Just issued this press release:

Following on from the success of Yarmouth Borough Council in moving dumped cars from the streets, the Norwich Conservatives have said that a new Conservative government would crackdown hard on another blight on our roads- uninsured drivers, who could see their vehicles confiscated for repeat offences.

A six-point plan to curb some of the most dangerous drivers in the UK - those who drive without insurance – will be the cornerstone of the new Conservative transport policies, says Antony Little, Conservative Spokesman for Norwich South. Antony said:

”Proposals include linking the motor insurance database, which holds details of all policyholders, with the DVLA database, holding details of drivers - enabling the identification of most offenders; launching a national campaign against uninsured drivers, starting with a written request for insurance details; teaching the importance of insurance as part of the driving test; encouraging lower premiums for drivers who take extra training; increasing fines for first offenders; and confiscating vehicles used by repeat offenders.”

“Conservatives want to make Britain’s road safer and that means getting tough with those who pose a serious risk to other drivers, cyclists and pedestrians. Our plans deal with both detection and deterrence. We want to see stiffer penalties, including the confiscation of vehicles of repeat offenders. We will also cross check the computer records of insurers and the DVLA, to establish the full extent of the problem.”

With one in 20 drivers using vehicles without insurance, and the costs of uninsured crashes costing over £500 million a year - adding to insurance premiums - Mr Little declared: “Uninsured drivers are a menace who make every road in this country less safe. We need to educate them to take out insurance, or they will have their vehicles taken away. We need zero tolerance of those who knowingly put other road users at risk.”

Antony also linked new statistics revealing that speeding is not the main - but the seventh cause of road accidents, with the news that many speed cameras in Norfolk are not sited on safety grounds: “Concentrating too much on speed instead of the whole range of dangers has led Labour to an over reliance on speed cameras. To make our roads safer, we need to crack down on dangerous drivers and look at other measures like junction design and improving driver awareness.

“Conservatives do not believe in using speed cameras to raise money. If a camera is not contributing to road safety, we would take it down.”