Chapter 1: Road transport vehicles

Chapter 1: Road transport vehicles

Road Transport Vehicles

1. Introduction

This chapter provides information about the numbers of road transport vehicles, such as new registrations, numbers licensed by taxation group and council area, ages, cylinder sizes, methods of propulsion, gross weights of Heavy Goods Vehicles, seating capacity of public transport vehicles, licensing figures for taxi and private hire cars and their drivers and numbers of wheelchair accessible taxis. It also provides statistics of the most popular cars, results of the road vehicle testing scheme (MOT), driving tests, driving licence holders, households with the regular use of a car (from the Scottish Household Survey), the number of Blue Badges issued and information about motor vehicle offences recorded by the Police.

Key Points

• There were 3.04 million vehicles licensed for use on the roads in Scotland in 2019, of which 83 per cent were cars.
• Over two thirds (71%) of the adult population (17+) held a full driving licence in 2019.
• Seventy two per cent of households had access to one or more cars or vans in 2019; almost one third (31%) of households had access to two or more cars or vans.

2. Main Points

Vehicles Licensed

2.1 The total number of new motor vehicles registrations in 2019 was around 220,746, 5% less than in 2018 and 2% more than 2009. (Table 1.1)

2.2 New registrations of cars in 2019 accounted for around 177,746 of these, around 10,000 (5%) less than in 2018, and 8,000 5%) less than 2009. Of all new registered vehicles in 2019, 127,726 (58%) were petrol-propelled, and 80,104 (36%) were diesel-propelled. The remaining new vehicles registered in 2019 were mostly electric or hybrid-electric vehicles, both these groups have seen steady increases in new registrations in recent years. In the last 10 years, only 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016 saw more new diesel vehicles registered than petrol vehicles. More detailed data on vehicles registered in 2019 by body type and propulsion is included in Chapter 13. (Table 1.1)

2.3 The total number of vehicles licensed was 3.04 million in 2019, 2 per cent higher than 2018 and 13% higher than in 2009. The number of private and light goods vehicles in 2019 was 2.7 million, 2% more than 2018 and 15% higher than 2009. (Table 1.2)

2.4 Glasgow had the largest number of vehicles licensed as at the end of 2018 (237,961), followed by Fife (213,483) and Edinburgh (202,259) - based on the postcode of the registered keeper. Per head of population (aged 17+), Dundee had the third lowest figure behind Edinburgh and Glasgow. Dundee had 525 vehicles for every 1,000 people aged 17+, Glasgow was lowest at 452. Vehicle ownership per head was much higher in rural areas – Renfrewshire had 988 vehicles per 1,000 people aged 17+ , Orkney had 945 and Shetland had 922, the three areas in Scotland with the highest vehicle ownership by population. The Scotland average was 678 per thousand. The pattern for car registrations was similar with Glasgow lowest, but Renfrewshire had the highest figure per thousand population at 848, followed by Stirling at 762. The effect of the registration of company car fleets can be seen: Renfrewshire accounted for 26 per cent (46,177) of all the company cars registered in Scotland, compared to 5 per cent of all cars. (Table 1.3)

2.5 There were 9,928 taxis and 14,177 private hire cars licensed in Scotland based on figures provided by Scottish local licensing authorities during October-November 2020. These show that licensed taxis have fallen by 225 and private hire cars have fallen by 94 compared with figures for 2019. Latest figures show that of the 9,928 licensed taxis, 4,951 (50%) are wheelchair accessible, slightly higher proportion and slight increase in the total number of accessible vehicles from the previous year. The proportion of wheelchair accessible vehicles varies across different authority areas. (Table 1.4)

2.6 The average age of private and light goods vehicles in 2019 was 6.8 years, slightly higher than last year, and continuing a trend of increasing average age since 2007. The average age of private and light goods vehicles continued to be lower in Scotland than for Great Britain as a whole. In 2019 the average age of these vehicles in Great Britain was 8.0 years. (Table 1.6)

2.7 There were 5,606 licensed operators of heavy goods vehicles in Scotland in December 2020 and 744 public service vehicle licence holders. Most HGV operators had few (if any) vehicles specified on the licence: 3,606 had 0-2 vehicles, 964 had 3-5 vehicles and 467 had 6-10 vehicles. Only 69 operators had between 51 and 100 vehicles specified on the licence as at December 2020. (Table 1.10)

2.8 The most popular new car sold in Scotland in 2019 was the Ford Fiesta with a market share of 3.9%. The top 5 most popular models had a total market share of 14% and the top 10, 22%. (Table 1.11)

MOTs and Driving Tests

2.9 In 2019/20, about 34% of cars tested in the road vehicle testing scheme (MOT) were unsatisfactory, as were 14% of motor cycles. About 13% of cars tested had unsatisfactory suspension, 12% had unsatisfactory lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment and 12% had unsatisfactory brakes (a vehicle with more than one type of fault is counted against each of them). Seven per cent of motorcycles tested had unsatisfactory lamps and reflectors, 3% had unsatisfactory brakes and 3% had unsatisfactory structure and attachments. (Table 1.12)

2.10 There were 122,000 driving licence practical tests conducted in 2019, a decrease of 1% on 2018. The pass rate was 1% lower at 59%. The test centre at the Isle of Mull had the highest pass rate (88%), though only 17 tests were conducted, Pitlochry had the highest pass rate for centres where at least 100 tests were conducted (81%), while the lowest was at Glasgow (Anniesland) (38%). (Tables 1.13 & 1.14)

2.11 The Scottish Household Survey results for 2019 showed that 71% of adults over the age of 17 held a full driving license. Although men were more likely to hold a full driving licence than women in all age groups except 17-19, the difference between the proportions increased with age. For the 17-19 age group in 2019, the difference was 7 percentage points more for women. For 70-79 year olds there was a difference of 23 percentage points (men: 83%, women: 60%), which increased to 33 percentage points for those aged 80+ (men: 62%; women: 29%). (Tables 1.16 and 1.17)

2.12 SHS results also showed that the percentage of people holding a full driving licence tended to increase with household income. In 2019, 91% of adults aged 17+ living in households which had an annual net income of over £50,000 held a full driving licence. In contrast, only 50% of adults who lived in households with an annual net income of up to £10,000 held a full driving licence.

2.13 License possession was also more likely in rural areas. In 2019, 63% of adults aged 17+ living in large urban areas held a full driving licence compared with 84% of those living in 'Remote Rural' areas (the Scottish Government urban/rural classification system used in the Survey is described in the Notes and Definitions section, page 225). (Table 1.16)

Car Availability

2.14 The Scottish Household Survey shows that 72 per cent of households had access to one or more cars in 2019, a proportion that has remained relatively stable over the last five years. Nearly one third (31%) of households had access to two or more cars. (Table 1.19) These estimates were similar to results from the Scotland Census 2011, which suggested that 69% of households have access to one or more cars, with 27% having two or more cars. The Census also showed that slightly fewer men (21 per cent) than women (26 per cent) aged 16 and over lived in households with no cars or vans available. (Table 1.23)

2.15 The Scottish Household Survey also shows how the percentage of households with a car available for private use varies between different household types, income bands and type of area. In 2018, family (small or large) and large adult households were most likely to have access to at least one car (large family: 90%, small family: 91%, large adult: 91%). (note definitions of family types are included in the Notes and Definitions section, page 225) Least likely to have access to a car were single pensioner households (48%). The SHS also showed that 32% of large adult and 18% of large family households had 3 or more cars available for private use in 2019. (Table 1.20) The 2011 Census showed that married or cohabiting families with dependent children were most likely to have access to a car, at 92%, and single pensioner households were the least likely, at 36%. (Table 1.24)

2.16 Only 40% of households whose net annual income was up to £10,000 had one or more cars available for private use, compared with at least 80% of households whose annual net income were above £25,000. Sixty two per cent of households in large urban areas had cars, compared with 87-90% of those in rural areas. (Table 1.20)

