Data on the number of reported hit and run personal injury road accidents in the Birmingham, Sparkbrook and Small Heath constituency provided by the Department for Transport (DfT) from 2005 to 2008 are shown in table 1. The DfT does not collect information centrally on uninsured drivers involved in hit and run accidents.
Information available on the Ministry of Justice Court Proceedings Database cannot identify those defendants, proceeded against for offences of using a motor vehicle uninsured against third-party risks that have been involved in a hit and run accident.
The number of persons ‘proceeded against at magistrates’ courts for the offence of ‘failing to stop after an accident’ in the west midlands police force area, from 2005 to 2007 (latest available) is shown in table 2.
Court proceedings data are not available at parliamentary constituency level, therefore information is given for the west midlands police force area in which the Birmingham, Sparkbrook and Small Heath constituency is located.
Data for 2008 are planned for publication on 28 January 2010.
Accidents (number) 2005 186 2006 150 2007 159 2008 149 1 Based on 2004 parliamentary constituency boundaries. Source: Department for Transport.
Offence description Statute 2005 2006 2007 Failing to stop after accident Road Traffic Act 1988 S.170(4) 411 411 362 1 Not all hit and run incidents are pursued through the courts—minor ones in particular may not involve police attendance and may not be reported to the police by the injured party. 2 "Hit and run" usually refers to a collision in which someone was injured or killed. The offence of failure to stop is also committed if there has only been damage but such incidents cannot be distinguished from those involving injury or death. 3 A person involved in a hit and run incident may be convicted of a more serious offence such as dangerous driving. 4 The figures given in the table relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. 5 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 inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services—Ministry of Justice.