Clamping of untaxed cars
Discussion
I’ve just been for a stroll and found two cars clamped while parked at the side of a public road. The notice on the cars stated they were clamped due to them being untaxed (I could see the tax disks on both were a little out of date).
Here’s a pic of the sticker on both windscreens:
The clamps have DVLA stickers on them.
I don’t know if this is a good thing; I disagree with the principle of VED but no-one likes a cheat.
Pass on the message, you’ve been warned.
Smeg
Here’s a pic of the sticker on both windscreens:
The clamps have DVLA stickers on them.
I don’t know if this is a good thing; I disagree with the principle of VED but no-one likes a cheat.
Pass on the message, you’ve been warned.
Smeg
Edited by smeggy on Thursday 22 June 00:50
The national wheelclamping scheme was launched in August 1997 and was at inception,(maybe still) operated by Sureway Parking Services Ltd in conjunction with DVLA. Contract was up for renewal in 2002-3, don't know if it remains with Sureway.
Edited by vonhosen on Thursday 22 June 01:07
vonhosen said:
The national wheelclamping scheme was launched in August 1997 and was at inception,(maybe still) operated by Sureway Parking Services Ltd in conjunction with DVLA. Contract was up for renewal in 2002-3, don't know if it remains with Sureway.
Thanks VH. It appears you are right to say this isn’t new, but it’s the first time I’ve heard of this scheme or seen the effects from it (and I’ve seen plenty of untaxed cars parked on public roads).
Interestingly, it’s just got a mention in the Daily Express:
Express said:
Untaxed drivers face a crackdown
COWBOY drivers face a blitz aimed at eliminating them from the road. The crackdown, it is hoped, will double the number of illegal cars seized to 100,000 a year. They will be sent to the crusher or sold if owners don’t tax and insure them.
Fleets of vans run by car-parking giant NCP will be backed by high tech cameras and a computer database to hunt down untaxed vehicles. The offenders are likely to include thousands of criminals.
The Daily Express has waged a successful crusade against uninsured drivers which has led to the tougher Government measures.
thanks Dixie COWBOY drivers face a blitz aimed at eliminating them from the road. The crackdown, it is hoped, will double the number of illegal cars seized to 100,000 a year. They will be sent to the crusher or sold if owners don’t tax and insure them.
Fleets of vans run by car-parking giant NCP will be backed by high tech cameras and a computer database to hunt down untaxed vehicles. The offenders are likely to include thousands of criminals.
The Daily Express has waged a successful crusade against uninsured drivers which has led to the tougher Government measures.
This worries me:
The national wheel-clamping scheme was launched in August 1997 and is operated by Vinci Park Services UK Limited in conjunction with DVLA. The scheme involves contract clamping teams seeking out vehicles on the public road that are not properly taxed. Motorists must pay a fee of £80 to release the wheel-clamp, or a £160 impounding fee plus £15 per day storage if the vehicle remains unclaimed for more than 24 hours. In addition, offenders must produce a current tax disc or a surety payment of £120 against obtaining one. The surety is forfeit if no excise licence is produced within 14 days. Vehicles left unclaimed after 14 days will be crushed or sold at auction.
So if someone is silly enough to forget before going on holiday, or is unfortunate enough to get taken into hospital........
vonhosen said:
don't know if it remains with Sureway.
NCP have it now
I may just be being cynical now, but the price of scrap has reached almost record levels. If they attain their target of 2000 vehicles per week and say 50% are unclaimed, the potential income is in excess of £50,000 per week. Suddenly the contract is cost effective!
However, the ojne statement that really winds me up is this......
Transport Minister Stephen Ladyman said:
"The vast majority of law-abiding motorists are fed up with these people flouting the law and risking not just their own safety but that of other road users as well."
Since when did having an untaxed vehicle make you an unsafe driver?
towman said:
vonhosen said:
don't know if it remains with Sureway.
NCP have it now
I may just be being cynical now, but the price of scrap has reached almost record levels. If they attain their target of 2000 vehicles per week and say 50% are unclaimed, the potential income is in excess of £50,000 per week. Suddenly the contract is cost effective!
However, the ojne statement that really winds me up is this......
Transport Minister Stephen Ladyman said:
"The vast majority of law-abiding motorists are fed up with these people flouting the law and risking not just their own safety but that of other road users as well."
Since when did having an untaxed vehicle make you an unsafe driver?
This is completely accurate and was what I was just about to post myself, but I'll just take it one step further Towman to ensure everyone has the completely accurate picture.
This is a commercially viable enterprise fully endorsed by the DTI and the DVLA.
The directors of the companies involved are hard nosed businessmen who have done market research and KNOW that they will make vast sums of money because the majority of people who will be caught are NOT "tax dodgers", they are simply individuals just like the rest of us who couldn't make the post office in time or have failed to receive new documents from the DVLA in time to tax their car. When they finally tax the vehicle a few days later they are of course paying from the first of the month, in other words for the time the vehicle is on the road; NO deception!
There is a deeply offensive element involved in those who make not just a living, but vast profits from other's misfortune: and when it is actually endorsed by the government it sinks to new depths of depravity.
