Multi-force operation targets uninsured drivers

Police forces along the M4 corridor have come together with the Motor Insurers’ Bureau to target uninsured drivers, seizing vehicles, and making the motorways safer by identifying individuals of interest, stolen vehicles, and wider crime networks. as a result. 

The Motor Insurers’ Bureau (MIB) led initiative sees it working alongside officers from South Wales, Gwent, Avon and Somerset, Wiltshire, and Thames Valley Police along the 170 mile stretch of the M4 motorway. 

The MIB exists to protect people from the devastation of uninsured and hit-and-run drivers and with this initiative, the forces have benefitted from additional officers, marked vehicles, ANPR cameras, control room operatives and intelligence staff.      

Over a quarter of the stops on the first day of the operation uncovered secondary offences, including stolen vehicles and drug offences. MIB law enforcement liaison officers joined police officers at the roadside. They used Operation Tutelage markers, where cars passing ANPR cameras on previous occasions were compared to data on the Motor Insurance Database, a record of all active motor insurance policies run by MIB. Uninsured vehicles with an Operation Tutelage marker were then flagged to police and dealt with roadside.

“We’re delighted to have MIBs support, and to work with the other M4 services, in tackling an issue that reaches much further than what is seen on the surface. We know that through our efforts today, we’ll have stopped stolen and cloned vehicles, individuals with outstanding court warrants, and disqualified drivers, alongside identifying other traffic offences that pose a risk. This collaborative approach provides both focus and attention to a really serious problem in all areas of the UK.”  

Superintendent Ryan Francis, Gwent Police.

The activity along the M4 corridor is one part of Operation Tutelage, a national approach to reducing the number of uninsured vehicles on the roads. According to the MIB, the police take an uninsured vehicle off the roads every three and a half minutes – in 2022 that equated to 123,000 vehicles.

MIB is now exploring future collaborative operations on other major UK road networks, as part of their £5m investment to reduce uninsured driving.  

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