Hit-and-runs or ‘Fail-to-stop incidents’ as they’re known in law are criminal offences in any case where injury or damage has been caused.
By law, drivers are required to stop at the scene and provide their name and address and that of the owner of the vehicle.
These incidents can result in devastating consequences, particularly if injuries or fatalities are involved.
As it stands, if a person is convicted of a hit-and-run, they can receive 5-10 points on their licence or be sent to prison for up to 26 weeks. They can also be fined by the Court up to £5,000.
But according to a driver survey by road safety charity Brake, 81% of UK drivers believe that drivers who kill or seriously injure should be banned from driving as a condition of bail.
To gain a true insight into the prevalence of hit-and-run incidents on Britain’s roads, we set out to investigate.
How Legal Expert Can Help
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We offer free advice and support via our helpline and live chat service. If you’d like to speak with us now, please get in touch. You can also head here to learn more about car accident claims and how we can help you.
How We Conducted Our Research Into Hit-and-run Incidents In Britain
We submitted Freedom of Information requests to all 44 police forces in England and Wales asking for the number of hit-and-run incidents recorded in each policing district area in the last three years [Between April 6- April 5 2021/24]
We also asked for the number of casualties and fatalities as well as the severity of any injuries sustained.
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) was also contacted and asked for the number of prosecutions for hit-and-run or fail-to-stop incidents in the last three years.
Due to the way some police forces organise data, some forces were only able to provide information regarding damage only collisions which is when a fail-to-stop incidents only results in vehicle damage not necessarily personal injury. However, the forces did provide the number of fatalities, serious and slight injuries for the dates requested.
National Charity for road crash victims, RoadPeace has been campaigning alongside Action Vision Zero for changes to how hit-and-run collisions are treated.
Its latest report highlighted major inconsistencies with the ways in which the Met Police and Transport for London organise their data in relation to hit-and-run incidents.
It said that discrepancies between data sets within the forces made it difficult to track trends and create targeted solutions: “If data recording systems or practices are changing regularly, it becomes difficult to track progress made in reducing the number of hit and runs on our roads.”
Indeed, this was evident in Legal Expert’s latest investigation into hit-and-run incidents and prosecutions.
Out of 44 police forces, just 22 (50%) were able to provide figures in a comparable way that allowed for a clear insight of the true scope of hit-and-run incidents in England and Wales.
The report proposed four recommendations which included that “the MPS and TfL improve both the quality of the data they capture on hit-and-run collisions in London, and the way that data is stored, analysed, and shared with the public in future.”
See the results from your local police force below
Our Findings
Prosecutions down by 28% in England and Wales
Hit-and-Run Prosecutions – Crown Prosecution Services
Out of 22 police forces in England and Wales, 6 reported an increase in the number of hit-and-run crashes.
Separate Freedom of Information requests to the Crown Prosecution Service revealed that prosecutions for hit-and-runs have fallen by 28% in England and Wales in the past three years, with figures decreasing year on year.
The Met Police recorded the highest number of prosecutions, totalling 1,670 since 2021. Greater Manchester Police logged 664 while, South Wales Police prosecuted 547.
Other than the City of London Police (11) and the British Transport Police (24), Gwent Police recorded the least amount of prosecutions, totalling 71 in the last three years.
Bedfordshire Police
No. of damage-only collisions
2021/22 | 1,384
2022/23 | 1,393
2023/24 | 1,311
Total: 4,088
Injuries
Fatalities | 3
Serious | 121
Slight | 944
No. of prosecutions
2021/22 | 72
2022/23 | 44
2023/24 | 47
Total: 163
Cambridgeshire Constabulary
No. of damage-only collisions
2021/22 | 1,313
2022/23 | 1,361
2023/24 | 1,306
Total: 3,980
Injuries
Fatalities | 4
Serious | 185
Slight | 904
