Skip to main content

Driving Offences

Volume 457: debated on Monday 19 February 2007

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many motorists were found by police to be driving without (a) a valid UK driving licence, (b) insurance, (c) an MOT and (d) a valid tax disc in each of the last 10 years, broken down by police force. (118290)

I have been asked to reply.

Information held by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform on the numbers of court proceedings and fixed penalty notices issued (where appropriate) for offences of ‘driving otherwise than in accordance with a licence’; ‘using a motor vehicle uninsured against third party risks’ and ‘using or keeping an unlicensed vehicle on a public road’, from 1997-2004 (latest available) is provided in the tables.

The motoring offences of ‘causing or permitting use of vehicle without test certificate’ contrary to the Road Traffic Act 1988, s. 47 are not separately identifiable, on the court proceedings database, from other similarly grouped motoring offences.

2005 data will be available later this year.

Table A: Court proceedings1 and fixed penalty notices issued2 for the offence of driving without a licence3, by police force area, England and Wales, 1997-2004

Number of offences

1997

1998

1999

2000

Police force area

Total proceedings

Fixed penalty notices issued

Total proceedings

Fixed penalty notices issued

Total proceedings

Fixed penalty notices issued

Total proceedings

Fixed penalty notices issued

Avon and Somerset

9,392

63

11,635

59

10,744

64

11,026

94

Bedfordshire

2,179

11

2.184

5

1,907

13

2,225

16

Cambridgeshire

1,650

1,668

1,549

1,630

9

Cheshire

2,269

6

2,613

18

3,123

1

3,728

12

Cleveland

2,166

8

2,504

9

2,853

7

3,071

9

Cumbria

2,049

15

1,958

9

2,061

2,010

5

Derbyshire

2,857

33

2,653

30

2,783

27

3,123

49

Devon and Cornwall

4,097

115

3,772

107

4,103

80

5,598

Dorset

2,269

49

1,703

63

2,225

75

2,923

100

Durham

2,062

5

2,455

13

3,613

6

3,131

4

Essex

3,141

32

3,516

25

3,931

28

4,702

49

Gloucestershire

1,931

2,560

2.882

8

2,981

40

Greater Manchester

16,991

23

18,826

32

21,789

32

23,920

46

Hampshire

5,938

48

6,012

84

6,593

95

6,216

77

Hertfordshire

1,909

16

2,962

6

2,539

15

3,380

39

Humberside

2,313

59

2,345

74

2,779

38

3,040

82

Kent

3,108

34

3,182

41

2,924

43

4,759

48

Lancashire

16,371

40

15,008

45

14,425

55

15,671

94

Leicestershire

5,022

27

6,403

26

7,417

14

7,303

28

Lincolnshire

2,375

36

2,763

43

3,115

2,903

London, City of

1,312

32

1,704

40

1,456

28

1,064

20

Merseyside

6,217

20

5,573

27

5,421

101

6,577

125

Metropolitan Police

23,317

644

19,864

711

18,664

695

18,765

376

Norfolk

1,800

33

1,548

45

1,726

57

2,091

36

Northamptonshire

2,481

2,515

4

3,161

6

2,321

4

Northumbria

7,024

41

6,696

28

7,744

61

7,841

125

North Yorkshire

2,004

34

1,995

29

2,254

29

2,149

32

Nottinghamshire

3,752

4,395

5

4,199

2

4,381

4

South Yorkshire

5,747

37

6,057

70

6,847

62

7,538

88

Staffordshire

4,029

46

4,326

39

4,515

25

5,391

31

Suffolk

1,526

29

1,863

38

2,369

67

2,303

41

Surrey

1,806

11

1,312

33

1,793

42

2,230

37

Sussex

5,397

26

5,303

32

4,814

18

4,643

45

Thames Valley

6,600

51

6,775

58

8,323

52

8,074

76

Warwickshire

2,109

10

1,965

19

1,775

11

2,274

25

West Mercia

3,910

54

4,654

45

4,477

34

4,657

48

West Midlands

17,343

33

18,914

32

17,541

38

19,624

28

West Yorkshire

14,431

34

14,605

50

17,184

41

19,312

71

Wiltshire

1,582

56

2,255

60

2,338

33

3,226

41

Dyfed-Powys

1,488

19

1,410

25

1,620

19

1,686

21

Gwent

2,158

28

2,541

42

2,463

31

2,752

24

North Wales

2,593

17

2,373

16

2,242

19

2,102

21

South Wales

8,775

20

9,959

17

9,907

11

9,736

22

