Uninsured drivers to face tough clampdown

More than 300,000 people are hit by uninsured drivers each year, new figures reveal.

The menace causes misery for thousands of families and leaves many facing financial hardship.

A new government report today outlined moves to tackle the crisis.

Police will get powers to seize and crush vehicles belonging to motorists found driving without insurance.

Ministers will also link the Government's central vehicle register with the motor insurance industry's database, allowing police to pinpoint uninsured cars on the road.

Fines for motorists who fail to renew their insurance are also on the cards to combat the spiralling number driving without cover - estimated at one in 20.

Motoring organisations, however, said the measures did not go far enough.

They called on insurers to lower premiums for first-time drivers to reduce the likelihood that they might avoid taking out cover.

"These changes are good, as far as they go," said Edmund King of the RAC Foundation.

"But the industry should be encouraged to be far more innovative to tackle the problem of a million uninsured drivers on UK roads."