If you are a classic car enthusiast then you probably take a great deal of pride in making sure that your cherished vehicle is roadworthy. You may be surprised to read just how many vehicles are caught by the police to be found in an unroadworthy state.

Some research was carried out by a part of the RAC that found between 2023 and 2024 the number of motorists receiving penalty points on their driving licenses in the UK increased by over 50% in relation to having a vehicle on the road deemed to be unroadworthy.

In 2023, the number of drivers receiving endorsements on their driving licenses having been caught with an unroadworthy vehicle totalled 8,614. In 2024, that figure had risen by 4,495 to 13,109 – a 52% rise. You will no doubt agree that is an extremely large rise and is a little concerning to say the least.

The region in the UK that saw the biggest increase in terms of numbers of drivers caught with vehicles considered not roadworthy was Greater London. In 2023, there were 1,464 drivers receiving penalty points on their driving licenses due to having unroadworthy vehicles. By 2024 that figure had gone up to 1,765 – a rise of 21%. In 2nd place was Yorkshire and Humber with 1,042 in 2023 and 1,373 in 2024 – a rise of 32%. In 3rd place was South East England with 944 in 203 and 1,167 in 2024 – an increase of 24%.

In percentage terms, the region that saw the biggest rise was East Midlands. In 2023 there were 374 and in 2024 this rose to 700 – an increase of 87%.

Motorists caught with defective tyres accounted for the largest number of unroadworthy vehicles in 2024. There were 8,945 drivers receiving such endorsements. In 2023 there were 6,196. In second place was vehicles found to have defective brakes with 1,190 in 2024 compared to 181 in 2023 – a very big increase.

Obviously, if some motorists are driving around in unroadworthy vehicles they are not only putting their own lives at risk but also the lives of other motorist and their passengers and pedestrians.

Whilst writing, we thought it worth reminding our readers that if he or she is looking for a no-obligation, competitive classic car insurance quote why not make contact with us as we provide access to an extensive panel of insurance companies.