England and Wales

217,490

1,895

225,324

2,154

236,188

2,083

254,077

2,142

Number of offences

2001

2002

2003

2004

Police force area

Total proceedings

Fixed penalty notices issued

Total proceedings

Fixed penalty notices issued

Total proceedings

Fixed penalty notices issued

Total proceedings

Fixed penalty notices issued

Avon and Somerset

9,842

100

11,212

130

13,420

133

14,297

196

Bedfordshire

3,197

13

3,263

23

3,338

24

3,150

48

Cambridgeshire

1,457

14

1,737

9

1,855

23

2,016

73

Cheshire

3,140

33

3,615

52

3,992

32

3,925

71

Cleveland

3,274

23

4,390

35

3,893

33

4,673

45

Cumbria

2,017

10

2,053

10

2,041

20

2,101

25

Derbyshire

3,230

80

3,387

130

3,252

153

4,038

164

Devon and Cornwall

5,361

6,026

5,988

5,330

Dorset

3,033

104

3,843

87

4,361

100

3,743

92

Durham

3,589

8

3,886

33

3,993

27

3,628

40

Essex

4,609

61

4,703

59

4,291

49

4,319

141

Gloucestershire

3,347

45

3,078

32

2,857

25

2,320

50

Greater Manchester

27,631

88

26,437

106

28,490

87

26,887

180

Hampshire

6,288

128

6,942

112

6,530

108

6,258

313

Hertfordshire

3,816

46

5,039

71

5,225

116

4,967

157

Humberside

3,082

66

2,984

82

3,567

77

3,648

158

Kent

5,358

102

5,700

68

6,114

108

6,770

153

Lancashire

13,667

104

14,452

104

16,797

132

13,280

134

Leicestershire

7,573

33

7,205

50

7,512

95

7,204

168

Lincolnshire

2,541

2,643

9

3,826

50

4,540

London, City of

959

23

1,504

34

1,651

122

2,280

86

Merseyside

5,987

106

6,936

86

8,847

75

8,938

103

Metropolitan Police

20,465

443

23,486

579

29,248

1,096

33,533

1,314

Norfolk

2,762

37

3,442

38

3,921

36

3,164

35

Northamptonshire

1,157

1

670

2

2,588

5

3,843

1

Northumbria

7,859

219

7,738

255

8,368

285

7,402

381

North Yorkshire

1,949

45

2,000

23

2,261

16

2,410

24

Nottinghamshire

4,648

5

4,583

13

5,656

100

5,909

123

South Yorkshire

9,081

144

9,016

102

8,957

125

7,091

143

Staffordshire

3,576

34

4,045

54

4,176

49

4,586

84

Suffolk

2,685

47

3,103

67

3,724

41

3,712

48

Surrey

2,386

68

2,555

61

2,008

104

2,032

102

Sussex

4,901

38

4,714

37

3,875

68

2,879

132

Thames Valley

7,520

91

8,023

100

8,948

170

7,813

247

Warwickshire

2,311

24

2,121

26

2,234

46

2,695

65

West Mercia

4,827

120

4,844

76

4,837

81

4,732

107

West Midlands

18,946

52

24,022

63

28,179

100

31,643

145

West Yorkshire

22,328

70

19,839

105

22,421

123

28,752

247

Wiltshire

3,810

57

3,765

71

3,525

55

3,396

62

Dyfed-Powys

1,711

11

1,840

28

1,789

28

1,250

31

Gwent

2,817

18

2,754

16

2,304

25

1,984

19

North Wales

1,990

27

2,473

30

3,755

89

3,614

103

South Wales

9,015

18

11,039

19

10,725

18

10,254

41

England and Wales

259,742

2,756

277,107

3,087

305,339

4,249

311,006

5,851

1 May include cases where fixed penalty notices were originally issued but not paid and subsequently referred to court.

2 Only covers tickets paid where there is no further action.

3 Offence under the Road Traffic Act 1988, S,87 (1) & (2) as amended.

Notes:

1. It is known that for some police force areas, the reporting of court proceedings in particular those relating to summary motoring offences, may be less than complete. Work is underway to ensure that the magistrates courts case management system currently being implemented by the Department for Constitutional Affairs reports all motoring offences to the Office for Criminal Justice Reform. This will enable more complete figures to be disseminated.

2. Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their limitations are taken into account when these data are used.

Table B: Total number of fixed penalty notices issued1, 2 and court proceedings3 for the offence of using a motor vehicle uninsured against third party risks4, England and Wales, 1997-2004

