Policy paper

Road traffic measures: Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 factsheet

Updated 20 August 2022

1. What are we going to do?

Modernise road traffic legislation to:

• clarify police powers to charge for driver diversionary training courses and the removal of abandoned vehicles
• remove the requirement for drivers to produce and surrender their driving licence to the police or fixed penalty office before accepting a fixed penalty notice or a conditional offer for a motoring offence, and remove the requirement to surrender a driving licence prior to a court hearing for a road traffic offence (individuals will be required to take their licence to the court if attending a hearing)
• allow the police in Scotland to issue fixed penalty notices on the spot to people who commit certain minor road traffic offences

2. How are we going to do it?

2.1 Charging for driver re-training courses

The Act enshrines in primary legislation the current charging regime for corrective driver training courses.  In particular, the Act includes provisions:

• to enable a motorist to be charged a fee in relation to their attendance at a diversionary course, when the course is offered as an alternative to a fixed penalty notice
• for fees to be set at a level that exceeds cost recovery for the courses, and which enable an element of the fee to be charged in relation to the costs of promoting road safety
• to provide a power to set out in secondary legislation how the fees are to be calculated and the maximum amount of the overall fee or the different components of the fee

2.2 Charging for the removal, storage and disposal of abandoned vehicles

The Act clarifies the legal basis for the police charging for vehicle recovery under the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984. This ensures that the police can recover the cost of removing, storing and disposing of vehicles, including those which are causing an obstruction or danger, for example damaged vehicles following a road traffic collision.

2.3 Surrender of driving licences

The Act amends road traffic legislation to remove the requirement for individuals to surrender their driving licence to accept a fixed penalty.  Since the paper counterpart was abolished in June 2015, all records of road traffic offences and penalty points are now held electronically on the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency’s (DVLA) driver record and the requirement to surrender a driving licence is now redundant.

Where an individual attends a court hearing and a court disqualifies him or her, the court can require the individual to surrender their driving licence. Where an individual does not surrender their licence to the court, the court can pass the matter to the DVLA who will take steps to retrieve the licence.

The Act creates six new offences in relation to failure to surrender the driving licence. This includes creating a new offence of failing to surrender the driving licence to the DVLA following disqualification.

2.4 Issue of Fixed Penalty Notices in Scotland

The police in England and Wales already have the power to issue fixed penalty notices (an administrative alternative to prosecution which includes a fine and in most cases penalty points) on the spot to road traffic offenders. This power is not available to the police in Scotland. The Act allows the Scottish police to issue fixed penalty notices.

3. Background

3.1 Charging for driver re-training courses

The provision of retraining courses comes under the National Driver Offender Retraining Scheme (NDORS), a police operated not-for-profit scheme established in 2010. It gives the police the discretion to offer an educational course to a motorist who has committed a low-level driving offence. This is an alternative to a fixed penalty or prosecution, avoiding liability to a criminal conviction, penalty points and higher fine. Courses can be offered anywhere convenient to the motorist but cannot be requested to avoid prosecution for more serious offences.

The National Speed Awareness Course is one of the main courses designed to prevent speeding drivers from reoffending and is more effective than fining motorists, according to independent research commissioned by the Government. In a study commissioned by the Department for Transport and carried out by Ipsos MORI in May 2018, it was found that targeting the behaviour of motorists through these courses reduced the likelihood of reoffending within six months by up to 23 per cent. And over a period of three years, taking part in the course was more effective at reducing speed reoffending than a fine and penalty points.

3.2 Charging for the removal, storage and disposal of abandoned vehicles

The police have the power to remove vehicles illegally, dangerously or obstructively parked, broken down or abandoned, including after theft or road traffic collision. The cost of recovering, storing and disposing of such vehicles should not fall to the police and the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 included provision for the police to be able to recover their costs by charging a fee payable by the registered keeper of the vehicle. Various subsequent amendments to the 1984 Act have led to a loss of clarity in the charging arrangements and the Act now further amends the 1984 Act to make the position clear.

In parallel with this clarification of the law, the Home Office is reviewing the current fees, which have not been increased since 2008, to ensure that they are set at the level necessary to ensure they are economically viable. This is important because if the police and their contractors were unable to carry out the recovery there would be danger and disruption to the travelling public and commerce from abandoned vehicles and consequent negative impact on the economy.

