50,000 vehicles seized

Reporter: Richard Hooton
Date online: 17 February 2010

TRAFFIC officers have seized 50,000 vehicles from drivers without insurance or licences across Greater Manchester in the last five years.

They’ve taken advantage of powers issued in 2005, that enable officers to seize uninsured vehicles or those driven without the correct licence. A specialist team of officers has worked in a unit, codenamed Operation Wolverine, which was set up to specifically tackle this type of crime.

To reclaim their vehicles, owners have to prove that insurance cover is in place and pay a fee of £150, plus a storage charge of £20 per day.

If an owner fails to reclaim the vehicle within seven working days, it is likely to be scrapped or sold.

The same process is used to deal with motorists who are found driving without a valid licence. The milestone figure has been made possible through access to Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) equipment, which is on board all traffic police cars.

Chief Supt Dave Anthony, of GMP’s specialist operations branch, said: “Uninsured drivers are likely to be involved in other types of crime and activities, such as drink driving, and unlicensed drivers are much more likely to be involved in a collision.

“By seizing 50,000 cars we are making sure that people are free to drive safely without coming into contact with an uninsured or unlicensed driver who may put them at risk.

“We are ridding the road of un-roadworthy vehicles and denying criminals the use of the roads.”