, Head of Enforcement at MIB said: "We’re pleased that Nottinghamshire Police has adopted Operation Tutelage and that our joint initiative is proving to be effective and helping to make the roads safer for all."

Nottinghamshire Police is also urging members of the public who suspect vehicles are being driven on the roads without insurance to get in touch by calling 101.  Officers will need to be given as much information as possible including the vehicle’s registration and the date, time and location of suspected uninsured driving.

Anyone with any further questions about Operation Tutelage can email the Tactical Road Policing Team, putting ‘Op Tutelage’ as the subject, to: Op.Tutelage@nottinghamshire.pnn.police.uk