London Police Seize 60 Cars Over ‘Anti-Social’ Driving Behavior, Here’s What That Crime Actually Is

When a police force impounds a bunch of supercars and exotics it’ll make waves. That’s what happened only a few days ago in the United Kingdom when Metropolitan Police seized 60 cars worth a combined £6 million ($7.7 million) for what the government calls ‘anti-social driving behavior.’ And no, that doesn’t mean sitting behind the wheel of your sim-rig playing Forza all weekend. Here’s what it said of the results.

Initial reporting from the BBC describes the incident, stating:

The operation launched on the evening of Friday, 2 August and ran across that weekend seizing £6 million worth of cars including McLaren, Bentley, Rolls Royce, Ferrari and Lamborghini, preventing further causing harm on the roads.

The story also mentions how authorities made five arrests in connection with the operation, seemingly tying anti-social driving behavior to being uninsured or under-insured.

To find out if those two things are actually connected I decided to do a deep dive. It turns out that there are a great many things that fall under the UK’s “anti-social laws.” Here’s a breakdown of how to avoid the same fate as the drivers mentioned above. And also just because you might be curious about this odd term not used in the U.S.

Our first clue is what the Metropolitan police responded to in the first place. It says in its report that Westminster residents complained about cars driving poorly or at high speed. That led to the operation in question and five arrests for “insurance fraud, using a mobile phone at the wheel, not using a seatbelt, and driving without due care.”

Those are some additional clues, but it’s worth noting what the BBC (linked above) said about the seized cars: “The main reason for vehicle seizures was no insurance or inadequate insurance,” it claims, attributing that information to the Motor Insurers’ Bureau.

Martin Saunders, head of enforcement at MIB, told the publication: “Our message is clear: high-value cars are not exempt from insurance requirements.” He’s referring to the fact that several cars seized are of the high-profile variety including a Lamborghini Urus, a Ferrari Purosangue, and an unnamed McLaren model.

Interestingly, insurance isn’t mentioned anywhere in the Police Reform Act of 2002 which deals with seizing vehicles. That legislation does provide some additional details though. Specifically, it deals with “Vehicles used in a manner causing alarm, distress or annoyance.”

It says that authorities can seize and remove a vehicle under certain conditions like “careless and inconsiderate driving and prohibition of off-road driving,” or when a driver “is causing, or is likely to cause, alarm, distress or annoyance to members of the public.”

In such situations, the law points to another code, the Road Traffic Act of 1988. It’s here that insurance comes into play as one of many reasons that a driver could end up in hot water legally.

Councillor Paul Dimoldenberg, Cabinet Member for City Management at Westminster City Council pointed at another cause for the operation though. From the BBC:

“People who think it is ok to use our roads as their own private racetrack late at night are not welcome in Westminster.

The noise and dangerous driving from these boy racers is often worse during the summer, so I welcome these results from the enforcement work. This underlines the council’s zero-tolerance approach to anti-social driving.  We will continue to work alongside the police and other local authorities to make sure the racing stays on the racetrack and not on our streets.”

In essence, “anti-social driving” can be everything mentioned on this list so far. That includes aggressive driving, speeding, or simply piloting a car without insurance or enough insurance. The United Kingdom’s College of Policing actually has an entire webpage dedicated to defining “Anti-social behaviour.” The page starts by defining the types of “anti-social behavior”:

There are three main types of anti-social behaviour (ASB). These are:

• personal
• nuisance
• environmental

The topics and anti-social behaviours listed on this page may fall into more than one category of ASB.

To put it simply, the full list is long and goes far beyond driving infraction. Sure enough, insurance is listed as one such behavior. It’s actually right beneath the section on careless or inconsiderate driving that includes “in a manner causing alarm or distress.”

In other places around the world, that same statute might be akin to reckless driving, a speed contest, or negligent driving. Of course, driving without insurance is an entirely separate crime but authorities will often cite drivers for multiple infractions when questionable driving happens.

The long and the short of it is this: be courteous on public roads wherever you might be, but be especially courteous on British roads.