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In 2022, 245,043 drivers went to court because they had been accused of speeding offences. That is almost a quarter of 1 million people and is by far the highest number in one year since records began. This horrifying fact has been released by the AA, which carried out an analysis of the 2022 Criminal Justice Statistics.
Many Facts Came to Light
Unless you have been involved in a court case due to driving issues, you probably don’t give the subject much thought. You would assume that if the police ask for your information as a driver, you produce it. However, 101,057 people failed to produce their information and found themselves in court in 2022. Again, this is an increase as, in 2021, 96,799 people were hauled to court for the same offence.
Not Meeting Legal Requirements
55,500 people sat in the dock because they were accused of not having valid road tax on their vehicles. That’s also an increase in previous years' figures- 12.3% up from the year before. Another requirement for taking a car out on the road is a valid MOT. 3000 drivers went to court in 2022 because they did not have a valid MOT. Finally, road users are required to have insurance. This was actually down 1100 cases from the year before, with 83,100 drivers taken to court over not holding valid insurance.
Careless Decisions
There are a whole set of careless decisions that drivers make that land them in hot water. Drink driving increased by 1.8% on the 2021 figures, with 33,099 people taken to court for being over the legal limit in 2022. In somewhat more positive news, over 15.5% fewer drivers have been in trouble for using a mobile behind the wheel, and there is a fall of 16% in the number of drug driving cases requiring prosecution.
Total Numbers
When you add up the number of cases across all of the potential motoring offences, there were 710,738 heard in the year 2022. If you are thinking it is worth taking your chance in court. If you are caught breaking motoring offence laws, think again. Nine out of 10 cases ended up with a conviction and a guilty verdict. That’s 642,236 people. It’s clear that being acquitted is not a very likely outcome, so it’s probably best to abide by the rules.
Speaking on behalf of the AA, the head of roads policy, Jack Cousens, 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 of using a handheld mobile phone behind the wheel and drug driving has fallen, we are not fully convinced that this is due to improved compliance.
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