To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the maximum fine is that can be levied on a hit-and-run driver without insurance. [98723]

Under section 170 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 a driver is required to stop after an accident and provide his name and address. If for any reason the driver does not give his name and address, he is required to report the accident. Should the driver fail to do either of the above, the maximum fine available is £5,000 (level 5 on the standard scale). This is also the maximum fine for driving without insurance under section 143 of the Road Traffic Act 1988. Therefore, a driver convicted of both of these offences could be subjected to a maximum fine of £1,000.If a driver fails to stop or report following a serious road traffic incident in respect of which there is evidence to support more serious charges, he may be prosecuted for those offences in addition to failing to stop or report.

To ask the Secretary of State for he Home Department how many (a) hit-and-run accidents, (b) hit-and-run accidents whose driver did not have insurance and (c) hit-and-run drivers taken to court and (i) fined, (ii) imprisoned and (iii) acquitted there were in each of the last five years; and what percentage of these fines remain unpaid. [98724]

Department for Transport figures are given in the following table for the number of hit-and-run accidents in England and Wales for the years 1997–;2001.It is not possible, in the statistics collected centrally, to distinguish offences relating to a "hit-and-run" accident from offences resulting from other kinds of accidents. Motorists charged following a "hit-and-run" will e charged with an offence appropriate to the circumstances. This may often be failing to stop after an accident or failing to report an accident, but more serious charges may be preferred in some cases depending on the circumstances.Table B shows available data on motoring offences within England and Wales, as defined in section 170 of the Road Traffic Act 1988, for failing to stop after an accident or failing to report an accident within 24 hours. The figures shown are the numbers of offences, rather than the numbers of offenders.Data on the number of cases where drivers were convicted for insurance offences, (under section 143 of the Road Traffic Act 1988, using motor vehicle uninsured against third party risks), as well as the offences of failing to stop after an accident or failing to report an accident within 24 hours are given in table C.Information on fines unpaid by offence is not collected centrally.