2.17 The car ownership statistics from the SHS can be supplemented with information on equalities from the 2011 Census. This shows that the proportion of households with no car or van available was generally higher for those where the Household Reference Person (HRP)¹ was from a minority ethnic group; within this group it was highest for households where the HRP was from the 'African' (60 per cent) or 'Caribbean or Black' (49 per cent) ethnic groups. Additionally, of the 473,000 people in households who had a long-term health problem or disability that limited their day-to-day activities a lot, 46 per cent lived in households with no cars or vans available. The corresponding proportion was 34 per cent for the 523,000 people whose day-day activities were limited a little and 19 per cent for the 4.2 million people who had no limiting long-term health problem. (Table 1.25)

2.18 There were 248,073 Blue Badges on issue in Scotland at the end of March 2020. 115,104 were issued to recipients of allowances or grants which provide an automatic entitlement to a Blue Badge, 130,344 were issued on a discretionary basis to other people with a permanent or substantial disability, and 2,625 were issued to institutions. (Table 1.21)

Motor Vehicle Offences

2.19 The numbers of motor vehicle offences recorded by the police include offences in respect of which either the police or the procurator fiscal made a conditional offer of a fixed penalty (mainly moving vehicle offences). They do not include stationary vehicle offences which are dealt with by the police or traffic wardens by means of fixed penalty notices (mainly parking offences).

2.20 Following the establishment of Police Scotland, data for 2013-14 onwards are returned from one central unit within Police Scotland using their management information system. Prior to 2013-14, data were returned by the eight legacy police force areas. An extensive quality assurance exercise was carried out by the Scottish Government to ensure that the dataset produced from the new system is consistent with data returned from the legacy police forces.

2.21 This exercise identified a number of anomalies affecting comparability of the time series resulting in breaks in the series. Further information about these discontinuities can be found in the Technical report, entitled Recorded Crime: Comparability of Police Scotland and Legacy Force Data, available from http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Crime-Justice/PubRecordedCrime/
TechnicalReport.

2.22 The total number of motor vehicle offences recorded in 2019-20 was 121,907 (Table 1.22).

2.23 This year's figures include two new offences: driving or being in charge of a motor vehicle with concentration of a specified controlled drug above a specified limit. These were introduced due to changes to the Road Traffic Act 1988 which came into force on 21st October 2019. 616 of these new offences were recorded in 2019-20. While offences of driving or being in charge of a motor vehicle while impaired through alcohol or drugs already existed, evidence of impaired driving is not required for the new offences. This may have resulted in additional offences being recorded in relation to drug driving.

2.24 The total number of motor vehicle offences recorded increased by 4% between 2018-19 and 2019-20; changes in these figures may arise because of changes in the level of enforcement or police deployment. The largest decreases were for mobile phone offences (15% decrease from 2,895 to 2,450, lighting offences (19% decrease from 1,553 to 1,256) and traffic direction offences (6% decrease from 4,133 to 3,870). The largest increases were for Other speeding offences (9% increase from 17,194 to 18,784) and No test certificate (7% increase from 14,020 to 14,987 (Table 1.22).

Figure 1.1: New registrations by taxation group

 

Table 1.1: New registrations by taxation group, body type and method of propulsion

	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019
by type of vehicle (taxation group)											thousand
Private and light goods	177	168	159	175	199	217	223	225	207	190	175
Motorcycles	6	5	5	5	5	6	6	7	6	6	6
Buses	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1
Goods	2	2	2	3	3	2	3	4	3	3	3
Crown and exempt 1	30	32	34	32	32	34	32	32	31	31	33
Other vehicles 1	1	1	1	1	1	1	2	2	2	2	2
Total	216	209	202	216	241	262	268	270	250	233	221
by body type
Cars	186	177	168	183	205	222	222	222	204	188	178
Taxis	~	~	~	~	~	1	~	~	~	~	~
Motorcycles	6	5	5	5	5	6	6	7	6	6	7
Three wheelers	~	~	~	~	~	~	~	~	~	~	~
Light goods 3	14	18	20	18	20	23	28	29	28	28	25
Goods 3	3	2	3	3	4	3	4	5	4	4	4
Buses and coaches	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1
Agricultural vehicles etc	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3
Other vehicles	2	2	3	4	3	3	3	3	3	3	3
All vehicles	216	209	202	216	241	262	268	270	250	233	221
by method of propulsion
Petrol	124	108	98	110	119	125	125	128	124	131	128
Diesel	91	99	102	104	120	133	138	137	118	92	80
Hybrid Electric	1	1	1	1	1	2	3	3	6	8	9
Electricity	1	1	1	1	1	2	1	1	2	2	3
Gas Bi-Fuel	~	~	~	~	~	c	0	~	~	~	c
Gas Or Petrol/Gas	~	~	~	~	~	~	~	~	~	~	~
Other 4	~	~	c	~	c	~	~	c	c	~	c
Total	216	209	202	216	241	262	268	270	250	233	221

Source: DVLA/DfT

c. Value has been suppressed to avoid disclosing personal information.

~ denotes fewer than 50.

1. Vehicles in the Special Concessionary Group (part of other vehicles in 2002 and earlier years) are part of Crown and Exempt from 2003 onwards

3. Gas Diesel and Steam.

Note: Table 13.9 in Chapter 13 shows vehicles first registered in 2018 by body type and method of propulsion.

 

Table 1.2: Vehicles licensed at 31 December, by taxation group, body type and method of propulsion

	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019
by type of vehicle (taxation group)											thousand
Private and light goods	2,362	2,364	2,369	2,395	2,436	2,496	2,537	2,594	2,638	2,665	2,711
Motorcycles	66	63	60	60	59	61	62	63	62	62	63
Buses	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12
Goods	31	30	29	29	29	29	30	30	30	28	28
Crown and exempt 1	203	206	211	212	213	214	211	208	207	211	215
Other vehicles 1	9	9	9	10	10	10	11	11	12	12	12
Total	2,684	2,685	2,691	2,717	2,759	2,821	2,863	2,919	2,962	2,991	3,041
by body type
Cars	2,249	2,255	2,264	2,285	2,319	2,369	2,394	2,433	2,462	2,486	2,524
Taxis	4	3	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	3	3
Motorcycles	72	69	66	66	66	67	68	70	70	71	72
Three wheelers	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1
Light goods 2	242	240	238	241	247	256	269	283	294	298	308
Goods 2	37	36	36	35	36	36	37	38	38	37	37
Buses and coaches	17	16	16	16	15	15	15	15	15	14	14
Agricultural vehicles etc	45	45	47	48	48	49	50	50	52	54	55
Other vehicles	18	19	20	22	23	24	25	25	26	27	26
All vehicles	2,684	2,685	2,691	2,717	2,759	2,821	2,863	2,919	2,962	2,991	3,041
by method of propulsion
Petrol	1,701	1,656	1,619	1,592	1,567	1,552	1,522	1,509	1,497	1,503	1,533
Diesel	974	1,018	1,061	1,113	1,178	1,252	1,321	1,386	1,435	1,450	1,459
Hybrid Electric	3	4	5	6	8	9	11	14	19	27	35
Electricity	2	2	2	3	4	5	6	7	9	10	12
Gas Bi-Fuel	2	2	2	2	2	2	1	1	1	1	1
Gas or petrol/gas	2	2	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1
Steam	~	~	~	~	~	~	~	~	~	~	~
Others	~	~	~	~	~	~	~	~	~	~	~
Total	2,684	2,685	2,691	2,717	2,759	2,821	2,863	2,919	2,962	2,991	3,041

Source: DVLA/DfT

~ denotes fewer than 50.

1. Vehicles in the Special Concessionary Group (part of other vehicles in 2002 and earlier years) are part of Crown and Exempt from 2003 onwards

2. DfT have revised stock figures from 2006 to 2009 - see https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/763837/vehicle-licensing-statistics-notes-definitions.pdf

Note: Table 13.10 in Chapter 13 shows vehicles licensed in 2018 by body type and method of propulsion.

