Our Research Into Hit-And-Run Incidents in England And Wales

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

Not knowing the driver’s identity can lead to complicated and often lengthy compensation processes. Legal Expert boasts a team of experienced solicitors who specialise in a range of different areas of law.

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