police checking a carPolice this morning seized the millionth uninsured vehicle. It was in Britain's uninsured driving capital, Birmingham, which has 11 of the top 20 worst areas for uninsured drivers.

Birmingham's Bordesly tops the league table of shame, with Small Heath close behind. Only Bradford, Manchester, Wolverhampton, Halifax and one London postcode break Birmingham's stranglehold on uninsured driving.

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The worst uninsured postcodes in Britain

  • B 9 Bordesley, Birmingham West Midlands 7.9
  • B 10 Small Heath,Birmingham West Midlands 7.0
  • BD 9 Fritzinghall and Heaton, Bradford West Yorkshire 6.6
  • B 18 Winson Green, Birmingham West Midlands 6.5
  • BD 8 Whitefield, Bradford West Yorkshire 6.5
  • M 12 West Gorton, Manchester Greater Manchester 6.5
  • B 8 Saltley, Birmingham West Midlands 6.2
  • B 11 Tyseley, Birmingham West Midlands 6.0
  • B 21 Handsworth, Birmingham West Midlands 5.8
  • B 6 Aston, Birmingham West Midlands 5.7
  • BD 3 Barkerend, Bradford West Yorkshire 5.6
  • B 12 Balsall Heath, Birmingham West Midlands 5.4
  • HX 1 Town Centre, Halifax West Yorkshire 5.3
  • B 19 Lozells, Birmingham West Midlands 5.1
  • B 66 Smethwick, Birmingham West Midlands 4.9
  • B 7 Nechells Park, Birmingham West Midlands 4.8
  • N 18 Upper Edmonton, London Metropolitan 4.8
  • WV 2 All Saints, Wolverhampton West Midlands 4.7
  • BD 7 Great Horton, Bradford West Yorkshire 4.7
  • M 8 Cheetham Hill, Manchester Greater Manchester 4.7

Bordesley (B9) in Birmingham has nearly eight times the average number of motorists driving vehicles without insurance. Police in the West Midlands reckon they seize an uninsured car every hour of the day.

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A fair cop

Chief Inspector Chris Edwards, chair of the Birmingham Road Safety Partnership said: "West Midlands Police relentlessly enforces the law in respect of uninsured driving, which has led to a seizure of 5,881 vehicles between January and July 2012.

"In simple terms we seize on average 27 vehicles every day of the week or the equivalent of 1 an hour. This represents a 5% increase on seizures for the same period in 2011 and 10% on the same period in 2010.

"Drivers at the time their vehicle is seized are also summonsed to court for the offence of driving uninsured, where they are likely to receive significant fines and penalty points on their driving licence.

Uninsured

Ashton West, chief executive at the Motor Insurers' Bureau (MIB), the body that compensates innocent victims of uninsured and untraced motorists said: "Although we have made significant progress in recent years with the level of uninsured driving having reduced by 30%, we still need to tackle some persistent offenders.

"That is why we are working with police and community leaders to engage people in these areas and improve their understanding and awareness of the law as well as the consequences.

"When you talk to people, it's clear they have little tolerance for the uninsured motorist and want to see more being done. Overall the signs are promising, particularly when police enforcement and awareness is combined with the recently introduced scheme for continuous insurance."

Excuses

Some of the reasons cited by motorists living in these hotspot areas, include: the cost of motor insurance, not understanding the law and penalties, and a belief that they'll get away with it.

Across the UK, there are currently an estimated 1.2 million uninsured drivers and the West Midlands makes up more than 60% of the top 20 worst postcodes in the country, followed by West Yorkshire making up 25%.

The police were granted powers to seize uninsured vehicles in 2005 and of the 500 vehicles seized each day, it is estimated that 30% are crushed.

New research in the West Midlands and West Yorkshire found that a third of people still do not understand the current laws on car insurance, so are risking fines of up to £5,000; points on their licence and having their cars seized by police.

Cars likely to be off the road most



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