At least 15,000 people were injured or killed by untraced drivers in 2003

In 2003 the number of drivers who went untraced after causing injury or death totalled 14, 371, figures from the Motor Insurance Bureau (MIB) showed.

In the same period there were 30, 000 hit-and-run victims.

The MIB believes there is a link between the propensity for not stopping after an accident and driving unlawfully or unlicensed.

'Human cost'

"There is a correlation with hit-and-runs and driving without appropriate documentation or driving illegally for some other reason, such as under the influence of drink or drugs,"said Chief Executive Ashton West.

The bureau obtains government compensation for the victims of uninsured and untraced motorists.

"The numbers of claims for untraced drivers has risen by 62% in just five years.

"Added to the financial costs passed on to insured drivers, the MIB is also greatly concerned about the human cost."

Mr West told Real Story that at least 15,000 people were seriously injured or killed by untraced drivers in 2003.

They will think to themselves: 'What is the benefit of me coming forward?' Professor Laurence Alison Forensic psychologist

This was a conservative estimate, he added, because one claim could correlate to all the pasengers in a car.

The top hotspots for untraced hit-and-run drivers are Liverpool, Manchester and Bradford.

Government-commissioned research aimed at finding out the extent of the problem shows that road tax dodgers and uninsured drivers, who together make up 20% of the driving population, are nine times more likely to crash.

Professor Laurence Alison, a forensic psychologist at Liverpool University, told Real Story that illegal drivers were also more likely to leave the scene of an accident.

"They [hit-and-run drivers] will think to themselves: 'What is the benefit of me coming forward?'," said Professor Alison.

"A number of them may have a kind of moral pressure to come forward, but that will be offset against a number of other issues, self protection being the main one."

Traffic police in Manchester told the programme that unroadworthy vehicles bought for as little as �40 were often unlicensed and likely to be abandoned by drivers at the scene of a crash.

"You can buy a throwaway car for �40," said officer Pete Hamnet.

"Why insure it for �3-4,000? It's more than ten times the value of the car. The driver can be riding around in another one the next day."