UK drivers face road chaos as number of traffic cops drops again as crimes go 'unpunished'

The number of police officers in road traffic units continues to fall as experts warn the trend could lead to dangerous roads and an increased number of incidents.

Fresh data from the Home Office shows that there are just 4,143 dedicated traffic officers across England and Wales, as of March 31, 2026.

This is a small drop of six officers compared to last year, although it is a huge reduction of almost 1,100 officers compared to a decade ago.

It is also the lowest rate since the aftermath of the pandemic in 2022, when there were just 4,102 roads policing officers.

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A recent poll from the AA found that 55 per cent of drivers say acts of careless driving, including middle lane hogging and tailgating, were going unpunished.

They put this down to a lack of roads police, which did not have the capacity to monitor crucial offences on roads.

Other survey respondents acknowledged that offences were also going uncaptured, notably not wearing a seatbelt (47 per cent), using a hand-held mobile phone (46 per cent) and drug driving (43 per cent).

Almost nine in 10 people said the presence of a roads policing team would make their communities safer.

More than three-quarters added that vehicle theft, drug dealing and human trafficking could be better tackled with more traffic units.

Jack Cousens, head of roads policy for the AA, said the UK needed at least 1,000 more roads police officers to keep drivers safe and tackle crime within the wider community.

He added: "Drivers are telling us loud and clear that they want traffic offences to be dealt with, but the continuous fall in traffic police is making it easier for people to get away with it.

"Be it drink or drug driving, driving without insurance or using a defective car, too many people think it is going unpunished.

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"While there is wide acceptance that cameras play an important role in helping to police the roads, drivers are concerned that forces are becoming too reliant on them."

He noted that motorists wanted the physical presence of a police officer, rather than having to assume that a camera will deal with the road issues.

The data comes as the Government attempts to push forward with its new Road Safety Strategy to slash the number of people killed or seriously injured on UK roads.

It has put forward driving law changes that aim to crack down on dangerous motorists through tougher drink-driving laws and eye tests for older people.

Hunter Abbott, managing director of breathalyser firm AlcoSense Laboratories, said enforcing rules was very different to changing the law.

He notes that roads policing officers played a wider role than simply catching motorists breaking driving laws.

Mr Abbott said: "They are often the officers who intercept uninsured drivers, wanted criminals, drug traffickers and organised crime groups using the road network.

"Automatic cameras have an important role, but they cannot replace experienced officers making intelligence-led stops."

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