2 Tackling persistent evaders and
motorcyclists
7. Some vehicles and their keepers cannot be traced
from the DVLA's records and have no VED. The most effective enforcement
action against this group is to catch the vehicles on the road
and wheel-clamp them. The vehicles may then be seized and crushed
if VED and the surety are not paid. The principle, as articulated
by the police, is "denying criminals the use of the road"
and is believed to have a significant deterrent effect on others.
8. The DVLA's performance in tackling persistent
evasion has been poor, reducing it from 970,800 vehicles in 2002
to 930,000 in 2005—a drop of 4%. No statistics have been
published since then. The Department removed from the DVLA in
March 2007 the Secretary of State's target to halve the "vehicle
underclass" and it has not been allocated elsewhere within
government. Hence the Department, the DVLA and others in government
may not give sufficient attention to stopping this type of evasion
from becoming an increasing problem. The DVLA could provide no
statistics for the number of vehicles that "drop off"
its records each year through not re-licensing and not declaring
vehicles as off-road.[14]
9. The DVLA's resources to undertake on-the-road
enforcement action are limited. Joint working with partner organisations,
such as the police and local authorities, is the most effective
way of targeting persistent evaders and serves to address other
vehicle related crime and public nuisance, for example abandoned
and burnt out cars.
10. The Government announced in the Pre-Budget Report
before the Committee hearing in October, that the DVLA would have
new powers from 1 September 2008 allowing it to undertake enforcement
activity on privately maintained roads as well as publicly maintained
ones. These new powers will facilitate action on some problem
areas such as housing estates where the roads are not publicly
maintained.[15]
11. The motorcycle evasion rate was 38% in 2006-07,
up from 30% in the previous year.[16]
Enforcement activity against this group has mainly been "from
the record"[17]
because of a number of difficulties:[18]
- In the past, the DVLA and police
Automated Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras could not read
motorcycle number plates from the rear;
- It is physically difficult to detain motorcyclists
at the roadside as they can easily turn around and drive off;
- The cost of insurance encourages non-compliance
as insurance is a pre-requisite for purchasing VED; and
- The police tend not to pursue motorcyclists as
part of on-the-road enforcement because of the risk to the public
in such pursuits.
12. In the light of the roadside survey results showing
growing motorcycle evasion over recent years, the DVLA now targets
a part of its advertising budget specifically at motorcyclists.[19]
But it has not assessed the effectiveness of that advertising.
The DVLA's ANPR cameras can now read rear motorcycle number plates,
although this facility is still not routinely available on all
police cameras.[20] In
a submission to the Committee, the Motor Cycle Industry Association
expressed its concern about the reliability of the sampling methodology
used for measuring VED evasion by motorcyclists.[21]
14 Q 34 Back
15
Q 14 Back
16
Review of Vehicle Excise Duty Evasion Statistics, Transport
Statistics, 4 October 2007 Back
17
Q 6 Back
18
Qq 111, 122, 124 Back
19
Q 134 Back
20
Qq 6, 124 Back
21
Ev 16-18 Back
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