Reclaiming the streets from uninsured drivers
by Hammersmith and Fulham Press Office
19/11/2008
More than 400 uninsured vehicles have been taken off the streets of the borough in a blitz codenamed ‘Reclaim’.
Suspicious cars are being stopped so that the driver’s and vehicle details can be cross checked on the Police national computer. If the car is uninsured, or if the driver does not have a licence, the vehicle is seized and removed to a car pound.
The illegal driver is hit with a £200 fine and told to produce insurance documents. If they cannot show the correct paperwork within 14 days their vehicle is crushed or auctioned.
Operation Reclaim was launched in H&F after the council’s Cabinet Member for Crime & Anti-Social Behaviour, Cllr Greg Smith, found out about the successful pilot scheme in Hounslow and pushed for it to be rolled out in H&F.
Reclaim has been running in H&F since April 2008 and, in addition to catching uninsured drivers, is also uncovering more serious criminals.
“People who drive without a licence or insurance are often the same people that commit even more serious crimes,” says Met Police Sergeant Gerald Hyder. “There have been numerous cases where officers stop a car on suspicion of being uninsured but then discover drugs or weapons in the car, or that the driver is wanted for other offences.”
Councillor Greg Smith said: “There is a clear link between uninsured vehicles and more serious crime and we are helping the Police to make our streets safer for the law-abiding majority of motorists who do play by the rules.”