Figure 1.2: Vehicles licensed at 31 December 2019 by Council

Blue badges per 1,000 population

 

Table 1.3: Vehicles licensed at 31 December 2019 by Council and taxation group

	Private and light goods		Motorcycles1	Buses	Goods2	Crown and Exempt 3	Other vehicles	All vehicles			Population aged 17+ (NRS Population estimates Mid 2019)	Vehicles registered per 1,000 people aged 17+	Cars registered per 1,000 people aged 17+
	Body type cars	Other vehicles						Total	of which body type cars	of which company cars
										thousand
Aberdeen City	92.1	9.0	2.6	0.5	0.9	4.4	0.4	110.0	95.1	4.1	191,476	574	497
Aberdeenshire	140.9	23.2	4.6	0.6	2.1	18.9	1.3	191.5	145.9	5.3	209,345	915	697
Angus	57.2	7.9	1.9	0.1	0.8	6.9	0.3	75.3	59.8	2.4	95,814	786	624
Argyll & Bute	40.8	7.9	1.2	0.3	0.6	4.2	0.3	55.4	42.8	1.8	72,143	768	593
Clackmannanshire	25.0	2.5	0.7	0.1	0.1	1.8	0.1	30.3	26.4	1.1	42,066	720	627
Dumfries & Galloway	72.5	13.5	2.6	0.2	1.4	11.8	0.3	102.4	76.4	3.8	124,103	825	616
Dundee City	53.7	4.8	1.3	0.2	0.5	4.4	0.1	65.0	56.8	3.4	123,921	525	459
East Ayrshire	54.8	6.8	1.7	0.2	0.7	6.6	0.2	70.9	57.9	2.8	99,728	711	580
East Dunbartonshire	54.0	3.7	1.0	0.1	0.2	2.5	0.1	61.6	56.0	1.7	88,084	700	636
East Lothian	50.6	5.7	1.6	0.2	0.3	4.2	0.1	62.7	52.9	2.0	86,356	726	612
East Renfrewshire	46.9	2.9	0.7	0.1	0.2	2.2	0.1	53.1	48.6	1.9	74,839	710	650
Edinburgh, City of	171.5	14.0	4.2	1.3	0.5	10.4	0.3	202.3	178.3	8.1	441,733	458	404
Eilean Siar 4	12.6	3.6	0.5	0.1	0.2	1.8	0.1	19.0	13.2	0.5	22,179	855	597
Falkirk	77.5	8.1	2.0	0.4	1.3	5.0	0.3	94.6	81.2	3.7	131,093	722	619
Fife	173.4	18.8	5.0	1.0	1.3	13.6	0.5	213.5	182.1	7.3	305,191	700	597
Glasgow, City of	189.6	21.6	3.1	1.4	1.8	18.8	1.8	238.0	204.2	17.9	527,028	452	387
Highland	113.3	23.7	3.9	0.6	1.4	14.1	1.1	158.0	118.4	5.3	194,308	813	609
Inverclyde	32.9	2.3	0.7	0.4	0.1	2.3	0.0	38.7	34.9	1.5	64,409	601	541
Midlothian	42.4	5.2	1.5	0.1	0.4	3.2	0.1	52.8	44.6	2.0	73,547	718	607
Moray	46.0	7.8	1.7	0.1	0.7	5.2	0.3	61.7	48.0	2.0	78,590	786	610
North Ayrshire	59.1	6.4	1.7	0.2	0.7	5.0	0.2	73.3	62.6	3.1	110,811	661	565
North Lanarkshire	142.9	17.0	2.7	0.5	2.8	11.1	0.5	177.5	152.5	8.6	274,633	646	555
Orkney Islands	10.6	2.9	0.5	0.1	0.2	3.0	0.2	17.5	11.3	0.5	18,468	945	613
Perth & Kinross	75.2	11.3	2.1	0.2	0.7	8.3	2.0	99.8	78.1	3.5	125,887	792	620
Renfrewshire	119.1	15.4	1.8	0.5	1.3	6.9	0.2	145.3	124.7	46.2	147,029	988	848
Scottish Borders	58.3	9.9	1.7	0.2	1.4	7.8	0.3	79.5	60.6	2.8	95,350	834	636
Shetland Islands	11.3	3.3	0.5	0.1	0.2	1.5	0.2	17.0	11.7	0.8	18,461	922	634
South Ayrshire	53.6	5.9	1.5	0.4	0.3	4.6	0.1	66.6	56.2	2.7	93,904	709	599
South Lanarkshire	146.6	15.3	3.1	0.5	2.2	11.4	0.5	179.7	154.9	7.8	261,697	687	592
Stirling	56.9	8.7	1.1	0.1	0.6	4.0	0.1	71.4	59.2	15.5	77,738	919	762
West Dunbartonshire	37.2	8.7	0.8	0.1	0.2	2.7	0.1	49.8	39.5	2.6	72,365	689	546
West Lothian	84.7	10.0	2.4	0.4	1.8	6.0	0.5	105.8	89.0	4.1	145,555	727	612
Council Unknown	0.2	0.1	0.0	c	0.0	0.5	c	0.9	0.5	0.1
Scotland	2,403.6	307.6	62.5	11.5	28.1	215.1	12.4	3,040.8	2,524.5	176.8	4,487,851	678	563

Source: DVLA/DfT

1. Includes all two wheeled motor vehicles

2. Excludes heavy goods vehicles that are exempt from tax.

3. Vehicles in the Special Concessionary Group are now part of Crown and Exempt taxation group.

4. Formerly Western Isles

 

Table 1.4: Taxi, private hire cars and drivers licensed by local authority area, 2020

	Taxi vehicles	Private hire cars	Total	Taxi driver licenses	Private hire licences	Total	Wheelchair accessible taxis	Wheelchair accessible private hire cars
Council
Aberdeen City	805	207	1,012	1,252	8	1,260	411	-
Aberdeenshire	425	356	781	1,342	117	1,459	190	175
Angus	121	67	188	186	119	305	6	2
Argyll & Bute	183	77	260	390	58	448	26	30
Clackmannanshire	47	48	95	124	3	127	5	1
Dumfries & Galloway	206	66	272	419	13	432	6	-
Dundee City	525	189	714	808	26	834	274	-
East Ayrshire	125	90	215	367	21	388	23	7
East Dunbartonshire	279	345	624	572	116	688	51	4
East Lothian 1	132	112	244	292		292	132	-
East Renfrewshire	53	398	451	74	556	630	4	35
Edinburgh, City of	1,313	2,486	3,799	2,799	3,250	6,049	1,313	-
Eilean Siar	85	25	110	145	25	170	1	3
Falkirk	395	115	510	518	102	620	68	6
Fife 1	480	298	778	1,673		1,673	23	60
Glasgow, City of	1,420	3,845	5,265	2,298	5,338	7,636	1,420	31
Highland	553	200	753	758	279	1,037	30	14
Inverclyde 1	241	53	294	505	N/A	505	19	8
Midlothian	46	124	170	80	230	310	46	-
Moray	170	27	197	260	14	274	10	4
North Ayrshire	222	56	278	562	2	564	42	5
North Lanarkshire	483	1,415	1,898	1,104	1,477	2,581	172	1
Orkney Islands	35	20	55	101	12	113	1	2
Perth & Kinross 1	104	225	329	573		573	9	22
Renfrewshire	235	989	1,224	461	1,022	1,483	229	30
Scottish Borders	199	61	260	293	26	319	15	8
Shetland Islands	73	58	131	270	75	345	3	2
South Ayrshire	115	169	284	466	79	545	115	-
South Lanarkshire	350	1,436	1,786	717	1,470	2,187	23	29
Stirling	77	128	-	360	12	-	21	14
West Dunbartonshire 1	336	92	428	449		449	168	11
West Lothian	95	400	495	178	584	762	95	51
Scotland	9,928	14,177	23,900	20,396	15,034	35,058	4,951	555

