There are more than a million uninsured drivers on the UK's roads - and for an increasing number, they'll pay a significant price.
In 2005, the police were given powers to confiscate, and even destroy, uninsured vehicles. Five years on, they're now seizing 500 cars a day. Not all those vehicles will end up as wrecks, but they'll certainly be impounded and their owners forbidden from taking the cars back onto the streets...
(Do you have something to say about this story? Tell us what you think by emailing us here. Don't forget to include 'Impounded' in the subject line. Watchdog will publish a selection of viewers' comments underneath each story, both throughout and after the programme is on air. Please remember to include your name as you would like to see it published).
Surely that's how it should be? After all, uninsured drivers don't just force us all to pay higher insurance premiums. More seriously, they also account for an estimated 23,000 deaths or injuries on the roads each year. There's no doubt they are a serious risk to public safety - the exact reason why the police have been told to target them.
But what if officers are acting on information that's incorrect? What if they've been led to believe that a completely innocent driver who's kept up to date with his premiums is driving round with no cover?
This very thing happened to Stephen Farndon.
He says, "I had to sit in the back of a police vehicle and have them read me my rights telling me it would be 6-8 points on my license and a 200 pound fine. It made me feel like a criminal."
Before stopping uninsured drivers, the police check the car's number plate with something called the Motor Insurance Database - a computerised system run by the Motor Insurers' Bureau.
While the details of all insured cars are supposed to appear on this system, not all of them do. That's because there can be a delay between a driver taking out or renewing a policy, and the company updating the records on the database.
Flatmates Joseph Samson and Sam Wills now know all about this. Joseph insured his car one in July and two days later lent it to Sam. Sam was later stopped by the police because they thought he had no insurance.
Sam was covered to drive under Joseph's insurance, so knew there had been a mistake. Understandably, he thought the problem would be resolved when he showed the police the insurance documents he had with him. Unfortunately, it wasn't that simple.
"They wouldn't accept it as valid. And there seemed to be nothing I could say to the police that would enable me to persuade them not to take the car away", says Sam.
Embarrassed, Sam had to return to Joseph without a car and with a £150 fine to boot.
After much negotiation, Joseph did eventually manage to get his car back the next day - and the police agreed to waive the £150 charge. But a question still remains - why didn't his correct details appear on the Motor Insurance Database?
In reality, insurance companies don't have to update the database every time a policy is taken out or renewed - they've got a window of seven days in which to do it. However, that's seven days in which a driver could be driving around in a car which the police believe is uninsured.
Even more worrying is the fact that Watchdog has heard from drivers whose companies have taken even longer to update on the computer records.
Jayne Warren's teenage son Jake had his moped seized after he was pulled over by the police. This was nearly a fortnight after his insurance had been paid for.
In May this year, Jayne amended her son's bike policy.
"They assured me that the documents were definitely on their way. The documents weren't sent out, the database wasn't updated and after being stopped three times on the 19th May the bike was seized", says Jayne.
Jake was unlucky enough to be stopped 12 days after he took out his insurance, well past the seven day window which the insurance company had to update the database. Jayne was forced to pay a £150 fine in order to release her son's bike.
Unsure who to blame, Jayne feels like she's going round in circles:
"I've contacted the broker. The broker said it was the police's fault. The police went to their legal department and came back and said no it's the brokers fault. When I went back to the broker, they've now told me to go to the underwriter of the insurance policy.
"... Nobody will admit to being at fault. And nobody will take responsibility and I'm 150 pounds out of pocket", she adds.
So, just how many other innocent motorists are in danger of having their cars confiscated? Last year, the police wrongfully impounded 236 vehicles in London alone.
Each year, more than 600,000 drivers - for at least one week - are at risk of the police believing that they're uninsured.
Two years ago, Stephen Farndon started a campaign to force insurers to update the database as soon as policies were taken out or renewed. He felt incensed after having been a victim of the database delay himself - twice.
The first time, Stephen was driving with his family in the car when the police stopped him, believing he wasn't insured.
"After the police seized my vehicle we had to unpack all our belongings, grab the babe in arms and we were escorted off the slip road in this direction", says Stephen.
"And at that point I became really angry because I knew that I was completely innocent and yet they had taken my car. It was legalised theft."
Stephen's insurer did reimburse the costs and also paid him compensation. Stephen changed his insurance company and couldn't believe his bad luck when later that year it happened again.
Fortunately, on the second occasion they let him go with an order to produce his insurance certificate within seven days to a local police station. Five months on though, Stephen is still registered as uninsured on the database.
Stephen feels the MIB and police aren't to blame because they're just following orders. For him, the blame lies with the Department of Transport as they make the rules.
Whether it's down to the police, the insurers or the Department of Transport, one thing is certain - until someone takes responsibility, innocent drivers remain at risk.
MIB's Response to BBC Watchdog
Ashton West, Chief Executive of MIB, said:
"Uninsured driving is a social menace and the UK has one of the worst records in Western Europe. Before the police acquired the power to seize uninsured vehicles over 1 in 20 vehicles were being driven without insurance on UK roads compared to just 1 in 1,000 in some other European countries.
