speeding – Pulpaddict

Top 5 most common driving offences revealed

Have you recently been caught speeding? If so. you’re not alone, according to research conducted by Uswitch car insurance.

Out of the total 1,141,283 offences recorded between June 2023 – June 2024, a total of 961,530 endorsements were issued for exceeding speed limits on public roads or motorways (SP30 and SP50).

The third most common offence was driving without third-party insurance, with just over 43,300 convictions issued, highlighting the importance of ensuring your policy is valid and up-to-date.

Penalty code	Number of endorsements
SP30 [Speed limits]: Exceeding statutory speed limit on a public road	768,061
SP50 [Speed limits]: Exceeding speed limit on a motorway	193,469
IN10 [Insurance offences]: Using a vehicle uninsured against third party risks	43,340
CU80 [Construction and use offences]: Breach of requirements as to control of the vehicle, such as using a mobile phone	27,764
MS90 [Miscellaneous offences]: Failure to give information as to identity of driver, etc	25,888

So, exceeding speed limits on a public road or motorway accounted for 84% of all endorsements with penalty points added.

When someone is convicted of a driving offence, their driving licence is ‘endorsed’ with penalty points that remain on their record for 4 or 11 years, depending on the severity of the offence.

The points can increase insurance premiums and result in driving disqualifications or even criminal prosecution in major cases.

“Penalty points can increase insurance premiums, and how much they increase depends on the severity of the offence, the number of points you receive and whether the driver has existing penalty points on their licence,” explained Uswitch car insurance expert, Leoni Moninska.

“For example, the average price of car insurance is £882 per year, but the lowest available annual premium for a driver convicted of failing to give information as to the driver’s identity (MS90) is £2,079, almost £1,200 more than the average annual policy.

“If you receive penalty points it’s important you tell your insurer. Whether you inform them straight away or at renewal depends on the policy terms and conditions.

“Failing to inform your insurer can invalidate your policy which subsequently results in further penalty points, a fine and the risk of being banned from driving.”

Check Also

Five ways to keep car keys safe at the seaside

Losing your car keys on holiday is an expensive nightmare – especially when a replacement …

Five most common driving offences revealed

Gareth Herincx

1 day ago
Auto News

Speeding remains the most common offence on British roads with almost 200,000 people caught between January and March this year alone, according to the latest data.

A Freedom of Information request by leading temporary car insurance provider Cuvva to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) highlighted the top five mistakes drivers made in the first quarter of 2023 that resulted in penalty points being added to their licence.

Most drivers issued with penalty points for exceeding the limit on public roads (156,457) were hit with an SP30 offence code – particularly worrying because speed is one of the main factors in fatal road accidents.

After speeding, the next most common offence was driving uninsured. Despite it being a legal requirement, the data shows a staggering 10,286 drivers took to the road without cover (IN10).

If you are caught driving a car uninsured in the UK, you could be faced with a fixed penalty of £300 and six penalty points. If the case goes to court, you could get an unlimited fine or even lose your driving licence.

In some cases, the police have the ability to seize or even destroy the car that is being driven uninsured.

Using a mobile phone at the wheel (CU80) is one of the fastest rising driving offences (35% up on the same period last year). This reflects a crackdown after changes to the Highway Code last year made it illegal to even touch your phone while driving. That includes browsing playlists when queueing in traffic.

The fifth most-common driving offence that led to penalty points was for car owners failing to give information regarding who was driving their car when an offence was committed (MS90).

Five most common road offences

SP30: Exceeding statutory speed limit on a public road – 156,457 drivers
SP50: Exceeding speed on a motorway – 38,386 drivers
IN10: Using a vehicle uninsured against third party risks – 10,286 drivers
CU80: Breach of requirements as to control of the vehicle, such as using a mobile phone – 7,135 drivers
MS90: Failure to give information as to identity of driver etc – 5,224 drivers

Check Also

Prototype hydrogen Toyota Hilux pick-up revealed

Toyota has reached another milestone in its progress towards zero carbon with the unveiling …

Number of speeding drivers in the countryside accelerates

Nearly a half of all motorists admit to breaking the speed limit on 60mph country roads – the highest level since 2016, according to new RAC data.

Some 48% of the 3,102 drivers questioned for the RAC Report on Motoring say they have driven faster than the limit in the past year on these roads – up from 44% in 2021 and matching the highest figure ever seen by the RAC in 2016.

Eight per cent confess to having done this frequently, while 40% say they have done it occasionally on up to half of their journeys on these roads.

In 2021 514 people were killed in a total of 11,827 collisions on 60mph non-built-up roads – a fatality rate of 4%, which is higher than on motorways.

On motorways and high-speed dual carriageways, the UK’s fastest roads, as many as 60% of drivers say they have broken the 70mph limit, either on most journeys (16%), or on up to half of their trips (43%) in the last 12 months.

This is up by five percentage points compared to 2021 when 55% admitted to having exceeded the limit. The 60% figure is the biggest percentage seen by the RAC since 2017, when 66% owned up to this. However, it is still down on the record of 70% reported in both 2015 and 2016.

The percentage who speed on urban roads has changed very little in the past 12 months with 40% of drivers saying they have exceeded the 30mph limit at least occasionally, compared to 41% in 2021, while 46% have broken the limit on 20mph roads, a figure unchanged on the year before.

The most common reason drivers give for exceeding the motorway 70mph limit is that they are travelling at the same speed as other motorists (42%).

The same justification is used by 32% of those who break 60mph limits – the most popular explanation given for exceeding the limit on these roads.

Almost half of drivers who have exceeded the speed limit in 20mph zones say this is because they think the limit is inappropriate for that particular road.

Most drivers (69%) think motorists only adhere to 20mph limits when there is enforcement or physical traffic-calming measures in place, while 65% say that signs warning of speed cameras nearby help them stick to the limit.

And, half (52%) say they would be opposed to additional 20mph limits being introduced in their local area. However, a similar proportion (48%) believe some 60mph limits on unclassified rural roads should be reduced.

“The recent increase in the proportion of drivers admitting to speeding on 60mph rural roads is extremely worrying as more people lose their lives every year in collisions on these roads than on any other,” said RAC road safety spokesman Simon Williams.

Worst habits picked up by learner drivers from their parents

Gareth Herincx

4 days ago
Auto Blog

Nine out of 10 driving instructors say learners picked up bad driving habits from their parents during the pandemic.

A survey of instructors by Young Driver, the UK’s largest pre-17 driving school, revealed the Top 10 worst habits picked up by learners from their parents:

Not following ‘mirror, signal, manoeuvre’ as a matter of course
Steering with one hand (palm) or crossing hands. Neither will fail you your test as a one off, but it isn’t best practice to do them regularly as you have less control.
Not observing what is happening around them
Coasting
Speeding
Coming down through individual gears instead of block changing
Not creeping and peeping when exiting a junction
Riding the clutch
Impatience/aggression
Believing myths or out of date driving styles (eg, you no longer need to hold the steering wheel in the 10-2 position, you don’t have to stop at all junctions and roundabouts and overuse of indicators can be frowned upon)

Others mentioned by instructors included eating and drinking in the car, being too heavy on the gas, not checking blind spots, getting too close to the vehicle in front and having no regard or understanding of the highway code.

Check Also

Everything You Ought To Know About Electric Cars

Let’s face it: no one is immune to the passage of time. We all need …