FOI 0158-2025/26- Mobile phone driving offences

Request:

Q1. How many incidents were recorded in 2023/24 and 2024/25 under the code RV86019 (Use a handheld [mobile phone or handheld device] while driving)? Please break the results down by year and broad location (e.g. town)

Q2. Which ten roads in the region had the most RV86019 incidents? Please provide the number of incidents on each of the ten roads.

Q3. In each year, how many incidents resulted in the following outcomes:

- Fixed penalty notice (please provide the total paid in fines if possible)

- License endorsed

- Prosecutions (please provide the total paid in fines after prosecution if possible)

- Cancelled/Not completed

Q4. How many RV86019 incidents resulted in an accident? Of those, how many led to one or more persons being injured or killed?

Q5. How many incidents were recorded in 2023/24 and 2024/25 under the code RC86823 (Supervisor of provisional license holder use handheld device)? Please break the results down by year.

Response: 

Extent of Searches to Locate Information

Following receipt of your request searches were conducted within North Yorkshire Police to locate relevant information. 

Decision

I am not obliged to provide you with a response to your request pursuant to Section 12(1) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (the Act). Please note that when one part of your request falls under Section 12, we are not obliged to review the rest of the questions and the whole request is therefore exempt.

Section 12(1) applies to your request as the cost of complying with your request is above the amount to which we are legally required to respond i.e. the cost of identifying and retrieving any relevant information exceeds the ‘appropriate level’ as stated in the Freedom of Information (Appropriate Limit and Fees) Regulations 2004.

Due to the nature of our recording systems the information requested, if held, is not in an easily retrievable format. Our information retrieval process generally relies on a computer ran report which captures any information recorded upon the surface of a record or within specified fields. Where relevant information is held deeper in the record, or outside of a specified field, a manual assessment is required to retrieve that information.

In order to retrieve the requested information Q2, it would be necessary to manually review all offences related to Use a handheld mobile phone or handheld device while driving for the timeframe specified to establish which ten roads had the most offences recorded. Also, in relation to Q3 this would require a manual review of those offences to establish the total paid in fines, licence endorsement and prosecutions this would mean reading through hundreds of reports, which would exceed the time limit allowed under the Act. 

Pursuant to Section 17(5) of the Freedom of Information Act this letter acts as a Refusal Notice.

Pursuant to Section 16 of the Act I am required to offer you advice and assistance with regarding to refining your request to within the ‘appropriate limit’ (time/cost limit). However, we may be able to provide some information for Q1 as well as the number of FPN given, Q4 and Q5 if you resubmit and omit Q2 and Q3.  If you wish to discuss this please do not hesitate to contact me.

Please note that systems used for recording information are not generic, nor are the procedures used locally in capturing the data.  It should be noted therefore that this force’s response to your questions should not be used for comparison purposes with any other responses you may receive.