- Record high of 245,043 drivers caught speeding ended up in
court
- More than 710,700 people in the dock last year for motoring
offences
- Drug driving and mobile phone prosecutions fall
- “Those willing to gamble when behind the wheel should think
again.” says AA’s head of roads policy
Almost a quarter of a million drivers (245,043) were sat in the
dock accused of speeding last year, the highest since records
began, following analysis of the 2022 Criminal Justice
Statistics* carried out by the AA.
The analysis also showed that more than 55,500 cases were heard
for vehicles being on the road without tax, a 12.3% increase
compared to the previous year. Similarly, more than 101,057
people found themselves in court for failing to supply
information after being required to do so by the police, up from
96,799 in 2021.
Last year 83,100 drivers were in court for driving without
insurance, down 11,000 cases compared to 2021, while more than
3,000 drivers stood accused of driving without a valid MOT.
Worryingly, the number of drink driving cases brought to court
rose by 1.8% to 33,099 last year. However, there was a 16.0%
reduction in cases of drug driving and a 15.5% fall in drivers
pursued for using a handheld mobile phone behind the wheel.
In total 710,738 cases came to court for motoring offences last
year with 642,236 resulting in a conviction. This means that nine
out of 10 motoring cases that end up in court result in a guilty
verdict, showing that drivers are highly unlikely to be
acquitted.
Jack Cousens, head of roads policy at the AA, said; “These
figures serve as a reminder of the huge consequences both poor
and illegal driving can result in. Those willing to gamble when
behind the wheel should think again.
“Some may say that record speeding cases are just a reflection of
too many cameras but speeding can be life ending and life
changing, so it is only right that those excessive speeders are
properly punished.
“While the number of cases for using a handheld mobile phone
behind the wheel and drug driving have fallen, we are not fully
convinced that this is due to improved compliance.
“Our own studies show that a quarter of drivers regularly see
others picking up a phone when behind the wheel**, meanwhile a
reduction in dedicated traffic officers means some drivers feel
they can get away with certain behaviours.”
ends
NOTES TO EDITORS
*https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1157773/all-offence-tool-2022.xlsx
** Yonder conducted an online sample of 13,480 UK adults aged
18-65+ between 9th and 20th December 2022. Data is weighted to be
representative of the population of the UK. Targets for quotas
and weights are taken from the PAMCO survey, a random probability
survey conducted annually with 35,000 adults. Yonder is a
founding member of the British Polling Council and abides by its
rules.
