Vehicle speed compliance (SPE01)

SPE0101: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/685a8803454906840a44d5e7/spe0101.ods">Percentage of vehicles exceeding the speed limit by road type and vehicle type in Great Britain (ODS, 24.1 KB)

SPE0102: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/685a8814db207fc18744d5ed/spe0102.ods">Free flow vehicle speeds by road type and vehicle type in Great Britain (ODS, 83.5 KB)

SPE0103: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/685935235225e4ed0bf3cf02/spe0103.ods">Percentage of vehicles exceeding the speed limit by hour of day on roads with free flowing conditions in Great Britain (ODS, 18.1 KB)

SPE0104: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/68593530b328f1ba50f3cedb/spe0104.ods">Percentage of vehicles exceeding the speed limit by day of the week on roads with free flowing conditions in Great Britain (ODS, 10.2 KB)

SPE0105: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/685959bde2e8fdfe8b652dc3/spe0105.ods">Time difference between vehicles and the vehicle behind in Great Britain (ODS, 9.67 KB)

Speeding offences and reported accidents involving speeding (SPE02)

SPE0201: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/685934eb5225e4ed0bf3cf01/spe0201.ods">Motor vehicle offences relating to exceeding the speed limit (ODS, 10.4 KB)

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Latest data and table index

The tables below are the latest final annual statistics for 2023. The latest data currently available are provisional figures for 2024. These are available from the latest provisional statistics.

A list of all reported road collisions and casualties data tables and variables in our data download tool is available in the https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/683709928ade4d13a63236df/reported-road-casualties-gb-index-of-tables.ods">Tables index (ODS, 30.1 KB).

All collision, casualty and vehicle tables

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/66f44e29c71e42688b65ec43/ras-all-tables-excel.zip">Reported road collisions and casualties data tables (zip file) (ZIP, 16.6 MB)

Historic trends (RAS01)

RAS0101: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/66f44bd130536cb927482733/ras0101.ods">Collisions, casualties and vehicles involved by road user type since 1926 (ODS, 52.1 KB)

RAS0102: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/66f44bd1080bdf716392e8ec/ras0102.ods">Casualties and casualty rates, by road user type and age group, since 1979 (ODS, 142 KB)

Road user type (RAS02)

RAS0201: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/66f44bd1a31f45a9c765ec1f/ras0201.ods">Numbers and rates (ODS, 60.7 KB)

RAS0202: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/66f44bd1e84ae1fd8592e8f0/ras0202.ods">Sex and age group (ODS, 167 KB)

RAS0203: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/67600227b745d5f7a053ef74/ras0203.ods">Rates by mode, including air, water and rail modes (ODS, 24.2 KB)

Road type (RAS03)

RAS0301: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/66f44bd1c71e42688b65ec3e/ras0301.ods">Speed limit, built-up and non-built-up roads (ODS, 49.3 KB)

RAS0302: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/66f44bd1080bdf716392e8ee/ras0302.ods">Urban and rural roa

These statistics provide insight into the speeds at which drivers choose to travel and their compliance with speed limits under free flow conditions but should not be taken as estimates of actual compliance or actual average speed across the wider road network.

Speed compliance has overall remained consistent since 2011, although between 2016 and 2017, there were minor increases in vehicles exceeding the speed limit.

In 2017:

• 48% of cars exceeded the speed limit on motorways
• 9% of cars exceeded the speed limit on national speed limit single carriageways
• 52% of cars exceeded the speed limit on 30mph roads
• 86% of cars motorcycles exceeded the speed limit on 20mph roads

Similar relative patterns were seen for most vehicle types. Speed limit compliance was lowest on 20mph roads for all vehicle types, for the majority of vehicle types, highest on national speed limit single carriageways.

Vehicle Headway data has been expanded to include cars, vans, motorcycles and buses. A lower proportion of cars (66%), vans (66%) and motorcycles (60%) were observed leaving the minimum recommended two second gap between themselves and the vehicle in front than articulated Heavy Goods Vehicles (87%), rigid HGVs (76%) or buses (80%).

