Crushing their cars isn't much of a punishment either because the cars are generally worth a few hunderd pounds.

Jailing may be the answer. Don't bleat on about overcrowded prisons, the Royal Navy is decommissioning ships, why not lock them up on board ships for a while, there were prison hulks 200 years ago, why not bring the concept back?

I lived in switzerland and no insurance certificate = no licence plates, and your insurance isn't cancelled until you have proof you no longer have the car! So if you sell your car, you keep your number plates to put on the new one and the new car is registered with a fresh certificate! it is not rocket science to make the previous owner of a car liable until the car is registered or until it has been sold to an accepted dealer and the notification received by swansea. make it an offence for the trade to sell any vehicle without proof of insurance and a tax disc and proof of a driving licence. For a fee I am sure that the post office will check all these documents and stamp temp transfer of ownership. This will remove some of the burden from DVLA too. Finally, if you sell your car get some proof of who is buying it because if you don't you are liable for parking fines, speeding tickets etc.

Ps If you communicate with DVLA send it recorded delivery, and keep the proof! They "lost" my driving licence change of address but when I quoted the recorded delivery number they accepted it had been sent.