Mobile use and seatbelt offences 258/2025

FOI Reference: 258/2025

Request

I would like to request data regarding the enforcement and statistics of mobile phone usage while driving and seatbelt compliance in vehicles within your jurisdiction. Specifically, I would like to request the following information: 

1. Mobile Phone Usage While Driving:

The number of reported offences for drivers using a mobile phone while driving from January 2022 to February 2025. 

Including if possible:  

1. 1. Age of offender (e.g., under 18, 18-24, 25-34, 35-44, 45-54, 55-64, 65+) 
   2. Gender of offender  
   3. A brief description of what took place (if possible).  

1. 1. Vehicle being driven 
   2. Actions taken (Fines, penalties, warnings, arrests) 
   3. Injury/Deaths (of offender/victim) 
   4. Damage to vehicles 

2. Seatbelt Compliance:

The number of reported offences for failure to wear a seatbelt from January 2022 to January 2025. 

Including if possible:  

1. 1. Age of offender (e.g., under 18, 18-24, 25-34, 35-44, 45-54, 55-64, 65+) 
   2. Gender of offender  
   3. A brief description of what took place (if possible). 

1. 1. Vehicle being driven 
   2. Actions taken (Fines, penalties, warnings, arrests) 
   3. Injury/Deaths (of offender/victim) 
   4. Damage to vehicles 

Response:

Section 1 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 places two duties on public authorities. Unless exemptions apply, the first duty at Section 1(1) (a) is to confirm or deny whether the information specified in a request is held. The second duty at Section 1(1) (b) is to disclose information that has been confirmed as being held.

Where exemptions are relied upon Section 17 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 requires Dyfed Powys Police, when refusing to provide such information (because the information is exempt) to provide you the applicant with a notice which:   (a) states that fact, (b) specifies the exemption in question and (c) states (if that would not otherwise be apparent) why the exemption applies.

I can confirm that Dyfed-Powys Police does hold the information you have requested. However, we are withholding the whole of the requested information since we consider that the Section 12(1) exemption the Cost of Compliance exceeds the Appropriate Limit applies to it.

Section 12 (1) – The cost of compliance exceeds the Appropriate Limit

Section 12(1) states: “…Section 1 (1) does not oblige a public authority to comply with a request for information if the authority estimates that the cost of complying with the request would exceed the appropriate limit.”

The cost of providing you with the information requested in respect of your request is above the amount to which we are legally required to respond i.e. the cost of locating and retrieving the information exceeds the “appropriate level” as stated in the Freedom of Information (Fees and Appropriate Limit) Regulations 2004. It is estimated that it would exceed 18 hours (i.e. minimum of 342 hours) to comply with this part of your request. The regulations can be located @ https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2004/3244

The Freedom of Information department has been advised that the information in respect of your request is not held in an easily retrievable format. In light of this and in order to accurately obtain the information relative to your request for the time frame stipulated would involve Dyfed Powys Police accessing and manually reviewing 5,130 records, to review each Traffic Offence Report(TOR) in order to find out the offence committed and to obtain the information requested.

It has also been established that it would take a minimum of 4 minutes to review and obtain the information for a single record in respect of your request. 

The process outlined results in the below time estimate.

Number of TOR’s issued for Mobile Phone offences pre the implementation of NICHE(New IT system):

January 2022-December 2022    =     268

Jan 2023 – 12^th May 2023    =      90

Total = 358 TOR records

For data from 13^th May 2023 (Post Implementation of NICHE):-

13^th May 2023 – December 2023 =  2211

Jan-December 2024 = 2261

1^st Jan-28^th February 2025  =  290

Total = 4,762 TOR records

Total Time Estimate to complete task (5,130 TOR records x 4 mins per record) = 342 hours

In accordance therefore with the Freedom of Information Act 2000, this letter acts as a Refusal Notice for the Whole of this request under Section 17(5) A public authority which, in relation to any request for information, is relying on a claim that section 12 or section 14 applies must, within the time for complying with section 1(1), give the applicant a notice stating that fact.

You may wish to refine and resubmit your request so that it reduces the time shown above to fall within the 18 hours, should you require any further advice in relation to this matter please don’t hesitate to contact the Freedom of Information Unit. Please also be advised that should the request be refined, it does not remove the public authorities right to cite exemptions if relevant.

(This is a response under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and disclosed on 28/03/2025)