DfT Could Add 5 to 10 Points for Drivers Failing to Stop for Police

• The Department for Transport (DfT) is considering 5 to 10 penalty points for drivers who fail to stop for police, an offence it says is currently punishable only by a fine.
• Failing to stop and report a collision already carries 5 to 10 points, a ban of 6 to 12 months, a fine of up to £5,000 and up to 6 months in prison. DfT counted 2,265 convictions for it in 2023.
• The consultation also asks whether the six month prosecution limit should rise to 18 months where someone died or was seriously injured. It closed in the spring and nothing in it is law.

DfT Wants Failing to Stop for Police Treated Like Failing to Stop After a Crash

A driver who ignores a police officer’s signal to pull over currently faces a fine and no penalty points. A driver who leaves the scene of a collision without stopping faces 5 to 10 points, a possible ban and a prison sentence of up to six months. The Department for Transport has now said it is considering bringing the first offence into line with the second.

The proposal sits in the department’s consultation on proposed changes to penalties for motoring offences, which opened on 7 January 2026 and closed in the spring. The GOV.UK page lists it as a closed consultation. A summary of responses, with the next steps, is due within three months of the closing date. No part of the document has become law.

The consultation also covers how long prosecutors have to bring a case, and whether police should be able to suspend a licence while the most serious collisions are investigated. Those questions reach well beyond drivers who flee, and they are set out below.

What Drivers Face Today for Failing to Stop

Section 163 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 requires the driver of a mechanically propelled vehicle on a road to stop when required to do so by a constable in uniform or a traffic officer. Failing to comply is an offence. The legislation.gov.uk text of the section was recorded as up to date with all known changes on 11 October 2026.

The consultation states that the offence of failing to stop for police is currently only punishable by a fine. The department says it is considering making the offence equivalent to failing to stop and report, so that it would carry 5 to 10 penalty points.

Failing to stop and report is a separate duty. Under section 170 of the same Act, a driver involved in a collision must stop, give their name and address, the owner’s details and the vehicle’s identification marks to anyone with reasonable grounds to ask, and report the collision to police if those details are not given. The consultation says the report must be made within 24 hours of the incident.

DfT lists the current penalties for failing to stop and report. They are 5 to 10 penalty points, disqualification for 6 to 12 months, a fine of up to £5,000 and up to 6 months in prison. The department records 2,265 convictions for the offence in 2023.

The consultation goes on to explain why the department thinks the current penalties fall short of the seriousness of the offence. Failing to stop is treated as an aggravating factor when a court sentences a driver, but the maximum sentence for the offence itself is six months in prison. If the driver knew about the collision and took steps to avoid detection, the offence of perverting the course of justice can apply, and that carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.

What DfT Is Considering for Serious Collisions

Questions 19 to 24 of the consultation deal with failing to stop and report. They sit alongside two questions earlier in the document on suspending a licence. Question 6 asks about suspending the licence of anyone under investigation for a serious driving offence that leads to a death or serious injury. The department says question 7 covers the issues raised in many petitions about giving police powers to suspend a licence after the most serious collisions.

Those questions ask for views. They do not announce a change. The consultation describes what the department is considering, and the responses decide what goes forward. Any new points or powers would need legislation, and the page records no decision.

The same document asks about penalty points or vehicle seizure for driving without a valid MOT, which we covered in our report on penalty points and car seizure for driving without a valid MOT. Our report on random breath tests and the 80mg drink drive limit covers a third section.

The Six Month Clock DfT Wants to Change

The most technical part of the document concerns time. Under section 6 of the Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988, summary proceedings for the offences it covers can be brought within six months of the date on which evidence sufficient to warrant proceedings came to the prosecutor’s knowledge. The same section says no proceedings can be brought under it more than three years after the offence.

Question 23 asks whether the six month limit should be extended to 18 months in cases of failing to stop and report where death or serious injury has occurred. The consultation cites a case in which a driver who had killed avoided prosecution as the six month limit had run out. Question 37 asks the same for unlicensed, uninsured or disqualified driving.

Question 36 concerns speed and red light cameras. The consultation says the law gives a six month statutory time limit, and proposes that the clock should start when the details of the driver are provided to the authorities. It calls the current position “open to abuse and delaying tactics”. Section 1 of the Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988 separately requires, for the offences listed in its first schedule, a notice of intended prosecution within 14 days.

Question 35 asks whether suspects and witnesses could be contacted electronically. The department notes that many pieces of legislation still require postal service, which it describes as much more expensive than using the internet.

Who Is Affected and What Drivers Should Do Now

The proposals reach every licence holder in one way and a smaller group in another, namely those who are involved in a collision or are told to stop by an officer. Any driver can be signalled to stop by a police officer, so the change from a fine to points would apply to anyone who ignored the signal. The collision duties apply to any driver in a collision, whatever the speed or the damage.

The consultation does not say how many drivers are convicted each year for failing to stop for police, so the likely scale of the change cannot be worked out from the page. The one figure it gives for the neighbouring offence is the 2,265 convictions in 2023.

The consultation is closed, so drivers cannot respond to it. Until the Government publishes its response and brings forward any legislation, the penalties DfT lists as current are the ones that apply. For failing to stop for police that is a fine. For failing to stop and report it is 5 to 10 points, a ban of 6 to 12 months, a fine of up to £5,000 and up to six months in prison.

The practical steps follow from the law as it stands. Pull over safely when a uniformed officer signals. After a collision, stop, exchange the details described in section 170 and report the collision to police if details are not exchanged. DfT’s page puts the reporting deadline at 24 hours. Anyone unsure of their position after an incident should speak to a solicitor, as this report is not legal advice.

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Sources:

• GOV.UK: Proposed changes to penalties for motoring offences
• legislation.gov.uk: Road Traffic Act 1988, section 163
• legislation.gov.uk: Road Traffic Act 1988, section 170
• legislation.gov.uk: Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988, section 6