Record number of drivers appear in court accused of speeding

A record number of drivers ended up in the dock accused of speeding last year, but drug driving and mobile phone prosecutions fell.

Analysis of the 2022 Criminal Justice Statistics carried out by the AA, reveal that almost a quarter of a million drivers (245,043) appeared in court accused of speeding last year, the highest since records began.

The number of drink-driving cases brought to court also rose during 2022, up by 1.8% to 33,099.

However, the AA’s analysis shows that there was a 16% reduction in cases of drug driving and a 15.5% fall in drivers pursued in the courts for using a handheld mobile phone behind the wheel.

Jack Cousens, head of roads policy at the AA, 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 for using a handheld mobile phone behind the wheel and drug driving have fallen, we are not fully convinced that this is due to improved compliance.

“Our own studies show that a quarter of drivers regularly see others picking up a phone when behind the wheel, meanwhile a reduction in dedicated traffic officers means some drivers feel they can get away with certain behaviours.”

The analysis also showed that more than 55,500 cases were heard for vehicles being on the road without tax, a 12.3% increase compared to the previous year.

Similarly, more than 101,057 people found themselves in court for failing to supply information after being required to do so by the police, up from 96,799 in 2021.

Last year, 83,100 drivers were in court for driving without insurance, down 11,000 cases compared to 2021, while more than 3,000 drivers stood accused of driving without a valid MOT.

In total 710,738 cases came to court for motoring offences last year with 642,236 resulting in a conviction. This means that nine out of 10 motoring cases that end up in court result in a guilty verdict, showing that drivers are highly unlikely to be acquitted.