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Vehicle tax clampdown 'to improve road safety', car insurance customers told

18/05/07

Car insurance customers in Blackburn have been told that road safety will improve as a result of a recent crackdown on tax dodgers.

Yesterday, Blackburn police officers joined hands with the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) to target motorists who were driving without a valid tax disc, reports the Lancashire Telegraph.

During the operation, two vehicles were caught by automatic number plate recognition devices while on the move and the owners have since been served with a £200 fine and an order to register for car tax immediately.

Meanwhile, a further ten parked vehicles were found not to possess the necessary tax disc and have been clamped.

After 24 hours, these motors will then be seized and taken to a compound where they will be crushed in 14 days, unless the driver makes contact with the DVLA.

Commenting on the initiative, Dave Clarke, senior enforcement officer at the DVLA, pointed out that people who fail to register for car tax frequently shun other legal requirements such as car insurance cover as well.

"We often find that motorists who fail to tax their vehicles are committing other motoring offences such as having no insurance or no MOT, which is why joint police and DVLA operations are crucial to making the roads safer for everyone," he said.

And the road safety benefits of the partnership have been reiterated by Nigel Brooke, police community support officer for Mike Hill and Lower Darwen, who said that drivers who fail to abide by motoring laws are putting people's lives at risk.

Under UK law, it is illegal to drive without valid car tax, a recent MOT check-up and a minimum of third party car insurance cover.