The government has promised to get tough with uninsured drivers.

Reckless motorists could have their cars seized and or even crushed under plans set out by the Department for Transport on Wednesday.

Transport minister David Jamieson was publishing a new report from Nottingham University’s Professor David Greenaway which sets out options for dealing with the estimated one million car owners who do not have cover for accidents they might cause.

Ministers want to help the insurance industry tighten its procedures and want the police to be better equipped to catch offenders.

Uninsured drivers often leave innocent parties to pick up the bill for accidents, with the average cost of being hit around £400.

Jamieson told ePolitix.com that most offenders are also committing other crimes.

"The vast majority of people who are not insuring and taxing are people who are usually on the verges of other criminality," he said.

"Some of them are people who are just trying to get away with it.

"What we are doing is tightening the net gradually on those people who just seem to think that they can get away without being insured and taxed."

The road safety minister added that the police would have the power to impose heavy sanctions.

"I very much welcome Professor Greenaway's report. We know that law-abiding motorists are fed up with paying the price for the small, hard core of anti-social motorists who drive uninsured, often in untaxed or unsafe vehicles," he said.

"The government is determined to tackle head on the menace of uninsured driving. That is why I have announced today that we plan to give the police the power to seize and destroy vehicles that are being driven illegally and to increase police powers to use new technology to make detection and enforcement more effective."

Home Office minister Caroline Flint said police technology is being improved to catch more insurance dodgers.

"Uninsured driving victimises the law-abiding motorist. This report gives a sensible way forward to tackling the problem and across government we will work hard to take forward its recommendations," she said.

"We want to ensure that the police and courts have the powers they need to tackle offenders and that they can use them effectively.

"We are also working closely with the police to ensure that the hugely successful Automatic Number Plate Recognition system is used as effectively as possible to target those who flout the law and drive without insurance."