Is it fewer police or safer cars? Drop in dangerous cars sparks debate

The number of incidents of drivers receiving penalty points for driving an unroadworthy vehicle dropped by more than a fifth year-on-year in 2025. Experts are divided as to what prompted such a marked decline, although this latest figure is still thought to be the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the total number of unroadworthy vehicles actually out there on the road.

A Freedom of Information Request submitted to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) by the RAC uncovered that 10,054 penalty point endorsements were handed to motorists in Great Britain last year. This marks a 23 per cent decrease on the 13,109 recorded the year prior, but it’s still up from the 8,614 endorsements in 2023.

The vast majority of unroadworthiness endorsements (almost two thirds) were for defective and/or unsafe tyres, although defective brakes were another driving factor. RAC mechanic, Jack Halstead, explained how: “Having bald tyres drastically reduces grip, greatly increases stopping distances, and raises the risk of blowouts. But whether it’s tyres, brakes, steering or something else, every mechanical component in a vehicle plays a critical role.”

It’s unclear whether the decrease is simply down to drivers taking better care of their cars, or whether it’s the impact of fewer traffic police out on the beat. For example, a survey from Close Brothers Motor Finance revealed that only 12 per cent of motorists regularly check their tyre tread depth.

Home Office data published in late 2025 revealed that the number of police with the primary role of ‘traffic policing’ had dropped by 20 per cent in the past decade. Admittedly, however, many officers do patrol streets, despite road policing not being their main focus.

As with the increase in dangerous driving and speeding convictions, the authorities and those who believe there aren’t enough visible police disagree on why statistics remain higher than would be desirable, despite the year-on-year decrease. Halstead says what we see here is “likely to be just the tip of the iceberg; with fewer police traffic units, it’s likely more offenders are evading officers and putting themselves and others at risk.”

Nevertheless, the Provisional Police Funding Settlement announced in December 2025 saw territorial police funding rise by over £750 million year-on-year (a 4.2 per cent increase on average), while the recently-announced Road Safety Strategy promises to deliver harsher penalties for those driving an unroadworthy vehicle and to set up a new programme focusing on technological innovations to benefit police enforcement.

Currently, being caught driving an unroadworthy vehicle can result in a fine of up to £2,500 per fault, as well as three penalty points and a minimum six-month disqualification if found doing so twice in three years. Worse, however, is the fact that driving an unroadworthy vehicle will invalidate your insurance and if it’s proven you knew about your car’s defects, you’ll receive six points on your licence and an unlimited fine.

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