UK hotspots for uninsured driving revealed – with 5 of the worst areas in a single city

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Uninsured drivers are a danger to the high street – and new data has revealed the areas where they are most common.

Driving without insurance guarantees that you will pay the full cost of any accident, receive six to eight points on your licence and be fined up to £300. If the case goes to court, offenders can receive an unlimited fine and be disqualified from driving.

But it doesn’t stop tens of thousands from taking to the streets without adequate insurance, and some areas have been found to be far worse than others.

The Midlands appears to be a hotspot for uninsured driving, according to new data from the Motor Insurers’ Bureau (MIB).

Postcodes in Birmingham make up five of the 15 most common areas for uninsured driving, based on the previous two years of claim data made to the MIB.

In 2023 alone, the MIB helped the police seize more than 130,000 vehicles, the bureau said on its website. So far this year, nearly 115,000 uninsured drivers have had their vehicles seized.

“Each year, thousands of people are injured or killed by uninsured drivers and without the correct insurance,” the MIB says.

“Evidence suggests that uninsured vehicles are consistently used to conduct wider criminal activity, and are more likely to be involved in a collision, so by targeting uninsured drivers we can help deter criminal activity and remove their means of transport and make our roads safer.”

Three other areas from the West Midlands are also named in the top 15, including Wolverhampton, Walsall and Solihull, according to MIB data given to Sky News.

Other hotspots include places in London, Thames Valley, South Yorkshire, Greater Manchester and Northumbria.

The data was released as MIB and police forces across the UK begin the week-long Op Drive Insured campaign, which will see police increase their activity in tackling uninsured vehicles while the MIB leads a public awareness campaign in tandem.

Someone in the UK falls victim to an uninsured or hit-and-run driver once every 20 minutes, with an average of 300,000 uninsured vehicles believed to be on the roads every day, according to MIB data.

Uninsured and hit-and-run drivers cost the UK economy up to £2.4 billion each year.

Here is the list of the top 15 postcode hotspots for uninsured driving based on the MIB’s data from the past two years: