12th March 2026
So Fail to Stop (FTS) is included in DfT’s Motoring Offence consultation which is currently open. But not as AVZ would want it.
The Department for Transport’s (DfT) consultation includes proposing to increase sanctions for the basic FTS offence but is only asking about the need for a new offence for drivers failing to stop after a fatal or serious injury collision. Bereaved families and road safety organisations have been campaigning for many years for such an offence. At present, if the driver is convicted for causing the crash, then the FTS is treated as an aggravating factor.
AVZ has produced two analyses on reported FTS collisions, highlighting the impact and how they are being sanctioned. The first—Reported Fail to Stop collisions—who’s getting injured is part of our series highlighting how pedestrians and cyclists are harmed and how this differs from motor vehicle occupants. It is most likely to be a pedestrian who is killed in an FTS crash with active road users accounting for three in four fatalities and over half of those who are killed and seriously injured (KSIs).
The second analysis, Fail to Stop offences, covers the latest Ministry of Justice (MoJ) sentencing statistics for FTS offences.
This shows that very few offenders are being sent to prison (2%), over a quarter are being banned (28%) and the vast majority are just being fined (average fine of £365).
There appears to be no pressure at the top of the sentencing range, i.e. no need to prioritise increasing the maximum penalty for the basic FTS offence. This should not delay introducing a proper offence for fatal and serious injury FTS collisions.
For the need to introduce a new offence that recognises the extreme cruelty and criminality committed by drivers abandoning someone who is seriously if not fatally injured, see the Remain and Report guide produced for MPs in 2022 by AVZ and RoadPeace West Midlands. This includes examples of the injustice bereaved families have had to endure and what needs to change. Merely increasing the sanctions for the basic offence is not good enough.
[1] AVZ is not referring to Hit and Run anymore as this implies it is pedestrians who are leaving the scene. They are most likely to be the one killed in an FTS collision and not the offender.
In full – the Reported Fail to Stop collisions—who’s getting injured briefing
In full the Analysis of Fail to Stop offences
actionvisionzero.org 