Hit-and-run incidents 138/2026

FOI Reference: 138/2026

Request

Please provide data relating to offences on roads in Wales for the most recent three calendar years available.

1. A breakdown of roads or local authority areas ranked by the total number of reported hit-and-run incidents per calendar year (2023, 2024, 2025). Please break this down by severity - fatal, serious injury, slight injury, damage-only.
2. How many of these hit and runs did the offenders go unpunished - ie, they evaded capture. Please provide specific details for this - date and time of accident, who was knocked down etc…
3. Could you please also provide data for how many deaths have been recorded per year (2023, 2024, 2025) on each road where more than one fatal collision took place. If possible please note how many people died as a result of each collision, and how many children died
4. Where possible could you confirm what kind of vehicle was driven - and what brand and make of car if known
5. Could you also confirm how many accidents took place on the roads involving police cars. Please break this down by - No. of claims, Damages Paid, Police Force Legal Costs paid, Claimant legal costs paid, Total paid

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 for Q1 – Q4, 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 2,869 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 17,214 records, as it is not possible to ‘keyword search’ on our system, for the information requested in each of the questions.

It has also been established that it would take a minimum of 10 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:

2023    -    5633 RTC’s records x 10 minutes per record

2024    -    5662 RTC’s records x 10 minutes per record

2025    -    5919 RTC’s records x 10 minutes per record

17,214 total records x 10 minutes per record = 2,869 hours

Time estimate to complete task = 2,869 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.

Although excess cost removes the forces obligations under the Freedom of Information Act to provide any further information, as a gesture of goodwill, I have provided information, relative to question 5 of your request which has been easily retrievable and outlined below. I trust this is helpful, but it does not affect our legal right to rely on the fees regulations for the remainder of your request.

Response Q5

FY 2022/2023 – Number of claims = 12. Damages Paid = £47,744.33. DPP Legal Costs = £0.00. Claimant Legal Costs = £1,534.14. Total Paid = £49,278.47

FY 2023/2024 – Number of claims = 13. Damages Paid = £52,564.71. DPP Legal Costs = £0.00. Claimant Legal Costs = £1,192.39. Total Paid = £53,757.10

FY 2024/2025 – Number of claims = 10. Damages Paid = £44,319.82. DPP Legal Costs = £0.00. Claimant Legal Costs = £200.00. Total Paid = £44,519.82

(This is a response under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and disclosed on 13/02/2026)