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The number of people penalised for driving unroadworthy vehicles rose by more than 50% last year – and, according to the RAC, it is “just the tip of the iceberg”.

New data revealed by a freedom of information request submitted by the firm shows that 13,109 motorists received points for driving cars in unsafe condition last year, up from 8614 in 2023.

Tyres were the most common defect, with 8495 drivers penalised for their condition. 

Meanwhile, 1190 motorists received points for having faulty brakes, an increase of nearly six times from the 181 penalised a year prior.

The region in which drivers were given the most points for driving unsafe vehicles was Greater London, with 1765 people, followed by Yorkshire and the Humber with 1373 and South East England with 1167.

Explaining the rise, the RAC’s head mechanic, Nick Mullender, said: “The steep increase in drivers receiving points on their licences for unroadworthy vehicles is a cause for alarm as it could indicate more drivers are running the gauntlet and driving unsafe vehicles – although it’s also possible more drivers are being caught by the police.”

The data reflects a broader trend indicating a decline in vehicle maintenance in Britain. A record number of cars failed their MOTs on tyres last year; of these, more than a third had received advisory notices for their tyres’ condition a year prior.

That prompted calls from across the industry for MOT reform. Stefan Hay, Chief Executive Officer of the National Tyre Distributors Association (NTDA) told Autocar sibling title Car Aftermarket Trader (CAT) that the test’s advisory system was “no longer fit for purpose”.

“We advocate for the introduction of mandatory follow-ups on tyre-related advisories to ensure that necessary action is taken,” said Hay. “Tyre safety must be treated with the seriousness it deserves, not just by the tyre trade, but by regulators and motorists alike.”

Jamie Hassall, executive director for the Parliamentary Advisory Council For Transport Safety (PACTS), said: “I was told at the point of tyre change six million tyres are below the minimum legal requirement. This is a level the police just can’t deal with so there needs to be a more people-centred approach that helps drivers stay legal. And then those that chose not to act are the ones the police should target.”

The Polestar 3 has claimed the world record for the longest distance travelled by an electric SUV on one charge, cracking nearly 600 miles in one hit on UK roads.

The new Long Range version of Polestar’s flagship SUV, with a 107kWh battery and a single 295bhp motor on the rear axle, managed 581.3 miles of driving around the east of England. That comfortably beats the 3’s 438-mile official range and smashes the previous record of 569.64 miles, set by the Ford Mustang Mach-E last year.

The distance travelled equates to a final efficiency figure of 19.5kWh per 100 miles, or 5.13mpkWh, which is in line with the official WLTP efficiency figures of some small electric cars weighing around two-thirds as much as the 2.4-tonne 3.

Polestar said the SUV continued for eight miles after the battery charge readout reached 0% and still managed to get to a charger, suggesting it could even have gone slightly farther.

Crucially, the car used for the attempt was completely unmodified – even using the standard Michelin Sport 4 EV tyres – and the attempt was carried out on open public roads, including single-track lanes, dual carriageways and B-roads.

The news comes a week after Chevrolet revealed its new Silverado EV pickup truck had managed a whopping 1060 miles on a single charge, but that was with light modifications in place and took seven days to complete. Furthermore, the Chevy’s 205kWh battery pack is around twice the size of the Polestar’s and it averaged 4.9mpkWh, compared with the Swedish car’s 5.1mpkWh.

The current outright range record for an unmodified electric car, as recognised by Guinness World Records, is held by the Lucid Air. However, the Polestar’s record-chasing run was undertaken in conditions that better reflect real-world driving so is more relevant to consumers, explained Sam Clarke, one of three drivers who piloted the car during the attempt.

“This is a ‘journey’ record, which means that we use public roads, we have to adhere to normal speed limits and we can’t go over the same road twice, so effectively we do one very large loop, as best we can.”

That last requirement presented a significant obstacle, as not only did it become increasingly difficult to avoid previously used roads while remaining on the flat ground needed to maximise range, but it also meant that any late changes to the route could have quashed the team’s chances of setting a record.

“We did have one particular jeopardy when we got to Melton Mowbray at the very tail end of the run and it turned out there was a cycle race on the next day, so a load of the roads were closed. Every time we tried to change direction, we found another road closure and another road closure...” said Clarke. Fortunately, some quick thinking from the navigator got the team back on a diversion route without having too drastic an impact on remaining range.

Clarke said the journey record is more relevant than the outright range record because “it’s the closest thing to the real world, on proper roads at proper speeds”.

He added: “We’re not suggesting for a second that everybody can achieve the same ranges that we did, but we did exceed the WLTP figures by some margin, so it just shows what’s possible. Driving a little bit more efficiently – which ultimately equates to just moving your right foot a few less millimetres each time – can actually generate significant amounts of range”.

Figures like this, while not necessarily achievable in everyday driving, help to show that “EVs really can go a long way now”, Clarke said, and “the range anxiety phraseology we’ve seen in our industry for many years is rapidly diminishing”.

Clarke, who has taken part in several previous EV record-breaking runs (including the Mustang Mach-E one last year), said range anxiety as a concept is “definitely dying” but “the infrastructure still needs to continue to improve as the technology advances in the vehicles as well”.