Drivers have been returning to the road in their droves since the end of lockdown at the beginning of last year. This could explain why motoring convictions increased by 22% to 565,000 in 2021, up from 463,000 in 2020 when the country was in the throes of the pandemic.
According to Confused.com, 31% of the offenders got a driving ban and more than half were disqualified for more than a year. But the most common motoring offences still remain the same as 2020, with speed limit and vehicle insurance offences at the top of the offences chart. But with speed limiters being introduced into new cars from July 2022, speed limit offences could reduce in coming years.
Having a motoring conviction code on your driving licence is bad news if you drive for a living and it’s likely to put up your car insurance costs too. Let's look at each offence in more detail and what they could include.
Read more: Vehicles to be stopped by police for tyres and brakes 'safety and legal' checks in North East
1. Speed limit offences
More than 30% of driving offences in 2021 were related to speeding, with more than 44,000 people getting fines of between £200 and £300 for speed limit offences. The same amount of drivers received a ban of up to 6 months because of speeding.
Speed limit offences could include:
- Exceeding goods vehicle speed limits
- Exceeding the speed limit for type of vehicle (excluding goods or passenger vehicles)
- Exceeding the statutory speed limit on a public road
- Exceeding the passenger vehicle speed limit
- Exceeding the speed limit on a motorway
If you’re caught by a speed camera you’re sent a notice of intended prosecution or a section 172 notice and a Notice of Intended Prosecution. If you’re stopped by the police they might give you a verbal warning, give you a Fixed Penalty Notice or order you to go to court.
2. Insurance offences
Insurance offences were the second most common motoring conviction at nearly 20%, with 1,217 people disqualified from driving for six months to a year due to insurance related offences in 2021. Another 46,000 people were fined between £500 and £750 for vehicle insurance offences. It’s illegal to drive without at least third party cover, if you’re caught driving without car insurance, the police could give you a fixed penalty notice of £300 and 6 penalty points. Though if the case goes to court you could get an unlimited fine and could be disqualified from driving.
3. Failing to supply the identity of the driver
For some driving offences, a Notice of Intended Prosecution or NIP is served to the vehicle’s registered owner who then provides information on who was driving the vehicle at the time of the offence. If you don’t know who was driving the vehicle when the offence occurred, you need to have a valid reason for this, for example, if your car was stolen. If you don’t provide this information, your case could be taken to court. Around 16% of the most common motoring convictions in 2021 were related to this. Over 70,000 people received a fine between £500 and £750. And 158 people received a driving ban of up to six months for failing to supply the driver's identity.
4. Driving under the influence
Convictions for driving under the influence increased by 14% between 2020 and 2021. Just over 5,400 people received a year's driving ban for this, and over 6,600 drivers had a fine between £300 and £500. Some fines of over £10,000 were issued to people who were over the legal limit. If you’re caught drink driving, or driving under the influence of drugs you could get a possible driving ban, six months in prison and an unlimited fine. These offences have serious repercussions. You will probably see your car insurance prices increase and if you drive for a living, your employer is able to see your conviction on your licence. You might also struggle getting into countries like the USA.
Drink driving offences include:
- Being in charge of a vehicle while above the legal limit or unfit through drink
- Driving or attempting to drive while above the legal limit or unfit through drink
- Refusing to provide a specimen of breath, blood or urine for analysis
- Causing death by careless driving when under the influence of drink
5. Other motoring offences
Other motoring offences accounted for just below 10% of overall motoring convictions. In 2021, over 6,000 motorists were caught using their mobile phone at the wheel and received a fine between £200 and £250. Vehicle test offences could include driving a car that’s unsafe, for example if your tyres aren’t properly inflated or roadworthy. It could even include driving without a valid MOT. Over 3,000 people committed this offence in 2021.
Other offences include:
- Causing danger by interfering with a vehicle, road or traffic equipment
- Using or causing others to use a mobile phone whilst driving
- Careless driving offences, this doesn’t include mobile phone offences
- Failing to stop or provide information after accident
- Theft of a motor vehicle/aggravated vehicle taking
- Work record and employment offences
- Fraud
- Forgery associated with vehicle or driver records
- Defective vehicle parts
- Vehicle test offences
- Miscellaneous motoring offences
- Causing death by dangerous driving
- Causing injury by dangerous driving.
6. Vehicle registration and excise licence offences
This means driving a vehicle that hasn’t been taxed, which accounted for less than 5% of offences in 2021, accounting for nearly 30,000 people, who were fined between £200 and £250. If you’re driving your car or you park it on a public road, you need to properly tax your vehicle. If you don’t use it much and it’s parked off the street in a private garage, you could consider declaring it as SORN.
7. Neglecting road regulations
This accounted for below 5% of all convictions in 2021.This offence doesn’t include speeding, but you could be charged with neglecting road regulations if you went through a red light or ignored pedestrian crossings for example.
8. Driving licence related offences
Over 1,050 people had a fine between £25 and £50 for driving licence related offences. Driving licence offences could include:
- Driving otherwise than in accordance with a licence
- Driving after making a false declaration about fitness when applying for a licence
- Driving a vehicle having failed to notify a disability
- Driving after a licence has been revoked or refused on medical grounds
9. Dangerous driving
Dangerous driving accounted for less than 5% of offences in 2021. But it’s been at its highest level since 2019, with nearly 4,000 offences recorded. Dangerous driving could include:
- Causing serious injury by dangerous driving
- Dangerous driving
- Causing death by dangerous driving
- Furious driving
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