By Isle of Wight ObserverHampshire Constabulary and the DVLA (Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency) have carried out a successful joint operation on the Isle of Wight.
Officers from the Roads Policing, Neighbourhood Policing, and Commercial Vehicle Unit teams assisted the DVLA to target unlicensed, uninsured, and untaxed vehicles on the Island on November 15 – 16.
Over the two days:
· Twenty-six untaxed vehicles were seized by the DVLA. Fourteen of those vehicles have now been taxed.
· Nine vehicles were issued with penalty notices by the DVLA, six of those have now been taxed.
· A mobile DVLA unit also identified other untaxed vehicles which will receive postal notifications.
· In addition Police Officers also seized eighteen vehicles, including thirteen for having no insurance.
· One vehicle failed to stop at a checkpoint, but was found nearby with the driver located and reported for a number of offences including: having no insurance, driving otherwise than in accordance with a licence, no tax, and failing to stop for police.
· One driver was found to be disqualified from driving and was reported for this alongside having no insurance.
· Three drivers were arrested on suspicion of driving whilst impaired through drugs. They have all been released without charge, but remain under investigation.
· Two vehicles were immediately prohibited for vehicle defects by the Commercial Vehicle Unit.
· A number of fixed penalty notices were also issued for no MOT certificates and other road traffic offences.
Sergeant Simon Morgan from the Isle of Wight’s Roads Policing Team said: ”I’m pleased that this joint operation was so successful and would like to thank our colleagues from the DVLA. There is a clear link between unlicensed, untaxed, and uninsured vehicles, and other forms of criminal activity or road safety.
“This is the fourth campaign that we’ve participated in with the DVLA on the Isle of Wight in recent years, It’s clear that the number of vehicles we identify, which do not have the correct credentials or paperwork, is decreasing each time. That shows the positive outcome of operations like this.
“We will continue to work with DVLA and other partner agencies in the next year to continue to improve road safety and to target vehicles and people that should not be on the Islands roads.”
Tim Burton, DVLA’s head of enforcement said: “We operate a range of measures to make vehicle tax easy to pay and hard to avoid, including online vehicle taxing and Direct Debit. We also continue to send reminder letters to vehicle keepers, which is why it is so important they notify us of a change of address or keeper.
“It is right that action is taken against those who don’t tax their vehicles and then drive them otherwise it wouldn’t be fair to those who do the right thing. We are pleased to work with Hampshire Constabulary to make sure these untaxed vehicles are not driven on the road.”