For all vehicle types, average free flow speeds were very close to the appropriate speed limits on 30mph roads (27 to 32mph), above the speed limit on 20mph roads (21 to 27mph) and under the speed limit for most vehicles types on motorways and national speed limit single carriageways.

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Reported road accidents and casualties

TSGB0801 (RAS40001): https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1021689/ras40001.ods" class="govuk-link">Reported accidents and casualties, population, vehicle population, index of vehicle mileage, by road user type and severity (ODS)

TSGB0803 (RAS10002): https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1021648/ras10002.ods" class="govuk-link">Reported accidents and accident rates by road class and severity (ODS)

TSGB0812 (RAS30001): https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1021664/ras30001.ods" class="govuk-link">Reported road casualties by road user type and severity (ODS)

TSGB0813 (RAS30018): https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1021672/ras30018.ods" class="govuk-link">Reported casualty and accident rates by urban and rural roads, road class, road user type, severity and pedestrian involvement (ODS)

Breath tests and failures

TSGB0810 (RAS51016): https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/834419/ras51016.ods" class="govuk-link">Reported roadside screening breath tests and breath test failures (ODS)

International road safety

TSGB0809 (RAS52002): https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/982749/ras52002.ods" class="govuk-link">International comparisons of road deaths, number and rates by selected countries (ODS)

Motor vehicle offences

TSGB0811 (RAS61001): https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/982771/ras61001.ods" class="govuk-link">Motor vehicle offences: findings of guilt at all courts fixed penalty notices and written warnings: by type of offence (ODS)

Rail accidents and safety

TSGB0805 (RAI0501): https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/761864/rai0501.ods" class="govuk-link">Railway accidents: casualties by type of accident

TSGB0806 (RAI0502): https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/761865/rai0502.ods" class="govuk-link">Railway movement accidents: passenger casualties and casualty rates (ODS)

TSGB0807 (RAI0503): https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/761866/rai0503.ods" class="govuk-link">Railway accidents: train accidents (ODS)

TSGB0808 (RAI0504): https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/761867/rai0504.ods" class="govuk-link">Signals passed at danger (SPADs) on Network Rail controlled infrastructure (ODS)

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   Email <a class="govuk-link" href="mailto:rail.stats@dft.gov.uk">rail.stats@dft.gov.uk</a>
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This summary explains how the various criminal justice agencies deal with a defendant once identified, presents the recent trends on how the Criminal Justice System (CJS) response to offending is changing, and identifies factors that may be causing the changes, where identifiable.

Once a suspect has been identified by the police, charged and arrested, the police work with the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) in deciding the most appropriate course of action in each case. The decision can be made to not take the offender to court, through a number of available ‘out-of-court disposals’, or to proceed against the defendant at a magistrates’ court.

The total number of individuals, which includes people and companies, who have been dealt with formally by the CJS in England and Wales, in either of these ways, has been declining since the 12 months ending September 2007, with 1.77 million individuals dealt with in the latest year. Police recorded crime peaked in 2003/04, and recorded offences are now lower than at any time over the past decade, whilst total crime, as measured by surveys of the general population, has also fallen over the same time-period.

The number of individuals dealt with formally by the CJS for the first time has also fallen since the 12 months ending September 2007 – with 168,000 ‘first time entrants’ to the CJS in the latest year, a decline of 49% since 2007. The reduction has been much sharper for juveniles (78% over the same period), reflecting both a decreasing number of juvenile offenders reprimanded or issued with a warning and the decreasing numbers of juveniles found guilty in all courts. However, per head of population, the rate of juvenile first time entrants remains higher than for adults.

Criminal offences can be divided into three main offence groups:

• Indictable proceedings, which cover the more serious offences such as violent and sexual offences and robbery, and when heard in court may be passed on to the Crown Court, either for sentencing or for a full trial with a judge and jury. This group includes both ‘indictable only’ offences, which can only be tried on indictment in the Crown Court by a judge and jury, and ‘triable-either-way’ offences which are triable either summarily in a magistrate’s court or on indictment in the Crown Court;

• Summary proceedings, which cover less serious offences, are almost always handled entirely in the magistrates’ courts when dealt with in court, with the majority completed at the first hearing. They are split into two categories:

  • Summary non-motoring proceedings, such as TV license evasion and less serious criminal damage; and

  • Summary motoring proceedings, such as speeding and driving whilst disqualified.

