More than five million motorists are cruising along British roads in unsafe vehicles, with many fully aware of their vehicle’s faults, new research has revealed.
Breakdown service Britannia Rescue surveyed over 3,000 motorists and their vehicles across the country, discovering that one sixth of the driving population, or 5.4million people, are travelling with a variety of defects and leaving themselves liable for fines and tragic accidents.
According to the figures, as many as 850,000 motorists could be driving with bald tyres under the legal tread limit, while up to 768,000 have broken lights and around 654,000 have brake problems.
Worryingly, as many as 22 per cent of these drivers have known about the dangerous fault on their vehicles for more than six months, 31 per cent claimed they could not afford to fix the problem, and 11 per cent said they didn’t have time to get their cars repaired.
Common faults like worn tyres, defective brakes and faulty exhaust pipes, could bring £100 fines if discovered by a roadside policeman and any driver caught with worn tyres can incur as much as a £2,500 fine and three points on their licence.
"It's concerning that so many motorists currently drive dangerous vehicles in need of repair. Some repairs may appear to be minor but they could still turn a car into a deathtrap that endangers the driver, passengers and other motorists,” said Simon Stevens, Britannia Rescue’s General Manager.
"It can be tempting to put off repairs but doing this could lead to you being fined and, far worse, put you and your family in danger."
Road traffic accidents are thought to exceed 800,000 each year in the UK, although the AA maintains that only 8% of these are caused by faulty vehicles.
Sean Joyce, motoring law partner at Stephensons Solicitors LLP, said: "Drivers of faulty vehicles could be prosecuted for a variety of offences under the Road Traffic Act. For example, they could be prosecuted for breach of the Construction and Use Regulations. If those breaches relate to brakes or steering, these are offences that attract mandatory penalty points and potentially discretionary disqualification from driving.
“Alternatively they could be prosecuted for the more serious offence of Driving a Vehicle in a Dangerous Condition which also carries mandatory points or a discretionary ban. More worryingly, if a driver is convicted of a second dangerous condition offence within a three year period then under recent legislation (the Road Safety Act 2006) they would face a compulsory minimum six month ban.”
If you are a driver facing prosecution, it’s important to seek legal advice at the earliest opportunity from a specialist motoring solicitor.