Motorists do not think police will enforce laws

POLL: Findings labelled ‘worrying’ as AA president calls for more officers on roads to ensure people’s safety on public highway

Two-thirds of motorists think they can get away with careless driving due to a lack of police on the roads, a survey has found.

A total of 65% believe they are unlikely to be pulled over for offences such as tailgating or middle lane hogging, the AA poll of 19,500 drivers revealed.

More than half (55%) believe they would not be stopped for driving a vehicle in a dangerous or defective condition, while 54% think they would escape prosecution if they used a hand-held mobile phone behind the wheel.

AA president Edmund King described the findings as “worrying” and called for “more cops in cars” so that people are deterred from breaking driving laws.

The survey found that more than two out of five (43%) drivers think the police have no visible presence on motorways. This increased to 65% for local roads.

Only 45% of respondents believe Highways England traffic officers should be given more powers, and just a third (32%) want police community support officers to assist with road policing.

The number of roads police officers fell by nearly a third between 2007 and 2017, recent Freedom of Information requests sent by the Press Association revealed.

Mr King said: “With a significant drop in specialist traffic officers, it may prove to be difficult to ensure safety to everyone on our roads.”