Source: Scottish Government - Not National Statistics

1. Separate figures for taxi and private hire licences are not available.

 

Table 1.5: Vehicles licensed at 31 December 2019, by taxation group, and by year of first registration

Taxation group	Pre- 2005	2005-2009	2010-2014	2015-2019	Total	Total stock	Average age of vehicles
				percentage of total		thousands	years
Private and light goods	5.9	18.0	32.2	43.9	100.0	2,711	6.8
of which body type cars	5.6	17.9	32.5	44.0	100.0	2,404	6.7
Motorcycles1	27.9	17.1	18.4	36.6	100.0	63	10.3
Buses	11.7	26.5	30.2	31.5	100.0	12	8.5
Goods	7.0	14.2	30.2	48.6	100.0	28	6.4
Crown and exempt	25.7	11.0	15.2	48.1	100.0	215	13.6
Other vehicles	14.2	12.7	18.5	54.6	100.0	12	7.1
All vehicles	7.8	17.5	30.6	44.1	100.0	3,041	7.3
of which body type cars	6.0	17.5	31.4	45.1	100.0	2,524	6.8

Source: DVLA/DfT

1. Includes all two wheeled motor vehicles.

 

Table 1.6: Average age of vehicles licensed at 31 December, by taxation group¹

Type of vehicle	20095	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019
(a) Scotland											years
Private and light goods	6.0	6.1	6.3	6.5	6.5	6.6	6.6	6.6	6.6	6.7	6.8
Motorcycles 2	7.8	8.2	8.6	9.0	9.4	9.6	9.8	9.9	10.0	10.2	10.3
Buses 3	8.0	8.1	8.4	8.4	8.3	8.3	8.3	8.3	8.5	8.6	8.5
Goods	5.8	6.1	6.2	6.3	6.2	6.3	6.3	6.1	6.2	6.4	6.4
Crown and exempt 4	10.4	10.6	10.7	10.9	11.3	11.5	11.9	12.3	12.7	13.2	13.6
Other vehicles 4	7.5	7.7	7.8	7.8	7.9	7.8	7.5	7.3	7.3	7.1	7.1
All vehicles	6.4	6.5	6.7	6.9	7.0	7.0	7.0	7.1	7.1	7.2	7.3
(b) Great Britain
Private and light goods	6.9	7.1	7.3	7.5	7.6	7.7	7.8	7.8	7.8	7.9	8.0
Motorcycles 2	7.7	8.1	8.5	8.9	9.2	9.5	9.6	9.6	9.8	9.9	9.9
Buses 3	8.0	8.2	8.4	8.4	8.4	8.5	8.5	8.5	8.6	8.6	8.8
Goods	6.0	6.4	6.4	6.4	6.3	6.4	6.4	6.4	6.4	6.4	6.3
Crown and exempt 4	14.4	14.2	14.5	14.7	15.2	15.6	16.0	16.5	16.9	17.6	17.9
Other vehicles 4	9.0	9.2	9.3	9.3	9.3	9.1	8.8	8.9	8.8	8.6	8.5
All vehicles	7.4	7.6	7.8	8.0	8.2	8.3	8.3	8.3	8.4	8.5	8.6

Source: DVLA/DfT

1. Average age is calculated using date of first registration rather than date of manufacture.

2. Includes all two wheeled motor vehicles.

3. Estimates include only those vehicles with more than 8 seats.

4. Vehicles in the Special Concessionary Group (part of other vehicles in 2002 and earlier years) are part of Crown and Exempt from 2003 onwards.

 

Table 1.7: Private and light goods vehicles licensed at 31 December, by cylinder size

Cylinder size	20091	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019
											percentage of year total
up to 700 cc	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1
701 to 1,000 cc	3.8	3.8	3.8	4.0	4.5	5.2	5.9	6.7	7.4	8.5	9.6
1,001 to 1,200 cc	6.6	6.5	6.5	6.4	6.4	6.5	6.5	6.5	6.6	6.7	6.7
1,201 to 1,500 cc	24.7	25.3	25.7	26.0	26.2	26.2	26.3	26.5	26.5	26.5	26.7
1,501 to 1,800 cc	24.8	24.6	24.7	24.7	24.8	24.6	24.3	23.7	23.1	22.3	21.1
1,801 to 2,000 cc	23.2	22.9	22.5	22.0	21.4	20.9	20.4	20.1	20.3	20.4	20.7
2,001 to 2,500 cc	10.8	10.8	10.8	10.9	11.0	11.0	11.2	11.1	10.8	10.4	10.0
2,501 to 3,000 cc	4.0	4.1	4.1	4.0	4.0	3.9	3.9	3.8	3.8	3.8	3.8
3,000 cc and over	1.9	1.9	1.8	1.8	1.7	1.7	1.6	1.5	1.5	1.4	1.4
cc not known	~	~	~	~	~	~	~	~	~	~	~
Total	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100
											thousand
Total	2,362	2,364	2,369	2,395	2,436	2,496	2,537	2,594	2,638	2,665	2,711

Source: DVLA/DfT ~ denotes fewer than 50. 1. In 2010 DfT revised stock figures from 2006 to 2009 - see https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/763837/vehicle-licensing-statistics-notes-definitions.pdf

 

Table 1.8: Heavy goods vehicles licensed at 31 December, by gross weight

Gross weight (tonnes)	20092	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019
											percentage of year total
3.5 to 7.5	29.1	29.2	28.8	28.3	26.9	26.2	25.2	24.2	23.5	22.3	21.7
7.51 to 12	2.4	2.4	2.4	2.5	2.7	2.7	2.8	3.2	3.3	3.3	3.5
12.1 to 16	4.1	4.0	3.7	3.6	3.7	3.6	3.6	3.4	3.1	3.4	3.4
16.1 to 20	14.1	14.4	14.2	14.1	14.1	13.8	13.4	13.1	12.9	12.7	12.6
20.1 to 24	3.4	3.2	2.7	2.4	2.1	2.0	2.0	2.1	2.0	1.9	1.8
24.1 to 28	13.0	13.3	13.8	14.1	14.6	14.4	14.4	14.2	14.3	14.7	14.6
28.1 to 32	9.0	8.9	9.1	9.0	9.2	9.8	10.1	10.5	10.7	11.5	12.1
32.1 to 38	2.7	2.4	1.9	2.2	2.0	1.9	1.8	1.7	1.7	1.8	1.7
over 38	22.3	22.2	23.3	23.8	24.8	25.6	26.7	27.8	28.6	28.5	28.7
Total	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100
Total 1	31.2	30.4	29.4	28.9	28.9	29.4	29.7	30.3	30.3	28.3	28.1

Source: DVLA/DfT

1. Mainly heavy goods vehicles but includes vehicles which are licensed as HGVs but do not have a goods body type.

2. In 2010 DfT revised stock figures from 2006 to 2009 - see https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/763837/vehicle-licensing-statistics-notes-definitions.pdf

 

Table 1.9: Buses licensed at 31 December: by seating capacity

Number of seats	20091	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019
9-15	1,766	1,795	1,753	1,721	1,701	1,666	1,636	1,615	1,528	1,464	1,471
16-32	3,920	3,912	3,795	3,836	3,916	3,995	4,013	4,094	4,111	4,159	4,095
33-40	1,186	1,117	1,082	1,003	948	1,008	975	975	1,002	986	991
41-48	1,383	1,379	1,415	1,458	1,507	1,528	1,529	1,418	1,383	1,375	1,292
49-56	1,757	1,667	1,580	1,449	1,384	1,388	1,380	1,306	1,321	1,270	1,271
57-64	270	274	319	397	413	443	463	472	448	493	466
65-72	525	583	539	553	513	510	513	487	486	492	459
73 and over	1,411	1,384	1,446	1,417	1,374	1,375	1,423	1,466	1,475	1,489	1,458
Total	12,218	12,111	11,929	11,834	11,756	11,913	11,932	11,833	11,754	11,728	11,503

