Car seizures – Kent, Northamptonshire, South Yorkshire, South Wales and Northumbria were the only areas of the UK to see an increase in car seizures in 2020 – comparethemarket.com

KENT, NORTHAMPTONSHIRE, SOUTH YORKSHIRE, SOUTH WALES AND NORTHUMBRIA WERE THE ONLY AREAS OF THE UK TO SEE AN INCREASE IN CAR SEIZURES IN 2020 

• Car seizures only declined by 4% year-on-year in 2020, despite the pandemic
• There was a total of 479,310 car seizures in the UK across 2019 and 2020
• The West Midlands has the highest number of car seizures every year in the UK totalling 51,531 seizures since 2019
• Driving an uninsured car or having no driving licence, is the most common reason why cars are seized in the UK 

New research from comparethemarket.com has analysed police force data in 2019 and 2020, obtained using Freedom of Information requests, to reveal how many cars are seized every year in the UK, which areas have seen the most cars seized, and what the most common reasons are for a car seizure.

You can view the research in full here: https://www.comparethemarket.com/car-insurance/content/car-seize/

The research reveals a combined total of 479,310 car seizures occurred in 2019 and 2020. There were 244,395 seizures in 2019 and nearly 10,000 (4%) fewer in 2020 which saw a total of 234,915 seizures.

However, five of the 32 police forces that responded, Kent, Northamptonshire, South Yorkshire, South Wales, and Northumbria, all recorded more car seizures in 2020 than the previous year. The number of car seizures decreased in all other areas as the pandemic and subsequent lockdowns generally affected the number of people driving on the roads as schools temporarily closed, many worked from home and people only went out for essential reasons.

Kent saw the biggest increase as there were 36.9% more car seizures than in 2019.

Areas with the greatest increase in car seizures in 2020 

 Where had the most car seizures since 2019 

The West Midlands had a total of 51,531 car seizures across the past two years making it the most prolific area for car seizures in the UK. Home to major city Birmingham, there were a combined total of 20,709 seizures for driving without insurance or a licence alone making it the most common offence.

West Yorkshire follows closely behind with 45,167 vehicle seizures in the last two years.  Covering major towns and cities including Leeds, Bradford and Huddersfield, there were also an overarching number of uninsured and unlicensed drivers with 18,478 seizures related to this offence.  

Though in third place, Surrey drops dramatically behind with almost 20,000 fewer cases than West Yorkshire. There were a total of 26,855 seizures in 2019 and 2020, however in this area, road traffic collisions were the most common reason for a car seizure totalling 8,765 of all cases.

The most common reasons for car seizures

A Section 165 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 offence was the leading cause of car seizures, which means the driver was either uninsured or driving without a licence. There were 93,329 cars seized under this ruling in the last year, nearly 10,000 more than in 2019 which had 83,270 despite the pandemic and lockdowns affecting our driving habits throughout 2020.

The second leading reason was after a RTC (road traffic collision) as 45,947 instances were reported in 2020. However, this is a 20.3% decrease the previous year which is most likely the result of less cars being on the road during lockdown, therefore less risk of an accident. Cars may be seized if they were no longer roadworthy after the accident or are needed to be used as evidence by the police.

Theft was the third major cause of seizures as 21,847 cars were impounded by police in 2020 after being found to be stolen. Again, this figure was down 17.8% from 2019 which could also be attributed to more people staying at home. Once seized the police will try to get the car back to its rightful owner and may want to keep hold of a stolen vehicle as evidence, or also many abandoned cars are no longer in a roadworthy condition.

Dan Hutson, Head of car insurance at comparethemarket.com comments:

“Though some instances of a car seizure are completely unavoidable, cars are essential to so many of us in our everyday lives we all want to avoid any chance of it being seized. As the most common reason for a car seizure includes driving without insurance, always make sure your car is up to date and fully insured. To make sure you have the best price you can easily run your car and details through our price comparison service to compare each insurance provider and scope out the best deal for you.”