HL Deb 11 May 1998 vol 589 cc99-100WA

Viscount Simon asked Her Majesty's Government:

For the most recent five-year period for which details are available, how many drivers were convicted of:

  1. (a) one offence;
  2. (b) two offences;
  3. (c) three offences;
  4. (d) four or more offences;
and what was the annual total of convictions. [HL1637]

Lord Williams of Mostyn

Such information as is available is given in the table. This relates to the number of convictions for summary motoring offences. A breakdown to show how many persons were convicted of different numbers of offences is not available for Scotland or Northern Ireland, and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost for England and Wales for a five-year period.

However, a small sample of cases in which convictions for summary motoring offences were recorded in the London area in 1996 has been examined. Of these, 33 per cent. involved one conviction, 32 per cent. two convictions, 22 per cent. three convictions and 13 per cent. four or more convictions. The figures relate to the number of convictions at a single court appearance. It is not possible to analyse the number of offences attributable to individual drivers who many have appeared in court more than once.

Convictions for summary motoring offences—United Kingdom
England and Wales Scotland (provisional) Northern Ireland
1992 1,525,440 102,433 20,787
1993 1,483,036 93,108 21,863
1994 1,489,069 94,175 21,474
1995 1,497,050 91,029 20,102
1996 1,454,034 85,050 18,147