56 vehicles have been towed away and clamped in just one week after a council operation in Nottingham.
Among them was a vehicle with no tax, MOT or insurance, as Nottingham City Council teamed up with the DVLA using special technology to identify vehicles that were on the road illegally.
The week of action saw officers from the council's parking regulation and compliance team working alongside DVLA officers, who were on the road in vehicles specially equipped with automatic number plate recognition cameras.
The cameras can rapidly check the registration details of any vehicle against DVLA’s records, to find out if it is being used on the road without the correct tax.
The operation was carried out in neighbourhoods across the city, as well as some city centre car parks and Park & Ride sites, and netted 56 untaxed vehicles – 36 of which have been released while the rest remain unclaimed.
The release fee at the roadside or from the vehicle pound within 24 hours of enforcement action is £100.
When the vehicle has been impounded and more than 24 hours have elapsed since enforcement action, the release fee is £200 plus storage of £21 per day.
The City Council’s Portfolio Holder for Transport, Cllr Rosemary Healy, said: “This was a successful joint operation with the DVLA which removed untaxed vehicles from the streets, reducing the number of poorly maintained vehicles on our roads and helping to make out communities safer.
“There are a wide range of reasons or excuses that people give for failing to tax their vehicle – but it’s so easy to do there’s really no excuse. Untaxed vehicles can often be unroadworthy, in a state of disrepair, without a valid MOT and sometimes be uninsured. They can cause a nuisance and bring down the quality of our local environment.
“We will be working with the DVLA again in Nottingham and we’re currently planning the next operation.”
The authority enforces over 1,100 untaxed vehicles each year by either clamping them or towing them away.
DVLA Enforcement Spokesperson Elaine Rees said: “We make it as easy as possible to tax your vehicle. We send reminders weeks before the vehicle tax is due explaining the ways you can choose to tax, and it’s really simple to check online if your vehicle is taxed. Getting clamped is expensive and inconvenient, so you should always make sure your vehicle is taxed correctly before using it.”