Source: DVLA/DfT

1. In 2010 DfT revised stock figures from 2006 to 2009 - see https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/763837/vehicle-licensing-statistics-notes-definitions.pdf

 

Table 1.10: Heavy goods and public service vehicle operators in Scotland by licence type and number vehicles ¹

	HGV				PSV
Number of vehicles specified on licence	Restricted	Standard National	Standard International	Total licence holders	Restricted	Standard National	Standard International	Total licence holders
0-2	2,087	1,260	259	3,606	228	151	32	411
3-5	337	497	130	964	5	77	23	105
6-10	137	276	54	467	-	63	31	94
11-20	47	188	52	287	-	51	19	70
21-50	27	115	35	177	-	19	19	38
51-100	3	53	13	69	-	8	5	13
101-200	2	22	4	28	-	3	3	6
201+	-	5	3	8	-	4	3	7
Total	2,640	2,416	550	5,606	233	376	135	744

1. As at December 2020

Source: Figures in previous versions of this table were obtained from VOSA. These figures are are on a differenct basis and have been obtained from the

Traffic Commissioners office: https://data.gov.uk/dataset/2a67d1ee-8f1b-43a3-8bc6-e8772d162a3c/traffic-commissioners-goods-and-public-service-vehicle-operator-licence-records

 

Table 1.11: The 20 most popular new cars sold in Scotland ¹, 2019

Position	Make	Range	Number of cars sold	Market share percent
1	FORD	FIESTA	6,960	3.9
2	VAUXHALL	CORSA	6,098	3.5
3	VOLKSWAGEN	GOLF	3,891	2.2
4	VOLKSWAGEN	POLO	3,752	2.1
5	FORD	FOCUS	3,677	2.1
6	MERCEDES	A-CLASS	3,411	1.9
7	NISSAN	QASHQAI	3,255	1.8
8	MINI	MINI	3,098	1.8
9	FORD	KUGA	2,736	1.6
10	VAUXHALL	GRANDLAND X	2,681	1.5
11	VOLKSWAGEN	T-ROC	2,535	1.4
12	KIA	SPORTAGE	2,491	1.4
13	VAUXHALL	MOKKA X	2,433	1.4
14	VOLKSWAGEN	TIGUAN	2,423	1.4
15	TOYOTA	AYGO	2,283	1.3
16	FORD	ECOSPORT	2,230	1.3
17	RENAULT	CLIO	2,198	1.2
18	TOYOTA	YARIS	2,155	1.2
19	PEUGEOT	3008	2,048	1.2
20	BMW	1 SERIES	2,031	1.2
Total top 20 cars			62,386	35.3
Total all other cars			114,117	64.7
Total cars sold			176,503	100.0

Source: SMMT - Not National Statistics

1. Figures relate to cars sold by members of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders Ltd to customers resident in Scotland. Figures differ from the numbers of new registrations of cars in Table 1.1, as the latter may include cars purchased elsewhere.

 

Table 1.12: Road vehicle testing scheme (MOT) ^{1, 8}

	20th May 2019 - 19th May 2020 9	Failures with at least one Dangerous defect	Failures with only Major defects		20th May 2019 - 19th May 2020 9	Failures with at least one Dangerous defect	Failures with only Major defects
Cars 2			thousands	Private Passenger (over 12 seats)			thousands
Total Tests	2,366.6			Total Tests	4.1
Pass with Rectification at Station	106.7			Pass with Rectification at Station	0.2
Fail	691.1	237.9	559.9	Fail	1.0	0.3	0.8
Initial Failure Rate 4	33.7	10.1	23.7	Initial Failure Rate 4	28.0	7.7	20.3
Final Failure Rate 5	29.2			Final Failure Rate 5	24.2
Body, chassis, structure	5.3	0.4	5.0	Body, chassis, structure	5.6	1.0	5.1
Brakes	11.9	3.8	10.0	Brakes	13.3	3.6	12.3
Identification of the vehicle	0.4	0.0	0.4	Buses and coaches supplementary tests	2.0	0.1	1.9
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment	12.1	0.2	12.0	Identification of the vehicle	0.3	-	0.3
Noise, emissions and leaks	3.7	0.1	3.7	Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment	12.4	0.2	12.3
Road Wheels	0.3	0.1	0.3	Noise, emissions and leaks	3.0	0.1	2.9
Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems	1.2	0.0	1.2	Road Wheels	0.1	-	0.1
Speedometer and speed limiter	0.0	0.0	0.0	Seat belt installation check	-	-	-
Steering	2.7	0.2	2.6	Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems	4.0	0.2	3.8
Suspension	13.3	0.9	12.9	Speedometer and speed limiter	0.7	-	0.7
Tyres	7.0	5.6	1.7	Steering	2.9	0.1	2.8
Visibility	5.3	0.0	5.2	Suspension	9.1	1.3	8.3
				Tyres	2.8	2.2	0.8
Defect Items per Initial Test Failure	2.89	0.44	2.44	Visibility	3.9	-	3.9
				Defect Items per Initial Test Failure	3.73	0.41	3.32
	20th May 2019 - 19th May 2020 9	Failures with at least one Dangerous defect	Failures with only Major defects		20th May 2019 - 19th May 2020 9	Failures with at least one Dangerous defect	Failures with only Major defects
Motor cycles			thousands	Light goods vehicles 7			thousands
Total Tests	59.7			Total Tests	60.9
Pass with Rectification at Station	2.6			Pass with Rectification at Station	2.6
Fail	5.7	2.4	5.9	Fail	22.5	8.7	16.4
Initial Failure Rate 4	13.9	4.1	9.9	Initial Failure Rate 4	41.3	14.3	27.0
Final Failure Rate 5	9.5			Final Failure Rate 5	37.0
Identification of the vehicle	0.7	0.0	0.7	Body, chassis, structure	8.3	0.9	7.8
Motorcycle audible warning (Horn)	0.6	0.0	0.6	Brakes	23.0	8.0	20.5
Motorcycle brakes	3.4	1.1	2.6	Identification of the vehicle	0.7	-	0.7
Motorcycle lamps and reflectors	7.4	0.3	7.2	Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment	22.6	0.6	22.4
Motorcycle steering	1.4	0.4	1.1	Noise, emissions and leaks	5.3	0.1	5.2
Motorcycle structure and attachments	2.5	0.6	2.0	Road Wheels	0.2	-	0.2
Motorcycle suspension	2.3	0.2	2.2	Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems	2.7	0.2	2.6
Motorcycle tyres	2.2	1.9	0.3	Speedometer and speed limiter	-	-	-
Motorcycle wheels	0.2	0.1	0.1	Steering	5.1	0.4	4.8
				Suspension	15.1	1.9	14.1
Defect Items per Initial Test Failure	1.88	0.36	1.52	Tyres	6.1	4.8	1.5
				Visibility	7.8	0.1	7.8
				Defect Items per Initial Test Failure	4.27	0.53	3.73

1. Vehicle numbers are for valid, and completed normal tests only. Retests are excluded.

2. Cars, vans and passenger vehicles with up to 12 seats.

3. PRS = Pass with Rectification at Station

4. Initial Failure Rate = (PRS + Failures) / Total Tests

5. Final Failure Rate = Failures / Total Tests

6. Reason for Rejection

7. Over 3,000kg and up to and including 3,500kg.

8. There was a significant change in regulations for the MOT scheme on 20th May 2018. Whilst the basic failure rates can be directly compared, with a recognition of the changes, the defect categories were totally changed, and there is no direct comparison. In addition, new 'Deficiency Categories' were introduced. Dangerous for the most serious issues, and Major for other failure items. Figures are provided here with the new Deficiency Categories.

9. For the Financial Year 2019/20, there was a drop in testing volumes in the last two weeks of March 2020 as Covid restrictions started to emerge.

