Failing to Provide Driver Details

If you are accused of committing a driving offence you (assuming you are the keeper of the vehicle) and any other person can be requested to provide information as to the identity of the driver (s172(2) RTA 1988). Even if you were not the driver of the vehicle at the time of the offence, if you are the registered keeper you still must provide information as to the identity of the driver if requested.  Failure to provide such information will result in a charge for failing to provide driver details (s172(3)).

This situation usually arises where you are accused of committing a driving offence and you were not stopped by police at the time, for example, if you are caught speeding by a speed camera. In this scenario, you will most likely receive an s172 notice in the post requesting information as to the identity of the driver (s172(7). You must respond to the notice with the information within 28 days beginning with the day on which the notice is served (s172(7)(a), if you fail to do this you will be charged for failing to provide driver details.
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Where the alleged offender is a company, and it is proved the offence was committed with the consent, or connivance, or attributable to the neglect on the part of an officer of the company, or someone purporting to act in such a capacity, both the company and the other person involved are guilty of the offence (s172(5).

An individual convicted of this offence will have details of the offence endorsed on their driving licence and details sent to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA). The court has discretion on whether to disqualify the individual from driving. If they are not disqualified from driving 6 penalty points will be endorsed on their licence, but if they are disqualified no penalty points will be endorsed on their licence. The individual will also be issued with a maximum fine of £1,000 and can be ordered to pay prosecution costs plus a victim surcharge.
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A company convicted of this offence will face a maximum fine of £1,000 and can be ordered to pay prosecution costs plus a victim surcharge.

An individual shall not be guilty of the offence if they can show they did not know and could not, with reasonable diligence, have ascertained who the driver of the vehicle was (s172(4).

The above defence will not be available for a company unless, in addition to showing they did not know and could not with reasonable diligence ascertain who the driver was, the company can show no record was kept of the identity of the driver of the vehicle and the failure to keep a record was reasonable (s172(6).
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There is a further defence if the person who received the s172 notice requesting information about the identity of the driver shows either that the information was given as soon as reasonably practicable after the end of the 28-day period, or that it has not been reasonably practicable for them to give the information (s172(7)(b).

​If the conviction for failing to provide driver details comes to the attention of the traffic commissioner, action may be taken against your licence as it is a requirement for restricted licence holders to be fit to hold a licence (s13(B) GVA 1995), and it is a requirement for standard licence holders to be of good repute (s13A(2)(a). Although the traffic commissioner has different enforcement options available, a conviction for this offence and the dishonesty associated with the offence may be deemed serious enough to warrant the revocation of your licence.