3.3 Surrender of driving licences

The Act removes unnecessary burdens on the police, the courts service and the public and will provide cost savings for the Government. It also gives the DVLA the power to retrieve licences where a driver has been disqualified but has not surrendered their licence to the court. The legal requirement to produce and surrender the driving licence as part of the endorsement process is now outdated. In 2015 the paper driving licence counterpart, which previously recorded the endorsement points, was abolished and points are now recorded on DVLA’s electronic driver record.

3.4 Issue of Fixed Penalty Notices in Scotland

The police in Scotland can, currently, hand out on the spot penalties to road traffic offenders. They do so by issuing a conditional offer of fixed penalty notice. The recipient of a conditional offer of fixed penalty notice has the option of either paying it or disputing it in court. If a person simply ignores a conditional offer of fixed penalty notice, the next step is to prosecute the recipient in court.

In England and Wales, the police have the power to issue fixed penalty notices at the roadside where they observe road traffic offences. As with a conditional offer of fixed penalty notice, the recipient has the option of either paying it or disputing it in court. However, the big difference with a fixed penalty notice is that when a person simply ignores it, the penalty becomes a registered fine at one and a half times the original penalty and no prosecution is entailed.

The Scottish Government see considerable benefit in the police being able to issue fixed penalty notices. Their key motivation lies in the fact that the change would necessitate fewer prosecutions and reduce the burdens on the courts.

The Department for Transport carried out a consultation on behalf of the Scottish Government because the power to issue fixed penalty notices is contained in legislation that is reserved (this means that the Scottish Parliament cannot legislate to make the necessary changes to road traffic legislation).

4. Frequently asked questions

4.1 Why are we introducing provision for the police’s ability to charge for retraining courses for those admitting to low level driving offences?

To provide a clear statutory basis for the charging of fees for diversionary courses, including an element to contribute towards the cost of road safety campaigns. It will not change the way in which courses are offered, administered or run.

4.2 What is the current level of fees charged for diversionary courses?

Type of course offered and the costs can vary by police force and suppliers. Details on courses and costs can be found on the NDORS website.

4.3 Will these provisions enable greater transparency over the way that fees are set for diversionary courses?

Yes. The maximum amount of the fee that may be charged will be set out in secondary legislation. The legislation will make it clear that the fee charged will not only cover the cost of providing, running and administering courses, but will also include an element which will fund road safety campaigns. There are no current plans to introduce standard fees.

4.4 How do the police generally deal with vehicle recoveries?

Police forces do not physically manage the removals themselves. Forces instead rely on contracted recovery operators.

Only the Metropolitan Police use its own recovery vehicles, but they do also rely on private contractors for removals when necessary.

4.5 What is the current level of fees for vehicle recoveries and who pays them?

The Police’s charges are set out in the Statutory Instrument (the Removal, Storage and Disposal of Vehicles (Prescribed Sums and Charges) Regulations 2008) at www.legislation.gov.uk. 

4.6 Why do the recovery operators charge so much?

Removal operators deal with a range of different vehicles, provide a guaranteed speedy service, specialist equipment, storage and administration.

Vehicles are often damaged, difficult to access and require forensic examination, with appropriate storage facilities.

4.7 What happens if the driver doesn’t have their driving licence at the time of the offence?

The new measure enables the police officer to give the driver, subject to the necessary checks, a fixed penalty notice at the roadside without the need to surrender the licence.

4.8 What sort of offences are dealt with by means of a fixed penalty notice?

Fixed penalty notices can be issued for offences such as using a hand-held mobile phone while driving, going through a red light and failure to wear a seat belt.

4.9 Does this mean that the police in Scotland will, for the first time, be able to issue drivers with a penalty at the roadside?

No. The police in Scotland can, at the moment, issue a penalty to drivers at the roadside. But it is a conditional offer of fixed penalty notice which, if ignored, means using valuable court time.

The benefit of being able to hand out a fixed penalty notice instead of a conditional offer of fixed penalty notice is that if a person ignores it, the penalty becomes a registered fine and no court time is required.

4.10 Who will benefit from the change?

The police, fixed penalty offices, the courts and drivers. Around 940,000 cases are dealt with each year where the driver has to surrender their licence for no purpose.

The measure removes unnecessary burdens on the police, the courts service and the public, and realises savings of around £2 million per annum.

4.11 How will the police access driver data without the physical licence being produced?

The police don’t need to have the physical licence as they have access to driver data via the Police National Computer, and continue to have powers under section 164 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 to require a driver to produce their licence in certain circumstances.