Speeding prosecutions for tractors 530/2025

FOI Reference: 530/2025

Request

• The number of successful prosecutions secured for exceeding the speed limit on the roads with reference specifically to TRACTORS and/or agricultural vehicles (as opposed to any other vehicle type)
• Please provide tractor/agricultural vehicle speeding prosecution figures for 2022-23, 2023-2024, 2025 so far.
• Can you please identify the HIGHEST illegal tractor/agricultural vehicle speed (in mph) recorded by the force, and what the speed limit of the road was at the time of the offence
• If possible, please provide details of the ultimate prosecution (fine, points on licence, etc) for the individual who recorded the highest speed while driving a tractor/agricultural vehicle.

Clarification sought

Do you wish to know the number of individuals stopped by an officer or the number of individuals caught speeding by a fixed camera/mobile speed van or both?

Clarification received

Could I have BOTH please.

Further clarification sought

Please can you confirm if you wish to know the number of individuals stopped by an officer and issued with a conditional offer and points on their licence or the number of individuals stopped by an officer and found guilty at court or both?

Clarification received

Could I have BOTH please.

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 472 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 it would involve Dyfed Powys Police accessing and manually reviewing 5,664 records.  It has also been established that it would take a minimum of 5 minutes to review and obtain the information for a single record in respect of your request.  This is due to the fact that each Traffic Offence Report would have to be manually reviewed in order to establish if the vehicle involved was an agricultural vehicle.

The process outlined results in the below time estimate.

2022/2023 – 667 records

2023/2024 – 2876 records

2024/2025 – 2121 records

5,664 total records x 5 minutes per record = 472 hours

Time estimate to complete task = 472 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 02/06/2025)