Record fines for careless drivers on Welsh roads

The number of drivers fined for careless driving on Welsh roads has hit an all time high since police were given new powers in 2013.

Eating, falling asleep and reading at the wheel were some of the offences that led to a record 301 people being fined for careless driving on Welsh roads in 2015.

Since forces were given extended powers in August 2013, 492 motorists have been given £100 fixed penalty notices.

However, in the figures, gained through a Freedom of Information request, only 30% have paid.

Road safety charity Brake called legislation "ineffective".

While Dyfed-Powys Police did not respond to the request, North Wales Police said it had fined 155 people in 2015 and Gwent Police fined 141.

South Wales Police only issued five fines last year - although its officers only started using the new legislation from June.

In north Wales, a motorist was fined for driving with a dog on their lap while a biker was spotted riding a motorcycle with no hands on the handlebars.

'Potentially deadly'

Other offences included reading documents, driving on the wrong side of the road and using handheld computers at the steering wheel.

There were also fines for crashing into low bridges, dangerous and slow overtaking and reversing down slip lanes.

Of the 492 motorists issued with on-the-spot fixed penalty notices between 2013 and 2015, just over 30% have paid.

Alice Bailey, of road campaign charity Brake, said: "Any one of these cases could have ended with a serious or even fatal collision.

"If your driving isn't safe, it's dangerous and potentially deadly.

"We need to stop seeing road crime as second class crime and take criminal driving more seriously."

In North Wales, 252 motorists have been issued with fines between 2013 and 2015 for offences including:

• Crashing into walls and a bus

• Overtaking on a blind bend

• Driving into a lane closed for road works and driving through a road works barrier

• Failing to clear a windscreen and put on headlights

• Falling asleep at the wheel

• Lane hogging

• Reading documents and maps at the wheel

• Racing

• Slow and fast overtaking

• Tailgating

• Driving on the wrong side of the road

Brake said the current legal system needs to be reviewed to make sure police are properly resourced to catch offenders.

"The fact that so few fines have even been paid shows the present system is ineffective," Ms Bailey added.

The Department for Transport has been asked to comment.