"Uninsured drivers injure 23,000 people and kill 160 each year with a total cost to honest motorists of £500 million paid for through their insurance premiums. What the police, the Government, the insurance industry and MIB are doing is working together on behalf of lawful motorists to remove this problem from our roads.
"The Motor Insurance Database (MID) holds the insurance records of over 34 million vehicles and to make sure that the information provided is there in good time, an agreement is in place with the Department for Transport (DfT) for policy details to be supplied to the MID within the fixed timescales. For example, the industry is currently achieving 98.3% for private vehicle data supplied within seven days, which is well above the 95% agreed target. There are additional safeguards in the process including a dedicated Police Helpline to verify insurance policies and there is also a FREE facility for people to check that their insurance details have been added to the insurance database at the askmid website.
"We understand that even one erroneous seizure is one too many for the individuals concerned. However this has to be viewed in the context of about 2,500 police checks of the MID every hour. MIB takes any erroneous seizure seriously and we work with the police, insurers and their intermediaries to continually improve processes to reduce the risks involved.
"We want to reassure Watchdog viewers that the chances of any insured motorists being stopped by the police because their details are not on the MID are very small indeed. However viewers can reduce this risk even further by checking that their vehicle details are correct and recorded on the MID at www.askMID.com. If your details are not correct or do not appear on the MID contact your insurance provider immediately so they can update your records."
The Association of British Insurers told us:
ABI members are committed to ensuring that customers insurance details reach the Motor Insurance Database within the timescales set out by the Department of Transport. The Database provides an important means of reducing the menace of uninsured driving [which adds to the cost of motor insurance paid by honest motorists], and it is important that data on it is accurate and up to date. The DfT target requires 95% of private policies to be added to the database within 7 days, and insurers and intermediaries are constantly reviewing their processes to achieve 100% compliance. BBC Watchdog have highlighted the consequences for motorists of the industry not meeting this requirement, and we will make our members aware of your investigations.
Watchdog viewers' responses:
I bought a car last year which I insured at purchase, drove it home from London to my home in Norfolk and on my way was pulled by the police for no insurance. Having told the officer that I insured the car upon purchase, he then took me to his car and rang my insurance company for himself to find I was telling the truth.
Jason
We insured our car on the 15th of feb this year only to get pulled over in July as the database was still not updated 5 months after we took the new policy out. As I had not been pulled over before I was very lucky not to have my car towed away. However the police spoke to the insurance company and made them do it straight away
Katie Keeling
Impound for (a lot of) pounds...
In 2005, the police were given powers to confiscate, and even destroy, uninsured vehicles. Five years on, they're now seizing 500 cars a day. Not all those vehicles will end up as wrecks, but they'll certainly be impounded and their owners forbidden from taking the cars back onto the streets...
(Do you have something to say about this story? Tell us what you think by emailing us here. Don't forget to include 'Impounded' in the subject line. Watchdog will publish a selection of viewers' comments underneath each story, both throughout and after the programme is on air. Please remember to include your name as you would like to see it published).
Surely that's how it should be? After all, uninsured drivers don't just force us all to pay higher insurance premiums. More seriously, they also account for an estimated 23,000 deaths or injuries on the roads each year. There's no doubt they are a serious risk to public safety - the exact reason why the police have been told to target them.
But what if officers are acting on information that's incorrect? What if they've been led to believe that a completely innocent driver who's kept up to date with his premiums is driving round with no cover?
This very thing happened to Stephen Farndon.
He says, "I had to sit in the back of a police vehicle and have them read me my rights telling me it would be 6-8 points on my license and a 200 pound fine. It made me feel like a criminal."
Before stopping uninsured drivers, the police check the car's number plate with something called the Motor Insurance Database - a computerised system run by the Motor Insurers' Bureau.
While the details of all insured cars are supposed to appear on this system, not all of them do. That's because there can be a delay between a driver taking out or renewing a policy, and the company updating the records on the database.
Flatmates Joseph Samson and Sam Wills now know all about this. Joseph insured his car one in July and two days later lent it to Sam. Sam was later stopped by the police because they thought he had no insurance.
Sam was covered to drive under Joseph's insurance, so knew there had been a mistake. Understandably, he thought the problem would be resolved when he showed the police the insurance documents he had with him. Unfortunately, it wasn't that simple.
"They wouldn't accept it as valid. And there seemed to be nothing I could say to the police that would enable me to persuade them not to take the car away", says Sam.
Embarrassed, Sam had to return to Joseph without a car and with a £150 fine to boot.
After much negotiation, Joseph did eventually manage to get his car back the next day - and the police agreed to waive the £150 charge. But a question still remains - why didn't his correct details appear on the Motor Insurance Database?
In reality, insurance companies don't have to update the database every time a policy is taken out or renewed - they've got a window of seven days in which to do it. However, that's seven days in which a driver could be driving around in a car which the police believe is uninsured.
Even more worrying is the fact that Watchdog has heard from drivers whose companies have taken even longer to update on the computer records.
