Operation Drive Insured

As part of our work to keep roads in Essex safe for everyone, we’ve been working with MIB to tackle uninsured driving.

Our Roads Policing Unit were conducting patrols in the west of the county and held a static site at #Thurrock on Tuesday 12 November during which time they seized 22 uninsured vehicles.

In addition, we reported six drivers for a variety of road offences, including no MOT.

By working together, we make roads safer by getting uninsured vehicles off our roads because we know uninsured drivers are more likely to be involved in fatal and fail to stop collisions, and there is also a strong link between uninsured driving and other criminal offences.

We’ll continue to focus on stopping uninsured drivers, and would ask that before you set off on your next journey please check - is your cover valid?

As part of our continued commitment to road safety, Essex Police will be supporting Operation Drive Insured, a national campaign to target uninsured driving across the country.

Alongside other forces, we will be working with partners MIB (Motor Insurers’ Bureau), the organisation that exists to protect people from the devastation of uninsured and hit-and-run drivers, as part of their annual week-long Operation Drive Insured campaign (11-17 November) to get uninsured drivers off our roads.

Throughout the campaign, our Roads Policing Unit officers will carry out targeted patrols at identified hotspots, using information supplied by MIB. Carrying out this vital work means that unsafe vehicles, those with no insurance, tax or MOT, and are the most dangerous on our roads, will be seized by officers.

Together, Essex Police and MIB are committed to reducing uninsured driving, and here in Essex, our dedicated RPU officers have seized 3,089 uninsured vehicles in the first nine months of this year. In September, the monthly number of seized vehicles peaked at a staggering 406 vehicles, the highest month on record. However, we’re not complacent and know that this issue continues and that there are more uninsured vehicles, whether its vans, cars or motorbikes, that will be travelling across and through our county, putting other road users at risk.

"Uninsured driving is, sadly, not a standalone issue.
"That’s why we’re supporting Operation Drive Insured.
"When we stop an uninsured vehicle, it can often lead us to identify other offences such as drink and drug driving or stolen vehicles or property being transported across Essex.
"This multi-agency approach to the criminal use of our roads brings together a greater enforcement approach to tackling the issue that concerns our communities."

"As the Head of NRPOII, I am really pleased that Police forces across the UK will be working in partnership with MIB and other key stakeholders as part of Operation Drive Insured to take risk off our roads.
"We know uninsured drivers are more likely to be involved in fatal and fail to stop collisions, and there is also a strong link between uninsured driving and other criminal offences. Working together ensures we have the right information and capability to target those who are not insured and take appropriate action which can include seizure of the vehicle and prosecution."

"Whilst we focus on uninsured driving every day of the year, Operation Drive Insured is key in ensuring this societal issue remains on the agenda.
"We’re working closely with the police the length and breadth of the UK to ensure that these dangerous vehicles are identified and removed from our roads.
"With such a clear link to secondary offences and fatal collisions, we know that the benefits of Operation Drive Insured will be widely felt across the UK, making roads and communities safer.
"This operation is just one more way, alongside a wider range of initiatives, in which we’re making sure that those flouting the law have nowhere to hide."

The consequences of being caught driving uninsured can affect your day-to-day life and during Operation Drive Insured, intentionally uninsured drivers will receive a £300 fixed penalty notice and six points on their licence and can expect to have their vehicle seized.

MIB want to support law-abiding drivers by highlighting the most common insurance pitfalls.  

Top tips to ensure your insurance remains valid are:

• Don’t assume your motor insurance policy is set to auto-renew.
• Check your payment method is still valid when your renewal is due.
• Don’t assume that fully-comprehensive cover allows you to drive someone else’s vehicle.
• Remember to SORN a vehicle if it is being taken off the road and not used.
• Check your insurance allows for the class-of-use required, such as commuting or making food or parcel deliveries.

If you’re not sure about your insurance status, check today for free.

Help us reduce road collisions and casualties in Essex and make our roads even safer. Report instances of poor and dangerous driving through Safer Essex Roads Partnership's Extra Eyes initiative.

More than ever, irresponsible, dangerous and illegal road behaviour is being recorded by road users. Through Extra Eyes this footage can be sent to, and reviewed by, an investigator within Road Policing at Essex Police.

Find out how by visiting Safer Essex Roads Partnership website.

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