The cost of car insurance is escalating.

For young drivers who have recently passed their test, the insurance costs are often so high that they amount to far more than the car’s worth.

Insurance is an essential element of motoring, but not all drivers are law-abiding, and Barkerend in Bradford has so far retained its position as the place with the highest rate of uninsured drivers in the country.

Finally, things look set to change. Due to new legislation, there will be no hiding place for uninsured motorists.

From June 20, the new Continuous Insurance Enforcement law, affecting all motorists, comes into force. This means it will be an offence to keep an uninsured vehicle, rather than just to drive when uninsured.

A national advertising campaign has been launched by the Motor Insurers’ Bureau to raise awareness of the law.

Road Safety Minister Mike Penning says: “Uninsured drivers are a danger on our roads, killing 160 and injuring a further 23,000 people each year, and they cost honest motorists £500 million in extra premiums. That is why we are introducing this tough new law, which will leave uninsured drivers with nowhere to hide.

“Our message is clear – get insured or face a fine, court action or seeing your car seized and destroyed.”

Ashton West, chief executive at the Motor Insurers’ Bureau, says: “The change in law is a stepping-up of enforcement activity, so that not only those vehicles driven without insurance will be caught. Now the registered keeper must make sure their vehicle is insured all the time.

“Around four per cent of vehicles have no motor insurance at any given time, and this needs to change, so that is why this new enforcement approach is so important.”

Under the new system, the DVLA will work in partnership with the Motor Insurers’ Bureau to identify uninsured drivers.

Motorists will receive a letter telling them that their vehicle appears to be uninsured and warning them that they will be fined unless they take action.

If the keeper fails to insure the vehicle they will be given a £100 fine. If the vehicle remains uninsured – regardless of whether the fine is paid – further action will be taken. If the vehicle is on public land it could then be clamped, seized and destroyed. Alternatively, court action could be taken, with the offender facing a fine of up to £1,000.

Seized vehicles would only be released when evidence is provided that the registered keeper is no longer committing an offence of having no insurance and the person proposing to drive the vehicle away is insured to do so.

Vehicles with a valid Statutory Off Road Notice (SORN) will not be required to be insured.

The police seize 180,000 vehicles each year for the existing offence of using a vehicle with no insurance, and offenders also face a £200 fixed penalty or a court fine of up to £5,000 and possible disqualification.

The DVLA’s records will be compared regularly with the Motor Insurance Database (MID) and this process will identify registered keepers of vehicles that appear to have no insurance.

Road safety campaigner Carole Whittingham, from Brighouse, set up SCARD (Support and Care After Road Death) after her 27-year-old son, Steven, was killed when the driver of a stolen vehicle smashed into his car. Carole believes the new law is “a huge step forward”, adding: “I think it will catch some people, but sadly it will not catch them all.”

Acting chief superintendent Angela Williams, of Bradford South Police, says targeting uninsured vehicles on the city’s roads is a main priority.

Automatic Number Plate Recognition enables police to check the number plate of passing vehicles against the national insurance database.

If the system is triggered, the vehicle is stopped, and if no valid insurance certificate is produced, drivers can have their vehicles seized, paying hundreds of pounds for the duration of its compound.

“Since May 2010, officers in the Bradford South Division have seized 1,332 vehicles for having no insurance and plans are in place for operations over the coming months to further target uninsured drivers,” says Supt Williams.