Customer Service Lines Open Mon-Fri 9am-6pm
Closed Saturday & Sunday & Bank Holidays
New UK traffic laws on careless and distracted driving to curb lane hogging and tailgating, have seen traffic cops pull over more than 5,000 motorists in the past six months. These figures came to light after a freedom of information request which was sent to all 45 forces to see how many were stopped and why. These laws allow police to issue on the spot fines and licence points to drivers for careless driving such as lane hogging, tailgating or wheelspins. Drivers can also be dealt with by the way of an educational course, similar to the drink driving scheme offered to cut the length of a driving ban.
The results of the request into the careless driving laws
The request showed that 5,472 drivers had been stopped since the 16th August when the new powers came into force. The top five police forces were the Police Scotland at 1,454, Nottinghamshire at 977, Met Police at 544, Humberside at 389 and West Yorkshire at 272. The figures likely show that Police Scotland issued the most with 1,454 as it covers a larger area than many forces.
Many forces were unable to reveal why the drivers had been stopped but could split them between those pulled over for driving without due care and attention, and inconsiderate driving. Some forces did break it down and out of these 600 offences, there were 154 lane hoggers with the most being in Thames Valley at 48. Meanwhile 84 offenders were pulled over for undertaking and 46 for tailgating. Drivers doing things like wheelspins or handbrake turns accounted for 143 offences with 42 recorded in Lanchashire.
Over the six month period, police also witnessed a host of other offences that fall under the new legislation such as vehicles accelerating through a puddle and mounting the kerb.
Some forces don’t issue fixed penalty notices, dealing with cases by traffic offence reports and re-education. But five, Northumbria, Durham, Dyfed-Powys, South Wales and Cleveland, aren’t stopping inconsiderate drivers at all as they don’t have the facilities to offer the education course.
Comments on the new careless driver laws
RAC Foundation director Prof Stephen Glaister, commented, “The encouraging thing is that this new law is being used by police. The long-term test is whether accident rates fall.”
The Institute of Advanced Motorist', Niel Greig, added, “We had doubts about whether it would become a numbers game, but the figures suggest the power’s being used in the right way.”
Chief Constable, Suzette Davenport, national roads policing lead at the Association of Cheif Police Officers, commented, “Officers have found the new procedures helpful as they seek to raise standards of driving and keep road users safe.”
These figures are the first sign of how frequently the new careless driver laws are being applied.