Motorcycle offences 231/2026

FOI Reference: 231/2026

Request:

This is a request for information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000. I would like to request the following information.

1.  The number of recorded offences Dyfed-Powys Police recorded for driving without a valid motorcycle license in:

1. 1. 2020
   2. 2021
   3. 2022
   4. 2023
   5. 2024
   6. 2025

2. The number of recorded offences Dyfed-Powys Police recorded for dangerous motorcycle driving in the following years: 

1. 1. 2020
   2. 2021
   3. 2022
   4. 2023
   5. 2024
   6. 2025

Clarification sought:

Q1 – Do you wish to receive data regarding the number of individuals stopped by an officer for riding a motorcycle where they are driving otherwise in accordance with their licence e.g. riding without L plates or riding without a valid licence

Q2 – Do you wish to receive data regarding the number of individuals stopped by an officer and issued with a Traffic Offence Report for dangerous driving, riding without due care and attention.

Can you please be more specific as to what you class as ‘dangerous driving’?

Clarification received:

1. Yes
2. Yes

Dangerous driving can cover offences under section 2A Road Traffic Act 1988 and also the definition of careless driving under section 3ZA RTA 1988. 

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 1,034.50 hours) to comply with this part of your request. The regulations can be located at https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2004/3244

The Freedom of Information department has been advised that the information in respect of your clarified request is not held in an easily retrievable format. In light of this and in order to accurately obtain the information relative to your clarified request for the time frame stipulated would involve Dyfed Powys Police accessing and reviewing all traffic offence reports (TORs) in which an individual has been stopped by an officer and a TOR submitted to identify the number offences that relate to an individual riding a motorcycle where they are driving otherwise in accordance with their licence e.g. riding without L plates or riding without a valid licence and/or the number of individuals reported for dangerous driving, riding without due care and attention. It has been established that there are a total of 6,207 TORs that cover the period of your request.  It has also been established that it would take a minimum of 10 minutes to review and obtain the information for a single TOR in respect of your clarified request (as outlined above).  The process outlined results in the below time estimate.

2020 – 2025 = 6,207 TORs at a minimum of 10 mins per TOR = 1,034.50 hours

(this equates to an average of approx. 172.42 hours on average)

Time estimate to complete task = 1,034.50 hours

Please note: In addition to the above and in respect of question 2; our crime system has been searched for all dangerous driving offences (Home office code 802). There are a total of 174 dangerous driving offences recorded for the period of 2020 – 2025, however, to identify the number that relate to a motorcycle being involved would exceed the 18 hour time limit, equating to 29 hours work.

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 18/03/2026)