Uninsured motorists will face more scrutiny, and possible confiscation of their vehicles, under the government's new Serious Organised Crime Act (2005).
The ABI said that under provisions in the new legislation, the police will be given improved access to the industry's Motor Insurance Database (MID) to help them detect uninsured drivers and will be given the power to seize, and in some circumstances, destroy vehicles being driven uninsured.
ABI director of general insurance Nick Starling said: “This new Act will be excellent news for honest motorists and all road users. We are pleased that the Government has seized the opportunity to act on what the industry has been calling for – better detection of and stiffer penalties for illegal and dangerous motorists who drive uninsured.
"This Act will send out a clear message: driving without insurance is a serious and dangerous crime, which the Government, in partnership with the insurance industry and the police, is determined to reduce.”
The ABI is also urging all three main political parties to commit to bring in a new offence of ‘keeping a vehicle without insurance' early in the new Parliament. This new offence could improve road safety further and reduce the cost of uninsured driving by £100m by enabling the DVLA to systematically target uninsured motorists.
The ABI added that it would only apply to vehicles kept on the road without insurance, and would not apply to vehicles where the keeper has declared that it is being kept off-road through a Statutory Off - Road Notification to the DVLA.