Jayne Warren's teenage son Jake had his moped seized after he was pulled over by the police. This was nearly a fortnight after his insurance had been paid for.
In May this year, Jayne amended her son's bike policy.
"They assured me that the documents were definitely on their way. The documents weren't sent out, the database wasn't updated and after being stopped three times on the 19th May the bike was seized", says Jayne.
Jake was unlucky enough to be stopped 12 days after he took out his insurance, well past the seven day window which the insurance company had to update the database. Jayne was forced to pay a £150 fine in order to release her son's bike.
Unsure who to blame, Jayne feels like she's going round in circles:
"I've contacted the broker. The broker said it was the police's fault. The police went to their legal department and came back and said no it's the brokers fault. When I went back to the broker, they've now told me to go to the underwriter of the insurance policy.
"... Nobody will admit to being at fault. And nobody will take responsibility and I'm 150 pounds out of pocket", she adds.
So, just how many other innocent motorists are in danger of having their cars confiscated? Last year, the police wrongfully impounded 236 vehicles in London alone.
Each year, more than 600,000 drivers - for at least one week - are at risk of the police believing that they're uninsured.
Two years ago, Stephen Farndon started a campaign to force insurers to update the database as soon as policies were taken out or renewed. He felt incensed after having been a victim of the database delay himself - twice.
The first time, Stephen was driving with his family in the car when the police stopped him, believing he wasn't insured.
"After the police seized my vehicle we had to unpack all our belongings, grab the babe in arms and we were escorted off the slip road in this direction", says Stephen.
"And at that point I became really angry because I knew that I was completely innocent and yet they had taken my car. It was legalised theft."
Stephen's insurer did reimburse the costs and also paid him compensation. Stephen changed his insurance company and couldn't believe his bad luck when later that year it happened again.
Fortunately, on the second occasion they let him go with an order to produce his insurance certificate within seven days to a local police station. Five months on though, Stephen is still registered as uninsured on the database.
Stephen feels the MIB and police aren't to blame because they're just following orders. For him, the blame lies with the Department of Transport as they make the rules.
Whether it's down to the police, the insurers or the Department of Transport, one thing is certain - until someone takes responsibility, innocent drivers remain at risk.
MIB's Response to BBC Watchdog
Ashton West, Chief Executive of MIB, said:
"Uninsured driving is a social menace and the UK has one of the worst records in Western Europe. Before the police acquired the power to seize uninsured vehicles over 1 in 20 vehicles were being driven without insurance on UK roads compared to just 1 in 1,000 in some other European countries.
"Uninsured drivers injure 23,000 people and kill 160 each year with a total cost to honest motorists of £500 million paid for through their insurance premiums. What the police, the Government, the insurance industry and MIB are doing is working together on behalf of lawful motorists to remove this problem from our roads.
"The Motor Insurance Database (MID) holds the insurance records of over 34 million vehicles and to make sure that the information provided is there in good time, an agreement is in place with the Department for Transport (DfT) for policy details to be supplied to the MID within the fixed timescales. For example, the industry is currently achieving 98.3% for private vehicle data supplied within seven days, which is well above the 95% agreed target. There are additional safeguards in the process including a dedicated Police Helpline to verify insurance policies and there is also a FREE facility for people to check that their insurance details have been added to the insurance database at the askmid website.
"We understand that even one erroneous seizure is one too many for the individuals concerned. However this has to be viewed in the context of about 2,500 police checks of the MID every hour. MIB takes any erroneous seizure seriously and we work with the police, insurers and their intermediaries to continually improve processes to reduce the risks involved.
"We want to reassure Watchdog viewers that the chances of any insured motorists being stopped by the police because their details are not on the MID are very small indeed. However viewers can reduce this risk even further by checking that their vehicle details are correct and recorded on the MID at www.askMID.com. If your details are not correct or do not appear on the MID contact your insurance provider immediately so they can update your records."
The Association of British Insurers told us:
ABI members are committed to ensuring that customers insurance details reach the Motor Insurance Database within the timescales set out by the Department of Transport. The Database provides an important means of reducing the menace of uninsured driving [which adds to the cost of motor insurance paid by honest motorists], and it is important that data on it is accurate and up to date. The DfT target requires 95% of private policies to be added to the database within 7 days, and insurers and intermediaries are constantly reviewing their processes to achieve 100% compliance. BBC Watchdog have highlighted the consequences for motorists of the industry not meeting this requirement, and we will make our members aware of your investigations.
Watchdog viewers' responses:
I bought a car last year which I insured at purchase, drove it home from London to my home in Norfolk and on my way was pulled by the police for no insurance. Having told the officer that I insured the car upon purchase, he then took me to his car and rang my insurance company for himself to find I was telling the truth.
Jason
We insured our car on the 15th of feb this year only to get pulled over in July as the database was still not updated 5 months after we took the new policy out. As I had not been pulled over before I was very lucky not to have my car towed away. However the police spoke to the insurance company and made them do it straight away
Katie Keeling
Impound for (a lot of) pounds...