I had a case a couple of years ago where the officers involved tried to imply that this type of operation was part of a road safety campaign.
They were using an ANPR system on the 2nd of the month, just at the time when renewal is taking place and had a line of cars stopped.
When I insisted that in line with "road safety" policy I wanted a traffic examiner to carry out a mechanical check on my vehicle and all the others in line, they backed off.
Disgraceful!!
towman said:
Transport Minister Stephen Ladyman said:
"The vast majority of law-abiding motorists are fed up with these people flouting the law and risking not just their own safety but that of other road users as well."
Since when did having an untaxed vehicle make you an unsafe driver?
I think what was trying to be said is that untaxed cars have a tendancy to be uninsured and with no MOT.
So, if there's no MOT, how do you know the car is roadworthy (aka SAFE)
Edited by BO55 VXR on Thursday 22 June 21:16
towman said:
vonhosen said:
don't know if it remains with Sureway.
NCP have it now
I may just be being cynical now, but the price of scrap has reached almost record levels. If they attain their target of 2000 vehicles per week and say 50% are unclaimed, the potential income is in excess of £50,000 per week. Suddenly the contract is cost effective!
However, the ojne statement that really winds me up is this......
Transport Minister Stephen Ladyman said:
"The vast majority of law-abiding motorists are fed up with these people flouting the law and risking not just their own safety but that of other road users as well."
Since when did having an untaxed vehicle make you an unsafe driver?
because the police/insurance companies (ie uninsured untaxed cars hitting insured ones) statitics proof it
untaxed (i'm talking over a month) cars more than likely to not have an mot or be insured,,, these drivers/vehicles 10x more likeky to have a crash, drive off from a crash, etc,etc, than an insured/taxed driver.
B
bjwoods said:
towman said:
Since when did having an untaxed vehicle make you an unsafe driver?
because the police/insurance companies (ie uninsured untaxed cars hitting insured ones) statitics proof it
untaxed (i'm talking over a month) cars more than likely to not have an mot or be insured,,, these drivers/vehicles 10x more likeky to have a crash, drive off from a crash, etc,etc, than an insured/taxed driver.
B
What utter rot. using your ridiculous logic, how many taxed cars have accidents? - Far more than untaxed ones. Therefore it is safer to drive an untaxed vehicle!
You have fallen for the mantra spouted by Mr Ladyman. Untaxed cars are not unsafe. However i would concede that in many cases they would be uninsured and not mot`d. I would also agree that the financial consequences of having an accident with one of thes vehicles is not good. However, the severity of the accident has nothing to do with whether the vehicle is taxed or not.
The government has taken the easy way out. The big problem in lask of insurance - why don`t they deal with it by means of a windscreen disc / govt issued numberplates etc like they do in Europe? Instead they choose to go for the easy target untaxed vehicles - probably because it is easy to target those who genuinely let it slip. It`s all about revenue, road safety? - my arse!!
matchless said:
the way out is to clamp their Vehicle then say "I will remove mine if you remove yours first!, simple aint it?,. what's the problem?
b0llox to the clamp, www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/land/m72.htm
quote " you don't mess with a mans pussy OR his wheels, brother"
Obviously a very emotive issue, but I'll stick my 2p-worth in anyway 
When I've seen untaxed vehicles being clamped, each time they've been way overdue on tax. For example 3 weeks ago I saw a nice E39 5 series being clamped that had its tax expired in January. Externally the car looked excellent, though I couldn't tell if it really was roadworthy mechanically. Most of the other cars I've seen clamped have been total s
tboxes.
As there is already an automatic £80 fine in the post after 14 days of no tax, I would imagine that cars with tax months out of date must have no current registered owner. Granted there will be some that have falsely declared SORN, and there will be the occasional genuine person who has just bought a car and is off to the post office/awaiting DVLA docs.
Taking into consideration that small minority of honest drivers, I am very much in favour of siezing any car with tax more than a month out of date. The reality is that these cars are being driven outside the law, by people who are often unlicenced, uninsured, unroadworthy and may well be using their vehicles to commit other crimes, such as buglary or drug dealing.
Similarly the use of ANPR to deny use of the roads to people less honest than us should be applauded. A good example of it's effectiveness occured in my force area recently. A vehicle 'flagged' on the system led to the arrest of a man wanted for manslaughter amongst other things several counties away.
Whilst I, like many of you deplore heavy-handed, unfair and revenue-oriented tactics, I can see real benefits in clamping, siezing and stopping those whose details are not in order.
When I've seen untaxed vehicles being clamped, each time they've been way overdue on tax. For example 3 weeks ago I saw a nice E39 5 series being clamped that had its tax expired in January. Externally the car looked excellent, though I couldn't tell if it really was roadworthy mechanically. Most of the other cars I've seen clamped have been total s
tboxes. As there is already an automatic £80 fine in the post after 14 days of no tax, I would imagine that cars with tax months out of date must have no current registered owner. Granted there will be some that have falsely declared SORN, and there will be the occasional genuine person who has just bought a car and is off to the post office/awaiting DVLA docs.
