Five most common driving offences revealed

Speeding remains the most common offence on British roads with almost 200,000 people caught between January and March this year alone, according to the latest data.

A Freedom of Information request by leading temporary car insurance provider Cuvva to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) highlighted the top five mistakes drivers made in the first quarter of 2023 that resulted in penalty points being added to their licence.

Most drivers issued with penalty points for exceeding the limit on public roads (156,457) were hit with an SP30 offence code – particularly worrying because speed is one of the main factors in fatal road accidents.

After speeding, the next most common offence was driving uninsured. Despite it being a legal requirement, the data shows a staggering 10,286 drivers took to the road without cover (IN10).

If you are caught driving a car uninsured in the UK, you could be faced with a fixed penalty of £300 and six penalty points. If the case goes to court, you could get an unlimited fine or even lose your driving licence.

In some cases, the police have the ability to seize or even destroy the car that is being driven uninsured.

Using a mobile phone at the wheel (CU80) is one of the fastest rising driving offences (35% up on the same period last year). This reflects a crackdown after changes to the Highway Code last year made it illegal to even touch your phone while driving. That includes browsing playlists when queueing in traffic.

The fifth most-common driving offence that led to penalty points was for car owners failing to give information regarding who was driving their car when an offence was committed (MS90).

Five most common road offences

SP30: Exceeding statutory speed limit on a public road – 156,457 drivers
SP50: Exceeding speed on a motorway – 38,386 drivers
IN10: Using a vehicle uninsured against third party risks – 10,286 drivers
CU80: Breach of requirements as to control of the vehicle, such as using a mobile phone – 7,135 drivers
MS90: Failure to give information as to identity of driver etc – 5,224 drivers