Number of offences

Police force area

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

Avon and Somerset

15,354

16,892

15,098

14,609

13,022

15,124

Bedfordshire

4,724

4,449

3,479

3,594

4,651

4,731

Cambridgeshire

3,440

3,425

3,058

2,929

2,508

2,875

Cheshire

4,838

4,961

5,463

5,729

4,975

5,765

Cleveland

3,925

4,204

4,331

4,793

4,789

5,994

Cumbria

4,223

3,787

3,597

3,507

3,595

3,540

Derbyshire

5,565

5,137

5,120

5,318

5,429

5,614

Devon and Cornwall

8,422

7,232

7,493

9,234

8,648

9,598

Dorset

5,271

4,198

4,776

6,035

5,262

6,176

Durham

3,992

4,261

5,899

5,470

5,394

5,840

Essex

7,161

7,025

7,336

7,898

7,708

7,811

Gloucestershire

3,577

4,465

4,443

4,174

4,683

4,417

Greater Manchester

30,655

30,836

33,228

33,783

37,088

36,337

Hampshire

11,768

11,557

11,553

10,559

10,349

10,912

Hertfordshire

4,580

5,799

4,748

5,258

5,816

6,612

Humberside

4,408

4,279

4,894

5,024

4,730

4,464

Kent

6,935

6,958

6,151

9,033

9,592

10,059

Lancashire

20,334

18,794

18,111

18,354

16,280

17,555

Leicestershire

9,706

9,481

11,054

10,263

10,475

10,699

Lincolnshire

4,589

5,000

5,345

4,500

4,083

4,242

London, City of

2,671

3,127

2,521

1,738

1,826

2,353

Merseyside

10,896

9,747

8,932

10,054

9,467

10,360

Metropolitan Police

42,283

35,064

31,285

29,649

32,032

36,485

Norfolk

3,932

3,434

3,468

3,951

4,744

5,563

Northamptonshire

4,999

4,849

5,571

3,949

2,028

1,211

Northumbria

12,470

11,837

13,296

13,195

12,504

12,309

North Yorkshire

3,926

3,744

4,003

3,905

3,545

3,340

Nottinghamshire

8,078

8,726

7,957

7,748

7,856

7,460

South Yorkshire

11,228

11,553

11,763

12,690

14,623

13,859

Staffordshire

8,180

8,210

8,021

8,777

6,027

7,056

Suffolk

3,258

3,743

4,189

3,923

4,123

4,759

Surrey

4,942

3,908

4,436

4,941

5,101

5,554

Sussex

9,333

8,202

7,415

6,796

6,814

6,413

Thames Valley

11,887

11,948

13,543

12,816

11,728

12,842

Warwickshire

4,316

3,769

3,523

4,135

4,204

3,711

West Mercia

7,082

8,207

7,450

7,686

7,787

7,849

West Midlands

29,878

30,928

27,409

28,148

27,010

32,339

West Yorkshire

23,980

23,549

25,776

26,529

27,618

24,873

Wiltshire

3,463

4,820

4,708

4,901

5,292

5,326

Dyfed-Powys

3,079

2,852

3,017

3,072

2,953

3,316

Gwent

4,097

4,478

4,451

4,680

4,758

4,508

North Wales

4,859

4,452

4,102

3,697

3,376

4,048

South Wales

14,829

16,187

15,406

14,615

13,805

16,499

England and Wales

397,133

390,074

387,419

391,659

