West Midlands postcodes top uninsured drivers list

Nationally an uninsured car is seized by police every three-and-a-half minutes, the Motor Insurance Bureau said

More than half of the top 15 hotspot areas for uninsured drivers are within the West Midlands region, latest figures show.

The two worst offending postcodes were B11 and B21 in Birmingham, and WV2 in Wolverhampton was in fourth place, according to claims data from the Motor Insurers' Bureau (MIB).

West Midlands Police seized more than 6,500 uninsured vehicles last year, Paul Farley from the MIB said.

"It is a challenge, the police are doing lots of work and we're really trying to make a difference," he said.

B18, B8 and B33 in Birmingham also featured on the list, along with WS4 in Walsall and CV7, which covers parts of Solihull and Warwickshire.

Historically, London has been on the list, but has not appeared for the past two years, Mr Farley said.

'Bear down on drivers'

"We tend to find in metropolitan city areas such as Birmingham and the Black Country we do experience higher crime levels, these are linked to uninsured driving and there are some socio-economic factors also play into this as well," Mr Farley said.

"When we see uninsured drivers in one particular area, it means then that local road users are more at risk, which is why we're collaborating very closely with West Midlands Police to tackle the problem."

Working with the police, Mr Farley said they were trying to "bear down" on the "small proportion of the motoring population that drive intentionally without any insurance, sometimes with no MOT or tax".

"Please do not drive if you're uninsured," he added.

"You could really affect yourself in the future and other motoring members of the public too."