Stats reveal West Midlands has most uninsured driving hotspots
Postcodes in our region account for eight of the 15 worst areas for uninsured driving across the UK
Last updated 11th Nov 2024
New stats by the Motor Insurers' Bureau (MIB) reveal the West Midlands is the worst part of the UK for uninsured driving.
In total, West Midlands postcodes account for eight of the 15 worst areas for uninsured driving in the UK, with B11 in Birmingham coming top.
The other postcodes are B21, B18, B8, B33, CV7 (Solihull), WV2 (Wolverhampton, and WS4 (Walsall).
MIB says so far this year, almost 115,000 uninsured drivers have had their vehicle seized, with 6,700 of those being in the West Midlands.
We spoke to Superintendent Gareth Mason, who's head of the Roads Policing Unit at West Midlands Police.
"When an insured driver is involved in a collision it obviously puts the other person in financial difficulties.
"There are also stats that show people that are uninsured are five times more likely to be involved in crime, and five times more likely to be involved in serious collisions.
"So it's really important we tackle these issues," he says.
The data by MIB coincides with their annual week-long ‘Operation Drive Insured’ campaign, which works with police forces across the country to get uninsured drivers off the road.
"All the police forces across the country are committed to this and will be out proactively identifying and locating uninsured vehicles, and dealing with those drivers," says Supt. Gareth.
"The public can expect more police patrols, can expect to see more vehicles pulled over, and more people as a result will be going to court if they're found to be uninsured."
MIB estimates an average of 300,000 uninsured vehicles on UK roads every day and say someone in the UK is hit by an uninsured or hit-and-run driver every 20 minutes.
Gareth tells us what consequences uninsured drivers can expect to face.
"Those people found to be driving without insurance are likely to receive six points on their license, £300 fine and their vehicle seized - and that's if they don't go to court.
"If they do go to court, they're more likely to receive a more stringent sentence."
MIB also estimates all injuries caused by uninsured and hit-and-run drivers potentially cost the economy nearly £2.4 billion a year in emergency services, medical care, loss of productivity and human costs.