388,298

410,398

Number of offences

20031

2004

Police force area

Court proceedings3

Fixed penalty notices issued

Court proceedings3

Fixed penalty notices issued

Avon and Somerset

17,163

5

17,489

47

Bedfordshire

5,041

4,534

Cambridgeshire

3,301

3,120

63

Cheshire

6,385

6,515

40

Cleveland

5,575

48

6,597

70

Cumbria

3,488

3,446

Derbyshire

5,793

6,326

Devon and Cornwall

9,676

8,943

Dorset

7,034

6,075

Durham

5,802

5,300

Essex

7,489

7,132

Gloucestershire

4,412

3,695

Greater Manchester

38,208

9

34,942

44

Hampshire

10,619

9,750

111

Hertfordshire

7,216

11

7,463

177

Humberside

5,509

5,170

Kent

9,788

10

10,673

12

Lancashire

21,229

37

16,065

91

Leicestershire

11,304

34

10,833

62

Lincolnshire

5,883

6,621

London, City of

2,563

2

2,812

21

Merseyside

12,776

13,023

Metropolitan Police

43,100

43

47,806

147

Norfolk

6,322

5,084

Northamptonshire

4,157

5

5,804

40

Northumbria

12,951

38

11,685

7

North Yorkshire

3,774

33

4,065

95

Nottinghamshire

9,224

21

9,224

42

South Yorkshire

13,745

11,416

Staffordshire

7,214

36

7,439

122

Suffolk

5,808

5,718

Surrey

4,657

3,927

Sussex

5,808

4,371

Thames Valley

14,516

12,920

Warwickshire

3,756

31

4,160

50

West Mercia

7,735

7,249

West Midlands

36,409

39,696

37

West Yorkshire

26,966

3

32,404

46

Wiltshire

4,794

4,641

Dyfed-Powys

3,094

2,244

Gwent

4,083

3,474

North Wales

5,968

78

6,022

139

South Wales

16,932

15,946

England and Wales

447,267

444

441,819

1,463

1 Fixed penalty of £200 introduced as from 1 June 2003.

2 Only covers tickets paid where there is no further action.

3 May include cases where fixed penalty notices were originally issued but not paid and subsequently referred to court.

4 An offence under the Road Traffic Act 1988 s. 143 (2)

Notes:

1. It is known that for some police force areas, the reporting of court proceedings in particular those relating to summary motoring offences, may be less than complete. Work is under way to ensure that the magistrates courts case management system currently being implemented by the Department for Constitutional Affairs reports all motoring offences to the Office for Criminal Justice Reform. This will enable more complete figures to be disseminated.

2. Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their limitations are taken into account when these data are used.

Table C: Proceedings at magistrates courts for the offence of failing to pay appropriate duty1 by police force area, England and Wales, 1997-2004