The six monht extension of expiry dates began on 31st March, and figures for 2020/21 will be substatially changed due to that.

 

Table 1.13: Driving licence tests, DVLA receipts¹

	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019
Theory 4									thousand
Applications received	..	..	..	..	..	..	..
Theory tests conducted	103	99	122	129	190	147	164	149	164
Theory test passes	66	61	67	69	94	76	90	81	86
									percent
Theory test pass rate	64	62	54	54	49	52	55	54	52
Practical 2,4									thousand
Applications received	130	119	126	127	136	143	142	135	144
Driving tests concluded	125	113	124	123	123	140	133	125	123
Passes	59	54	58	59	60	69	65	60	59
									percent
Pass rate	47	47	47	48	48	50	49	48	48
DVLA receipts									£ million
Vehicle licences 3	479.0	473.0	479.6	512.5	512.7	..	..	..	..
Driving licences	..	..	..	..	..	..	..	..	..
Total	..	..	..	..	..	..	..	..	..

Source: DVLA and DSA - Not National Statistics

1. Figures relate to the financial year which commences in the specified calendar year.

2. The practical test figures are provisional.

3. The vehicle licence figure does not include refunds issued. DVLA are currently investigating the financial accuracy of these figures and an update for vehicle licences is not available at the moment.

4. These figures are for car licence tests only.

 

Table 1.14: Practical Driving Test - Pass Rate at Test Centres 2019-20

	Male			Female			Overall
	Conducted	Pass	Pass rate	Conducted	Pass	Pass rate	Conducted	Pass	Pass rate
Aberdeen North (Bridge of Don) (M)	1,824	992	54.4%	2,137	1,024	47.9%	3,962	2,016	50.9%
Aberdeen South (Cove) (M)	1,368	832	60.8%	1,617	861	53.2%	2,985	1,693	56.7%
Airdrie (M)	1,763	856	48.6%	1,936	831	42.9%	3,699	1,687	45.6%
Alness (R)	426	237	55.6%	441	254	57.6%	867	491	56.6%
Arbroath (R)	305	206	67.5%	343	244	71.1%	648	450	69.4%
Ayr (M)	989	499	50.5%	1,084	486	44.8%	2,074	985	47.5%
Ballater (R)	68	54	79.4%	69	52	75.4%	137	106	77.4%
Banff (R)	125	83	66.4%	107	70	65.4%	232	153	65.9%
Bishopbriggs (M)	2,793	1,327	47.5%	2,844	1,239	43.6%	5,637	2,566	45.5%
Buckie (R)	102	56	54.9%	104	67	64.4%	206	123	59.7%
Callander (O)	81	39	48.1%	125	60	48.0%	206	99	48.1%
Campbeltown (R)	38	30	78.9%	57	40	70.2%	95	70	73.7%
Castle Douglas (R)	171	74	43.3%	183	92	50.3%	354	166	46.9%
Crieff (R)	54	39	72.2%	90	48	53.3%	144	87	60.4%
Cumnock (T)	448	281	62.7%	506	271	53.6%	954	552	57.9%
Dumbarton (M)	806	409	50.7%	872	401	46.0%	1,680	811	48.3%
Dumfries (M)	874	426	48.7%	879	393	44.7%	1,753	819	46.7%
Dundee (M)	2,283	1,353	59.3%	2,527	1,356	53.7%	4,811	2,709	56.3%
Dunfermline (Vine) (M)	971	504	51.9%	1,189	586	49.3%	2,160	1,090	50.5%
Dunoon (R)	86	55	64.0%	123	73	59.3%	209	128	61.2%
Duns (R )	60	40	66.7%	66	47	71.2%	126	87	69.0%
East Kilbride (T)	716	334	46.6%	1,039	493	47.4%	1,755	827	47.1%
Edinburgh (Currie) (M)	2,970	1,552	52.3%	3,101	1,450	46.8%	6,072	3,003	49.5%
Edinburgh (Musselburgh) (M)	3,510	1,604	45.7%	4,243	1,589	37.4%	7,754	3,194	41.2%
Elgin (M)	902	452	50.1%	1,017	484	47.6%	1,919	936	48.8%
Forfar (R)	284	199	70.1%	295	181	61.4%	579	380	65.6%
Fort William (R)	180	113	62.8%	179	120	67.0%	359	233	64.9%
Fraserburgh (O)	221	152	68.8%	263	168	63.9%	484	320	66.1%
Gairloch (R)	30	21	70.0%	28	21	75.0%	58	42	72.4%
Galashiels (M)	407	225	55.3%	363	188	51.8%	770	413	53.6%
Girvan (T)	84	66	78.6%	145	83	57.2%	229	149	65.1%
Glasgow (Anniesland) (M)	5,014	1,982	39.5%	4,854	1,739	35.8%	9,872	3,721	37.7%
Glasgow (Baillieston) (M)	3,214	1,435	44.6%	3,614	1,463	40.5%	6,829	2,898	42.4%
Glasgow (Shieldhall) (M)	2,724	1,100	40.4%	2,762	1,009	36.5%	5,487	2,110	38.5%
Golspie (R)	52	39	75.0%	44	28	63.6%	96	67	69.8%
Grangemouth (M)	1,653	966	58.4%	1,774	905	51.0%	3,427	1,871	54.6%
Grantown-On-Spey (R)	43	28	65.1%	49	37	75.5%	92	65	70.7%
Greenock (M)	900	410	45.6%	1,053	451	42.8%	1,953	861	44.1%
Haddington (R )	538	331	61.5%	570	291	51.1%	1,108	622	56.1%
Hamilton (M)	2,490	1,189	47.8%	2,760	1,111	40.3%	5,250	2,300	43.8%
Hawick (R)	145	101	69.7%	204	110	53.9%	349	211	60.5%
Huntly (R)	106	61	57.5%	123	70	56.9%	229	131	57.2%
Inveraray (R)	31	26	83.9%	29	24	82.8%	60	50	83.3%
Inverness (Seafield Road)	1,256	605	48.2%	1,479	609	41.2%	2,735	1,214	44.4%
Inverurie (R )	411	237	57.7%	432	233	53.9%	843	470	55.8%
Irvine (M)	1,960	1,098	56.0%	2,297	1,097	47.8%	4,257	2,195	51.6%
Islay Island (R )	25	19	76.0%	34	25	73.5%	59	44	74.6%
Isle of Mull (R )	..	..	..	..	..	..	17	15	88.2%
Isle of Skye (Portree) (R)	71	47	66.2%	64	48	75.0%	135	95	70.4%
Isle of Tiree	..	..	..	..	..	..	7	6	85.7%
Kelso (R)	109	66	60.6%	126	67	53.2%	235	133	56.6%
Kingussie (R)	22	13	59.1%	35	15	42.9%	57	28	49.1%
Kirkcaldy (M)	2,139	1,140	53.3%	2,576	1,191	46.2%	4,715	2,331	49.4%
Kyle of Lochalsh (R)	51	36	70.6%	55	36	65.5%	106	72	67.9%
Lairg (R)	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Lanark (R )	668	367	54.9%	941	459	48.8%	1,609	826	51.3%
Lerwick (R)	200	126	63.0%	210	140	66.7%	410	266	64.9%
Livingston (M)	1,855	932	50.2%	2,191	1,025	46.8%	4,046	1,957	48.4%
Lochgilphead (R)	69	51	73.9%	56	37	66.1%	125	88	70.4%
Mallaig (R)	19	16	84.2%	11	8	72.7%	30	24	80.0%
Montrose (Broomfield Ind Estate) (R)	216	148	68.5%	270	186	68.9%	486	334	68.7%
Newton Stewart (R)	100	60	60.0%	135	77	57.0%	235	137	58.3%
Oban (R)	159	100	62.9%	162	91	56.2%	321	191	59.5%
Orkney (R)	138	104	75.4%	173	109	63.0%	311	213	68.5%
Paisley (M)	2,617	1,252	47.8%	3,043	1,316	43.2%	5,661	2,568	45.4%
Peebles (R)	95	72	75.8%	149	89	59.7%	244	161	66.0%
Perth (Arran Road) (M)	1,016	566	55.7%	1,271	520	40.9%	2,287	1,086	47.5%
Peterhead (M)	485	325	67.0%	572	336	58.7%	1,057	661	62.5%
Pitlochry (R)	48	40	83.3%	76	61	80.3%	124	101	81.5%
Rothesay (R)	57	30	52.6%	53	38	71.7%	110	68	61.8%
Stirling (M)	1,598	759	47.5%	1,758	764	43.5%	3,356	1,523	45.4%
Stornoway (R)	139	85	61.2%	208	111	53.4%	347	196	56.5%
Stranraer (R)	160	99	61.9%	118	77	65.3%	278	176	63.3%
Thurso (R)	78	49	62.8%	115	78	67.8%	193	127	65.8%
Ullapool (R)	26	19	73.1%	29	21	72.4%	55	40	72.7%
Wick (M)	125	74	59.2%	131	85	64.9%	256	159	62.1%
zDunfermline	245	125	51.0%	280	134	47.9%	525	259	49.3%
Scotland	58,006	29,438	50.7%	64,858	29,593	45.6%	122,902	59,056	48.1%

