West Yorkshire Police have been blasted on social media for seizing the car, with one person asking if there were “no real criminals to catch?”

Police have come under fire from the public and the press after they seized a car, for not being insured for commuting.

West Yorkshire police’s road unit stopped the silver Volkswagen Touran near Huddersfield on Saturday evening (16 December), reports The Sun.

The driver was on their way home, but was not insured for commuting.

The police department posted a picture of the car on the side of the road to its Twitter account, with the caption: “M62 West, Huddersfield - Driver commuting from work - insurance policy excludes commuting.

“Also, an incorrect address on the policy. Seized and reported.”

This has drawn a lot of criticism from users on social media:

One user sarcastically responded to the tweet: “So let me get this right. There’s drug dealers, terrorists, paedophiles and killers all on the police radar but you stop some person on the way to work and take his/her vehicle because his insurance doesn’t cover commuting? Well done on making WY a safer place.”

Another wrote: “So instead of catching real criminals, stopping people who actually have legit insurance policies trying to make a living before Xmas.”

“Seriously this is something to tweet about? You must be so proud of yourselves for stopping this criminal from going to work, well done I feel so much safer,” said a third.

West Yorkshire Police Roads Policing Unit responded to the backlash:

Drivers are required to inform their insurer if they intend to use their vehicles to commute, according to Motor Insurance Bureau (MIB).

Since the incident, and the comments, the unit has continued to seize vehicles that are not insured for commuting, after it seized a Ford Mondeo in the early hours of Monday (18 December) morning.

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