Number of offences

Police force area

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

Avon and Somerset

8,090

9,329

7,676

6,786

5,893

7,963

7,027

6,513

Bedfordshire

2,392

2,132

1,488

1,166

846

1,308

2,149

275

Cambridgeshire

1,338

489

23

13

48

13

22

68

Cheshire

2,612

1,549

1,211

3,534

4,078

3,782

4,826

4,368

Cleveland

3,206

2,282

2,265

2,319

1,990

1,585

2,432

1,984

Cumbria

1,552

745

784

915

78

10

1,085

1,051

Derbyshire

3,489

1,824

1,242

1,090

980

1,131

3,870

2,923

Devon and Cornwall

7,173

6,561

6,162

5,923

5,540

8,827

9,826

6,947

Dorset

2,452

3,075

2,591

2,948

3,376

3,058

3,601

3,479

Durham

1,314

1,236

728

336

162

47

11

10

Essex

8,920

9,377

10,784

9,703

6,439

7,091

6,080

5,724

Gloucestershire

2,206

2,117

1,660

1,627

1,794

1,667

2,230

2,417

Greater Manchester

6,377

5,950

5,502

6,917

5,087

4,570

8,756

13,548

Hampshire

6,190

6,097

7,513

7,813

7,921

8,768

7,714

7,618

Hertfordshire

4,567

4,903

5,068

5,142

4,935

3,559

4,643

5,672

Humberside

4,094

2,400

4,333

4,838

4,532

4,649

5,410

4,106

Kent

998

1,958

189

43

2,250

4,503

5,411

5,831

Lancashire

3,611

5,479

5,146

5,890

7,215

5,351

6,414

4,688

Leicestershire

5,201

5,745

5,460

5,802

5,487

5,881

5,671

4,324

Lincolnshire

3,128

2,753

2,661

2,162

2,078

2,303

2,501

2,042

London, City of

762

1,052

632

344

389

476

408

245

Merseyside

2,036

4,797

2,762

4,656

5,573

4,864

8,252

7,955

Metropolitan Police

19,618

16,980

16,375

15,408

15,603

14,649

26,813

40,086

Norfolk

2,623

972

903

875

1,937

2,059

3,118

2,819

Northamptonshire

3,626

4,100

3,908

4,824

4,408

4,880

4,462

3,435

Northumbria

4,092

3,107

3,619

4,559

4,245

3,618

3,183

2,588

North Yorkshire

1,590

1,309

1,076

924

950

714

846

1,227

Nottinghamshire

4,831

5,185

4,965

4,558

4,001

4,265

3,920

4,439

South Yorkshire

3,382

1,339

981

954

1,249

1,336

3,771

4,292

Staffordshire

2,573

1,696

571

409

146

81

75

167

Suffolk

2,402

2,894

2,923

3,593

2,912

2,911

2,993

2,596

Surrey

1,556

1,442

1,478

2,197

2,269

2,612

2,240

143

Sussex

5,928

7,635

5,330

7,114

6,794

6,803

7,733

317

Thames Valley

2,844

1,581

1,239

2,811

2,456

1,894

3,409

4,935

Warwickshire

2,320

1,227

1,002

942

872

798

983

1,901

West Mercia

2,614

3,383

2,944

3,419

3,122

3,099

3,061

122

West Midlands

17,406

9,389

7,432

6,607

5,035

5,528

14,040

11,350

West Yorkshire

7,572

6,112

5,685

6,246

5,662

5,151

8,547

9,139

Wiltshire

1,503

3,400

2,330

2,146

2,292

2,281

2,425

2,138

Dyfed-Powys

2,463

2,587

2,289

2,067

1,841

1,925

1,784

1,487

Gwent

3,021

2,584

1,985

2,783

3,456

4,330

4,184

3,400

North Wales

2,200

1,400

1,359

1,613

1,941

2,781

3,188

2,240

South Wales

6,686

6,187

4,550

4,155

4,383

4,776

6,362

7,189

England and Wales

182,558

166,359

148,824

158,171

152,265

157,897

205,476

197,798

1 Offence under the Vehicle Excise and Registration Act 1994 s. 29 (1) - (3)

Notes:

1. It is known that for some police force areas, the reporting of court proceedings in particular those relating to summary motoring offences, may be less than complete. Work is under way to ensure that the magistrates courts case management system currently being implemented by the Department for Constitutional Affairs reports all motoring offences to the Office for Criminal Justice Reform. This will enable more complete figures to be disseminated.

2. Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces.