SAM ROWLANDS, Member of the Welsh Parliament for North Wales, backs a national initiative to reduce the number of uninsured vehicles on the roads.
Mr Rowlands has welcomed news that North Wales Police has become the first police force in Wales to join Operation Scalis, a UK-wide initiative led by MIB (Motor Insurers’ Bureau) to tackle uninsured driving.
He said: “I am pleased to highlight this very important issue and delighted to see North Wales Police joining this national campaign.
“I was quite amazed to hear that NWP have seized an average of eighty-two uninsured cars every month and it is clearly a time to clampdown on this problem.
“There are people out there who break the law by not insuring their vehicles and figures clearly show that many serious crashes and accidents involve an uninsured driver. It is good to see a national campaign to tackle this.”
North Wales Police have become the first police force in Wales to join Operation Scalis, a UK-wide initiative led by MIB (Motor Insurers’ Bureau) to tackle uninsured driving.
Operation Scalis aims to reduce the number of uninsured vehicles on the roads through targeted enforcement and driver education.
North Wales Police already seize an average of 82 vehicles per month across the region. By joining Operation Scalis, they aim to surpass these figures to further reduce the risk posed by uninsured vehicles.
MIB, the not-for-profit that exists to protect people from the devastation of uninsured and hit-and-run drivers, has already launched Operation Scalis across eight UK police forces, including Essex, West Midlands, and Thames Valley.
The initiative brings together roads policing teams who will use Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) technology to identify vehicles being driven without insurance and take appropriate enforcement action.
It will allow North Wales Police to dedicate officer resource to focus on postal areas with high levels of uninsured driving, identified through uninsured collision claims data. Officers will take part in dedicated enforcement days, supported by funding from MIB.
North Wales Police use a range of tools to identify uninsured drivers, including Navigate – the central record of all active motor insurance policies managed by MIB – Operation Tutelage markers that flag uninsured vehicles through Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR), and police intelligence combined with predictive analytics to track known offenders.
Sergeant Alun Jones of the Roads Crime Unit at North Wales Police said: “Reducing the number of people killed or seriously injured on our roads remains our priority and removing uninsured drivers from our roads helps to do just that.
“We’re pleased to be part of the MIB’s Operation Scalis – a proactive ANPR initiative that enhances road safety and reduces the financial impact on law abiding motorists across North Wales.”
Hayley Sutcliffe, Law Enforcement Liaison Officer at MIB, said: “We’re pleased to welcome North Wales Police as the first Welsh force to join this national initiative. Their involvement strengthens the collaborative effort to tackle uninsured driving.
“Uninsured driving is not just a legal issue; it has real consequences for road safety and for victims who are left vulnerable when collisions occur. By working together, we can better identify uninsured vehicles and act more efficiently.“