Source: Driver & Vehicle Standards Agency - Not National Statistics

(M) - Main Test Centre

(O) - Outstation

(R) - Remote Driving Test Centre

(T) - Taking Testing to the Customer site

z prefix indicates test centre is now closed

Note: Centres where only one examiner has conducted tests have been removed from the details, though they have been included in the national totals.

Inverness (Longman Drive) and Isle of Skye (Broadford) are now closed

Table 1.15: People who hold a full car driving licence by age

Note: This table has been removed as data are no longer available for Scotland. Latest Scottish estimates are given in table 1.16 although this is based on a different source.

 

Table 1.16: People who hold a full driving licence 2019

	Age group								All	Sample size
	17-19	20-29	30-39	40-49	50-59	60-69	70-79	80+	17 +
								percentage of the relevant sub-group 1		number
All people:	39	60	72	82	81	76	70	43	71	9,720
by sex:
Men	36	64	76	85	87	83	83	62	77	4,330
Women	43	57	67	79	76	71	60	29	66	5,390
Identified in another way	**	**	**	**	**	**	**	**	**	-
Refused	**	**	**	**	**	**	**	**	**	-
by ethnicity:
White Scottish	44	65	77	82	80	76	69	41	72	7,590
White other British	**	70	77	94	91	83	80	60	81	1,270
White Polish	**	**	57	**	**	**	**	**	50	150
Other white	**	32	54	78	**	**	**	**	53	400
Asian, Asian Scottish or Asian British	**	**	55	**	**	**	**	**	57	190
Other	**	**	**	**	**	**	**	**	54	130
by current situation:
Self employed	**	**	87	89	96	95	**	**	90	630
Employed full time	**	73	80	90	89	88	**	**	83	3,210
Employed part time	**	59	73	82	81	79	**	**	75	1,050
Looking after the home or family	**	31	43	64	71	**	**	**	52	360
Permanently retired from work	**	**	**	**	83	78	69	43	67	3,280
Unemployed and seeking work	**	20	44	**	56	**	**	**	39	290
In further / higher education	43	48	**	**	**	**	**	**	47	270
Permanently sick or disabled	**	**	8	34	39	32	**	**	59	500
by annual net household income:
up to £ 10,000 p.a.	**	33	36	58	57	69	55	33	50	900
over £ 10,000, up to £ 15,000	**	36	47	40	55	64	65	36	52	1,400
over £ 15,000, up to £ 20,000	**	46	51	62	73	70	70	35	59	1,470
over £ 20,000, up to £ 25,000	**	58	65	74	77	73	73	50	67	1,190
over £ 25,000, up to £ 30,000	**	72	69	77	84	76	77	73	75	900
over £ 30,000, up to £ 40,000	**	70	73	89	85	87	77	**	79	1,370
over £40,000 - £50,000	**	81	84	92	93	91	**	**	86	900
over £50,000 p.a.	**	80	90	97	95	94	**	**	91	1,200
by Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation:
1 - Most Deprived	**	41	55	64	56	49	44	19	49	1,810
2	**	60	66	75	75	69	57	34	65	1,990
3	**	64	74	83	83	80	75	42	73	2,090
4	**	69	84	93	92	86	79	53	82	2,050
5 - Least Deprived	**	73	87	94	96	91	88	63	86	1,790
by urban / rural classification:
Large urban areas	25	53	64	76	76	70	62	37	63	2,920
Other urban areas	38	63	71	81	78	74	65	46	70	3,330
Accessible small towns	**	71	80	90	88	79	75	39	79	860
Remote small towns	**	58	77	80	82	75	78	33	72	570
Accessible rural areas	**	75	90	96	92	90	84	57	86	1,040
Remote rural areas	**	80	92	90	93	88	79	43	84	1,010
Sample size (age group)	140	1,020	1,490	1,380	1,680	1,690	1,510	820	9,720	9,720

Source: Scottish Household Survey. The interviewer asks whether the person holds a full driving licence (car or motorcycle).

* Percentage includes people for whom it was not known, or not recorded, what type of driving licence (if any) was held

** Percentages based on a denominator of 50 respondents or fewer are not shown.

Estimates based on smaller sample sizes may be subject to larger levels of variation and therefore may see relatively large fluctuations over time

 

Table 1.17: People who hold a full driving licence, 2008-2018

	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019
All people											percent of population 1
Age group
17-19	25	27	26	28	26	29	26	30	31	29	39
20-29	58	58	54	58	56	56	54	55	55	57	60
30-39	77	76	77	75	74	73	72	73	73	73	72
40-49	80	81	80	80	80	82	82	81	81	79	82
50-59	78	78	78	79	80	79	78	81	81	79	81
60-69	75	72	74	73	74	74	76	76	77	77	76
70-79	55	54	57	59	60	61	62	63	67	70	70
80+	37	37	35	37	41	40	43	43	47	48	43
All aged 17+	68	68	67	68	68	69	68	69	70	70	71
Sample size	12,447	12,361	12,801	9,828	9,838	9,720	9,340	9,570	9,760	9,650	9,720
Men
Age group
17-19	28	28	33	35	24	32	28	36	42	33	36
20-29	61	64	58	59	60	59	55	58	57	58	64
30-39	81	80	81	78	78	77	73	78	76	76	76
40-49	86	86	84	86	84	85	85	82	83	82	85
50-59	85	85	87	85	88	85	84	85	85	85	87
60-69	86	84	86	83	86	85	83	83	85	86	83
70-79	78	74	79	79	76	80	76	81	80	83	83
80+	60	59	60	63	64	66	67	65	66	68	62
All aged 17+	76	76	76	76	76	76	73	75	75	76	77
Sample size	5,400	5,450	5,515	4,377	4,405	4,410	4,210	4,360	4,520	4,280	4,330
Women
Age group
17-19	21	25	17	19	29	27	23	26	22	25	43
20-29	56	51	51	57	52	54	53	53	54	55	57
30-39	73	73	73	71	71	69	71	69	71	71	67
40-49	74	76	77	74	76	80	79	80	78	76	79
50-59	71	72	70	75	72	73	72	77	76	73	76
60-69	64	62	63	65	64	65	68	68	70	68	71
70-79	38	40	43	43	48	46	52	50	56	59	60
80+	22	21	19	22	26	23	27	28	34	31	29
All aged 17+	61	60	60	62	61	62	63	63	64	64	66
Sample size	7,047	6,911	7,286	5,451	5,433	5,320	5,130	5,210	5,250	5,360	5,390

Source: Scottish Household Survey. The interviewer asks whether the person holds a full driving licence (car or motorcycle).