Out of court disposals

Until the introduction of Penalty Notices for Disorder (PNDs) in 2004 and formal warnings for possession of cannabis in 2005, the only out of court disposal available to police was a caution. Since the 12 months ending September 2003, the use of out of court disposals increased rapidly and peaked in the 12 months ending September 2007, before decreasing year on year – with 334,900 individuals issued an out of court disposal in the latest period. The increase to the 12 months ending September 2007 coincided with the introduction in 2001 of a target to increase offences brought to justice, and the decrease coincided with the replacement in April 2008 of the target with one placing more emphasis on bringing serious crimes to justice. The latter target was subsequently removed in May 2010.

Court proceedings and remand

All criminal cases proceeding to court in England and Wales start in a magistrates’ court. Since the 12 months ending September 2004, the number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates’ court has declined almost year on year – down to 1.43 million defendants in the latest period – driven chiefly by decreases in summary motoring offences brought before magistrates. The biggest decreases were for vehicle insurance offences, with large decreases also for driving licence related offences, driving after consuming alcohol or taking drugs, vehicle test offences and speed limit offences.

Proceedings decreased by 4% in the latest year, with decreases seen in indictable and summary non-motoring offence groups and a small increase (2%) in summary motoring offences. Proceedings decreased by 8% for the indictable offence category – decreases were seen for all indictable offence types, except for sexual offences where proceedings increased by 5%.

Around 6% of all defendants proceeded against are passed on to the Crown Court for trial. The number of defendants appearing in the Crown Court for tr

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) carries out roadside inspections of goods vehicles and passenger-carrying vehicles to check that:

• the driver is following drivers’ hours rules
• the driver holds the correct licence, insurance and Driver Certificate of Professional Competence (CPC)
• their vehicle is carrying the correct load weights and type of load permitted
• their vehicle has no mechanical faults and is in a safe and roadworthy condition

DVSA publishes details of offences found on an annual basis.

About the data

The reports show:

• the operator’s name
• their operator’s licence number (some countries require operators to have more than one operator licence)
• the number of vehicles the operator had registered on their operator licence
• the number of prohibitions issued for mechanical defects
• the number of advisory inspection notices issued for mechanical defects
• the number of offences where a fine was issued for mechanical defects that DVSA found
• the number of drivers’ hours offences DVSA found
• the number of overloading offences DVSA found
• the amount of the fines that had to be paid
• the number of other traffic offences DVSA found

Other traffic offences include:

• failing to produce records
• falsification of records
• tachograph offences
• any offence where an ‘offence rectification notice’ (ORN) was issued by a DVSA examiner
• any other offences not covered under drivers’ hours, overloading or mechanical offences

The data is sorted by country and then by operator name.

Data sources

These reports include defects and offences DVSA found from 1 January 2024 to 31 December 2024:

• during roadside checks
• during visits to operator sites

These reports do not include data from offences found by the police.

Factors which may affect the report

The following factors may affect the report:

• accurate entry of operator licence numbers by DVSA examiners - if these were entered incorrectly, the offence would be attributed to the wrong operator
• operator licence numbers - some countries only use numbers and do not include letters in their operator licence numbers, this means operators from different countries could have the same licence number, so it’s important to check the country of origin
• variations in spelling of operator names - the DVSA examiner has to manually type in the name of operators from outside Great Britain, this means there might be variations of the operator name
• operators successfully challenging an offence - if an offence is challenged by the operator and DVSA agrees with them, it might still show on the report
• data quality issues - some underlying data might change over time as DVSA finds incorrect data and fixes it

Updates to this page

If you have any comments about this release please contact us at crimeandpolicestats@homeoffice.gov.uk.