142,000 cars seized in insurance crackdown
LUXURY supercars were among 142,000 vehicles seized by police last year in a crackdown on uninsured drivers, official figures revealed yesterday.
Models hauled away included a Rolls-Royce, Maseratis, Ferraris, Lamborghinis and Porsches and BMWs.
The Motor Insurers’ Bureau said that about 40 per cent of seized cars are crushed.
Higher value vehicles are sold off with the money raised going to police budgets. Police first got the power to seize and crush the cars of uninsured drivers in 2005 after a Daily Express campaign. Since then they have impounded 1.7 million cars.
Research by pay-as-you-go car insurer Cuvva revealed that uninsured motorists often drive top-of-the-range cars.
Data supplied by more than 30 police forces revealed that last year 3,558 BMWs were seized – nearly 10 a day. The haul also included 2,982 Audis, 36 Porsches, 12 Bentleys, four Lamborghinis, four Ferraris, three Maseratis, three Jaguars and one Rolls-Royce.
Drivers can only get an impounded car back by providing proof of ownership and upto-date insurance.
They must also pay a fixed penalty of £300, a release fee of £150, plus a daily storage fee of up to £40 and get six penalty points on their licence. Many drivers never reclaim their cars – leaving them to be crushed or sold.
Cuvva founder Freddy Macnamara said: “Driving without insurance is not only against the law, it can be painfully costly if your car ends up being seized by police.
“Once in an impound, getting the vehicle back can be so expensive that it’s not even worth saving it from the crusher. The simple answer is – get insured.”