Rights and LimitsStopped in the street or in a vehicleStopped while driving
Stopped while driving
There is a short and simple version of this page. One idea per sentence, no legal words.
What you must do, and what you can refuse
Every claim below links to the law it comes from, with the wording quoted so you can check it yourself.
You must
Refusing is a criminal offence.
Stop the vehicle when a constable in uniform requires you to.
Road Traffic Act 1988, s.163(1)
“A person driving a mechanically propelled vehicle on a road must stop the vehicle on being required to do so by a constable in uniform”
Read it at legislation.gov.ukquote checked 2026-08-25
Failing to stop is a criminal offence.
Road Traffic Act 1988, s.163(3)
“If a person fails to comply with this section he is guilty of an offence.”
Read it at legislation.gov.ukquote checked 2026-08-25
As registered keeper, say who was driving when required.
This applies to the keeper, and a separate duty can apply to others who know.
Road Traffic Act 1988, s.172(2)(a)
“the person keeping the vehicle shall give such information as to the identity of the driver as he may be required to give by or on behalf of a chief officer of police”
Read it at legislation.gov.ukquote checked 2026-08-25
You can refuse
No penalty for saying no.
You do not have to answer the questions put to you, though there can be consequences if you do not.
Identifying the driver is a specific statutory duty set out above. It is not a duty to be interviewed about your speed or your journey.
GOV.UK, Being arrested: your rights — your rights in custody
“You do not have to answer the questions but there could be consequences if you do not.”
Read it at legislation.gov.ukquote checked 2026-08-25
Lawful to refuse — but it costs you
Not an offence, but it carries a penalty or an inference.
Refusing to name the driver carries a fine and an obligatory licence endorsement.
Frequently a heavier penalty than the offence being investigated.
Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988, Schedule 2, Part I — RTA s.172
“Failure of person keeping vehicle and others to give police information as to identity of driver, etc. , in the case of certain offences. Summarily. Level 3 on the standard scale. Discretionary, if committed otherwise than by virtue of subsection (5) or (11). Obligatory, if committed otherwise than by virtue of subsection”
Read it at legislation.gov.ukquote checked 2026-08-25
This is where “say nothing” goes badly wrong
Driving is the most heavily regulated thing most people do, and the trade-off for holding a licence is that several ordinary rights are switched off.
You must stop when required. You must identify the driver when asked. Neither is optional, and refusing both is an offence in its own right.
The s.172 trap
If a driving offence is alleged, the registered keeper must say who was driving. This usually arrives as a notice of intended prosecution with a form, not as a roadside question.
People sometimes ignore the form on the theory that they cannot be made to incriminate themselves. That reasoning does not work here, and the penalty for refusing carries an obligatory licence endorsement, which is usually worse than the speeding offence it was meant to avoid.
If you genuinely do not know who was driving, there is a narrow defence based on having exercised reasonable diligence to find out. Get advice before relying on it; do not simply leave the form blank.
What is still yours
Being required to stop and to identify the driver is not the same as being required to have a conversation. You do not have to speculate about your speed, agree with an officer’s account, or explain where you have been.
If it turns into an interview under caution, the ordinary rules — including the right to free legal advice — apply again.
Last reviewed 2026-08-25. Next review due 2027-02-25. No solicitor has reviewed this page — see [email protected] if you think something here is wrong.