Taking into consideration that small minority of honest drivers, I am very much in favour of siezing any car with tax more than a month out of date. The reality is that these cars are being driven outside the law, by people who are often unlicenced, uninsured, unroadworthy and may well be using their vehicles to commit other crimes, such as buglary or drug dealing.
Similarly the use of ANPR to deny use of the roads to people less honest than us should be applauded. A good example of it's effectiveness occured in my force area recently. A vehicle 'flagged' on the system led to the arrest of a man wanted for manslaughter amongst other things several counties away.
Whilst I, like many of you deplore heavy-handed, unfair and revenue-oriented tactics, I can see real benefits in clamping, siezing and stopping those whose details are not in order.
julianhj said:
Obviously a very emotive issue, but I'll stick my 2p-worth in anyway
When I've seen untaxed vehicles being clamped, each time they've been way overdue on tax. For example 3 weeks ago I saw a nice E39 5 series being clamped that had its tax expired in January. Externally the car looked excellent, though I couldn't tell if it really was roadworthy mechanically. Most of the other cars I've seen clamped have been total stboxes.
As there is already an automatic £80 fine in the post after 14 days of no tax, I would imagine that cars with tax months out of date must have no current registered owner. Granted there will be some that have falsely declared SORN, and there will be the occasional genuine person who has just bought a car and is off to the post office/awaiting DVLA docs.
Taking into consideration that small minority of honest drivers, I am very much in favour of siezing any car with tax more than a month out of date. The reality is that these cars are being driven outside the law, by people who are often unlicenced, uninsured, unroadworthy and may well be using their vehicles to commit other crimes, such as buglary or drug dealing.
Similarly the use of ANPR to deny use of the roads to people less honest than us should be applauded. A good example of it's effectiveness occured in my force area recently. A vehicle 'flagged' on the system led to the arrest of a man wanted for manslaughter amongst other things several counties away.
Whilst I, like many of you deplore heavy-handed, unfair and revenue-oriented tactics, I can see real benefits in clamping, siezing and stopping those whose details are not in order.
When I've seen untaxed vehicles being clamped, each time they've been way overdue on tax. For example 3 weeks ago I saw a nice E39 5 series being clamped that had its tax expired in January. Externally the car looked excellent, though I couldn't tell if it really was roadworthy mechanically. Most of the other cars I've seen clamped have been total s
tboxes. As there is already an automatic £80 fine in the post after 14 days of no tax, I would imagine that cars with tax months out of date must have no current registered owner. Granted there will be some that have falsely declared SORN, and there will be the occasional genuine person who has just bought a car and is off to the post office/awaiting DVLA docs.
Taking into consideration that small minority of honest drivers, I am very much in favour of siezing any car with tax more than a month out of date. The reality is that these cars are being driven outside the law, by people who are often unlicenced, uninsured, unroadworthy and may well be using their vehicles to commit other crimes, such as buglary or drug dealing.
Similarly the use of ANPR to deny use of the roads to people less honest than us should be applauded. A good example of it's effectiveness occured in my force area recently. A vehicle 'flagged' on the system led to the arrest of a man wanted for manslaughter amongst other things several counties away.
Whilst I, like many of you deplore heavy-handed, unfair and revenue-oriented tactics, I can see real benefits in clamping, siezing and stopping those whose details are not in order.
Sorry Julian,
you are still missing the point here. There is NO consideration of roadworthiness or driver capability in this operation.
It is carried out by ruthless PRIVATE individuals, NOT the police.
The DVLA and government line to the public is to justify what they do by attempting to introduce an element of road safety into the equation.
Where is the skilled traffic cop in this, or the highly experienced traffic examiner who can spot a defective or dangerous vehicle for what it is? They are nowhere to be seen.
This is about money, blatantly and brutally being collected by exploiting the law.
In Scotland we put an end to clamping years ago, simply because of this kind of exploitation; these cretins are not in the slightest interested in the condition of your vehicle or your driving ability; they want your money.
Experience also showed that this kind of aggressive behaviour where authority is used to physically prevent the operation of a vehicle can go dramatically wrong because it depends on the integrity of the DVLA records; I am not even going to comment on that!!
Your submissions about ANPR operations are not relevant to this post because it is specifically about the commercial aspects of clamping and simply the fact that the presence or nay of a tax disc can have no relation to road safety.
Personally, the thing I find most offensive about this operation is the fact that only a tiny percentage of the revenue gained from road tax is actually spent on the roads: the government hard line approach to collection then becomes hypocritical in the extreme.
Jith, I agree with you that it should not be in the hands of private companies, particularly the NCP who seem to have a monopoly on parking and enforcement (certainly where I live). I would be happier with Police-employed traffic wardens doing the work. However, if a car is not taxed, and has not been for more than a month, it should be removed from the roads IMHO. Clamping is the cheaper option, I would be happier to see towing squads in action. There is no excuse for not taxing your vehicle for months on end and continuing to use it on the roads. As I mentioned, there is a much greater chance that other offences are being committed as well.
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