Motoring offences: 2021

The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic had a significant impact on road traffic and police recorded road collisions and casualties in Wales in 2020 and 2021 as restrictions were put in place around how, where and why individuals could travel. The restrictions generally resulted in reduced traffic volume for all types of motorised vehicles which is likely to have impacted the statistics presented in this release.

Fixed penalty notices (FPNs)

• In 2021 a total of 74,400 FPNs were issued in Wales, a 17% increase compared to 2020 and similar to the number issued in 2019.
• Speed limit offences accounted for 83% of FPNs in 2021.
• Since 2012, the number of FPNs issued in Wales have seen an overall decrease from a high of 112,400.

Court proceedings

• 57,753 motoring offenders were prosecuted in Wales in 2021, a 27% increase compared to 2020 and 2% higher than in 2019.

Collisions involving drink driving (2020 data)     

• In 2020, an estimated 8% of all recorded collisions and 9% of all casualties in Wales involved one or more drivers impaired by alcohol.
• 14% of all fatal casualties in 2020 were estimated to be involved in alcohol related collisions.
• 18% of motorised vehicle drivers killed in Wales were found to have had a blood alcohol level over the legal limit.

Screening breath tests

• In 2021, 18,462 screening breath tests were carried out in Wales a reduction from 24,800 in 2020. In 2021, 2,900 of these tests (16%) were categorised as either ‘positive or refused’, compared to 3,600 (14%) in 2020.
• In 2021, there were 153 positive breath tests of drivers involved in collisions, a decrease of 17 (13%) compared with 2020.