No. of prosecutions
2021/22 | 71
2022/23 | 53
2023/24 | 54
Total: 178
Cleveland Police
No. of fail-to-stop incidents
2021/22 | 30
2022/23 | 30
2023/24 | 28
Total: 88
Injuries
Fatalities | 1
Serious | 33
Slight | 54
No. of prosecutions
2021/22 | 26
2022/23 | 31
2023/24 | 22
Total: 79
Cumbria Constabulary
No. of fail-to-stop incidents
2021/22 | 313
2022/23 | 238
2023/24 | 227
Total: 778
Injuries
Fatalities | 2
Serious | 31
Slight | 152
No. of prosecutions
2021/22 | 91
2022/23 | 76
2023/24 | 67
Total: 234
Derbyshire Constabulary
No. of fail-to-stop incidents
2021/22 | 416
2022/23 | 454
2023/24 | 282
Total: 1152
Injuries
Fatalities | 13
Serious | 135
Slight | 1,004
No. of prosecutions
2021/22 | 137
2022/23 | 117
2023/24 | 101
Total: 234
Essex Police
No. of fail-to-stop incidents
2021/22 | 69
2022/23 | 61
2023/24 | 48
Total: 178
Injuries
Fatalities | 8
Serious | 37
Slight | 133
No. of prosecutions
2021/22 | 132
2022/23 | 90
2023/24 | 121
Total: 343
Greater Manchester Police
No. of fail-to-stop incidents
2021/22 | 215
2022/23 | 191
2023/24 | 213
Total: 619
Injuries
Fatalities | 24
Serious | 193
Slight | 469
No. of prosecutions
2021/22 | 280
2022/23 | 151
2023/24 | 233
Total: 644
Hertfordshire Constabulary
No. of damage-only collisions
2021/22 | 2,219
2022/23 | 2,284
2023/24 | 2,114
Total: 6,617
Injuries
Fatalities | 2
Serious | 146
Slight | 1,255
No. of prosecutions
2021/22 | 134
2022/23 | 104
2023/24 | 110
Total: 348
Humberside Police
Hit-and-Run Incidents – Humberside
No. of fail-to-stop incidents
2021/22 | 106
2022/23 | 130
2023/24 | 147
Total: 383
No. of prosecutions
2021/22 | 132
2022/23 | 74
2023/24 | 109
Total: 315
Kent Police
No. of fail-to-stop incidents
2021/22 | 156
2022/23 | 78
2023/24 | 100
Total: 334
Injuries
Fatalities | 5
Serious | 146
Slight | 1,255
No. of prosecutions
2021/22 | 109
2022/23 | 98
2023/24 | 111
Total: 644
Leicestershire Constabulary
No. of fail-to-stop incidents
2021/22 | 449
2022/23 | 337
2023/24 | 320
Total: 1,106
Injuries
Serious | 51
Slight | 526
No. of incidents where driver was not insured
2021/22 | 16
2022/23 | 20
2023/24 | 32
No. of prosecutions
2021/22 | 79
2022/23 | 64
2023/24 | 49
Total: 192
Merseyside Police
No. of fail-to-stop incidents
2021/22 | 2,261
2022/23 | 1,455
2023/24 | 1,609
Total: 5,325
Injuries
Fatalities | 7
Serious | 166
Slight | 1,136
No. of prosecutions
2021/22 | 157
2022/23 | 122
2023/24 | 173
Total: 644
Norfolk Constabulary
No. of fail-to-stop incidents
2021/22 | 219
2022/23 | 153
2023/24 | 166
Total: 538
Injuries
Fatalities | 5
Serious | 99
Slight | 501
No. of prosecutions
2021/22 | 73
2022/23 | 64
2023/24 | 34
Total: 171
North Wales Police
No. of fail-to-stop incidents
2021/22 | 210
2022/23 | 217
2023/24 | 174
Total: 601
Injuries
Fatalities | 2
Serious | 53
Slight | 266
No. of prosecutions
2021/22 | 117
2022/23 | 105
2023/24 | 96
Total: 318
North Yorkshire Police
No. of fail-to-stop incidents
2021/22 | 153
2022/23 | 128
2023/24 | 124
Total: 405
Injuries
Serious | 45
Slight | 367
No. of prosecutions
2021/22 | 107
2022/23 | 150
2023/24 | 96
Total: 353
Northamptonshire Police
Hit-and-Run Incidents and Prosecutions – Nottinghamshire
No. of fail-to-stop incidents
2021/22 | 38
2022/23 | 43
2023/24 | 45
Total: 126
No. of prosecutions
2021/22 | 67
2022/23 | 80
2023/24 | 63
Total: 210
South Wales Police
Hit-and-Run Incidents – South Wales
No. of fail-to-stop incidents
2021/22 | 102
2022/23 | 85
2023/24 | 115
Total: 302
Injuries
Fatalities | 5
Serious | 35
Slight | 267
No. of prosecutions
2021/22 | 222
2022/23 | 168
2023/24 | 157
Total: 547
Suffolk Constabulary
No. of fail-to-stop incidents
2021/22 | 154
2022/23 | 131
2023/24 | 135
Total: 420
Injuries
Fatalities | 1
Serious | 73
Slight | 414
No. of prosecutions
2021/22 | 46
2022/23 | 41
2023/24 | 45
Total: 132
Surrey Police
No. of fail-to-stop incidents
2021/22 | 296
2022/23 | 287
2023/24 | 253
Total: 836
Injuries
Fatalities | 5
Serious |132
Slight | 812
No. of prosecutions
2021/22 | 40
2022/23 | 48
2023/24 | 27
Total: 115
West Mercia Police
Hit-and-Run Incidents and Prosecutions – West Mercia
No. of fail-to-stop incidents
2021/22 | 280
2022/23 | 270
2023/24 | 231
Total: 781
Injuries
Fatalities | 8
Serious |144
Slight | 791
No. of prosecutions
2021/22 | 111
2022/23 | 97
2023/24 | 49
Total: 257
Wiltshire Police
No. of fail-to-stop incidents
2021/22 | 138
2022/23 | 100
2023/24 | 81
Total: 319
Injuries
Fatalities | 1
Serious | 28
Slight | 290
No. of prosecutions
2021/22 | 201
2022/23 | 185
2023/24 | 127
Total: 513
