A CRACKDOWN on untaxed cars lead to 140 vehicles being removed in the three months since being given new powers. Fifteen drivers in the Basingstoke area swiftly paid their tax while two were forced to be scrapped. In November 2009, the Drivers and Vehicles Licensing Agency (DVLA) gave Hampshire police the power to seize vehicles in use without tax.
The force is one of just eight currently using the powers, which allow officers to remove without notice cars on a public highway which do not display a valid tax disc. Chief Inspector Stephen Jefford, head of Hampshire Constabulary’s Roads Policing unit, said: “In the first three months since we acquired these new powers, we seized 146 vehicles and this is just the start. “The powers give police another tool to catch criminals who use our roads without the proper authority and who endanger honest motorists.
“The majority of people whose cars we’ve seized so far have gone on to get them properly taxed. “Some of the vehicles, however, end up as scrap because no-one comes forward to clam them. “It’s these vehicles which DVLA research shows are more likely to be involved in other criminal activity, are more likely to be unlicensed and are therefore more likely to pose a greater risk to other road users. “Taking them off our roads can help make them safer for everyone.”