1. The denominator includes people for whom it was not known, or not recorded, what type of driving licence (if any) was held.

Note: For some age groups the sample sizes are relatively small and so estimates can be subject to greater fluctuations over time.

Table 1.18: Households with the regular use of a car

Note: This table has been removed as data are no longer available for Scotland .

Latest Scottish estimates are given in table 1.19 although this is based on a different source.

 

Table 1.19: Households with a car available for private use¹, 2009-2019 ²

	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019
Cars available for private use:											percent of households
None	30.7	30.3	30.1	31.0	30.2	30.8	30.0	29.3	28.1	28.6	27.6
1	43.7	44.0	44.5	43.0	44.0	43.3	43.3	42.1	42.7	42.0	41.5
2	21.5	21.6	21.0	21.3	21.3	21.1	21.7	23.0	23.4	23.7	24.9
3+	4.2	4.1	4.4	4.6	4.6	4.7	5.1	5.6	5.8	5.7	5.9
1+	69.3	69.7	69.9	69.0	69.8	69.2	70.1	70.7	71.9	71.4	72.4
2+	25.6	25.7	25.4	26.0	25.8	25.9	26.8	28.5	29.2	29.4	30.8
Sample size	14,190	14,214	14,358	10,644	10,652	10,630	10,330	10,470	10,680	10,530	10,580

1. Source : Scottish Household Survey. Vans are not counted in this table.

2. From 2012 Q4 the question was changed to ask about access to cars / vans instead of just cars.

 

Table 1.20: Households with a car or van available for private use ¹, 2019

	Number of cars or vans available for private use						Sample(=100%)
	size
	None	1	2	3 +	1+	2 +
percent of households
All households:	27.6	41.5	24.9	5.9	72.4	30.8	10,580
by household type:
Single adult	48	46	5	1	52	6	1,770
Small adult	21	36	38	5	79	43	1,620
Single parent	46	46	7	1	54	8	520
Small family	9	39	48	4	91	52	1,350
Large family	10	30	43	18	90	61	570
Large adult	9	23	36	32	91	68	850
Older smaller	13	53	31	3	87	34	1,970
Single pensioner	52	46	2	0	48	2	1,940
by annual net household income:
up to £10,000 p.a.	60	32	7	2	40	8	960
over £ 10,000, up to £ 15,000	51	38	9	1	49	11	1,480
over £ 15,000, up to £ 20,000	37	49	12	2	63	14	1,550
over £ 20,000, up to £ 25,000	26	57	14	2	74	16	1,260
over £ 25,000, up to £ 30,000	20	48	26	6	80	32	990
over £ 30,000, up to £ 40,000	11	46	34	9	89	43	1,510
over £40,000 - £50,000	6	37	46	10	94	57	1,020
over £50,000 p.a.	3	26	56	15	97	71	1,370
1 - Most Deprived	48	38	12	2	52	14	1,970
2	34	43	18	5	66	23	2,150
3	24	44	26	6	76	32	2,280
4	17	41	34	8	83	42	2,250
5 - Least Deprived	13	42	36	8	87	44	1,940
by urban / rural classification:
Large urban areas	38	40	18	3	62	21	3,170
Other urban areas	27	42	25	6	73	31	3,630
Accessible small towns	22	40	31	8	78	38	940
Remote small towns	24	45	26	5	76	31	610
Accessible rural areas	10	40	38	12	90	50	1,160
Remote rural areas	13	45	34	9	87	43	1,070

Source : Scottish Household Survey.

1. From 2012 Q4 the question was amended to ask about access to cars / vans instead of just vans.

 

Table 1.21: Number of blue badges¹ on issue, time series and 2020 breakdown

Badges on issue as at 31st March 2020:
Council	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	202011	Organisat-ions	Individuals - Automatic3	Individuals - Discretionary4
Aberdeen City	7,887	5,183	6,552	6,643	6,908	6,863	6,820	7,159	98	3,013	4,048
Aberdeenshire5	12,166	8,155	10,685	10,210	9,838	9,604	9,252	9,689	128	4,394	5,167
Angus	4,892	5,451	4,982	4,845	5,018	5,138	5,117	5,713	84	2,657	2,972
Argyll & Bute	3,867	3,433	3,934	4,114	4,213	4,336	4,344	4,686	113	1,845	2,728
Clackmannanshire	2,377	2,572	2,128	2,161	2,233	2,226	2,227	2,407	15	1,296	1,096
Dumfries & Galloway	3,212	3,096	9,236	9,337	8,857	9,014	8,863	9,223	58	4,178	4,987
Dundee City	5,776	5,252	5,292	5,452	5,619	5,916	6,033	6,680	74	3,269	3,337
East Ayrshire	6,098	5,735	6,595	6,427	6,617	6,329	6,134	6,561	67	3,536	2,958
East Dunbartonshire	2,905	4,847	4,473	4,661	4,730	4,794	4,772	5,408	68	1,983	3,357
East Lothian	5,131	5,293	4,680	4,712	4,855	4,918	4,934	5,537	11	2,092	3,434
East Renfrewshire	4,375	4,020	4,307	4,322	4,581	4,645	4,643	5,032	35	1,559	3,438
Edinburgh, City of 10	17,502	16,922	15,264	14,868	14,444	14,396	14,107	15,212	347	6,051	8,814
Eilean Siar	961	922	863	902	939	964	989	1,103	18	534	551
Falkirk	8,256	7,332	6,877	6,899	7,104	7,254	7,404	7,813	80	3,670	4,063
Fife	19,750	18,877	18,646	17,299	17,931	17,869	17,788	18,999	107	9,610	9,282
Glasgow, City of 6	23,692	19,350	21,784	21,642	21,161	21,627	21,531	23,417	297	12,228	10,892
Highland 7	9,938	10,855	9,164	9,215	9,371	9,521	9,470	10,289	128	4,329	5,832
Inverclyde	5,099	4,955	4,439	4,283	4,282	4,367	4,341	4,532	89	1,889	2,554
Midlothian	3,164	4,716	4,416	4,332	4,237	4,345	4,512	5,059	30	2,045	2,984
Moray	4,033	3,687	3,608	3,669	3,699	3,825	3,863	4,174	11	1,733	2,430
North Ayrshire	6,040	6,157	7,086	7,196	7,343	7,534	7,430	7,812	69	3,639	4,104
North Lanarkshire	16,957	18,352	16,453	15,741	16,537	16,225	16,586	17,729	60	9,225	8,444
Orkney Islands 8	1,108	1,050	1,119	1,096	1,100	1,100	1,114	1,221	32	436	753
Perth & Kinross	5,975	6,814	6,542	6,651	6,831	6,779	6,714	7,177	119	2,499	4,559
Renfrewshire	7,873	8,326	7,730	7,838	8,205	7,902	7,744	8,240	106	4,486	3,648
Scottish Borders 9	6,456	5,980	4,961	4,889	5,062	5,161	5,086	5,555	36	2,102	3,417
Shetland Islands	800	953	878	892	974	1,005	1,044	1,112	14	386	712
South Ayrshire	5,212	5,475	5,537	5,703	5,785	5,806	5,707	5,992	65	2,529	3,398
South Lanarkshire	15,602	15,826	16,218	16,218	15,796	15,488	15,221	16,482	47	8,437	7,998
Stirling	4,374	4,082	3,918	3,892	3,859	4,027	4,028	4,480	55	1,762	2,663
West Dunbartonshire	4,221	4,936	4,548	4,546	4,652	4,676	4,554	4,785	57	2,690	2,038
West Lothian	9,529	9,615	8,912	8,873	8,641	8,880	8,526	8,795	107	5,002	3,686
Total 9	245,035	228,219	231,827	229,528	231,422	232,534	230,898	248,073	2,625	115,104	130,344

Source: Scottish Government - Not National Statistics

1. Blue Badges for display on motor vehicles used by disabled persons were introduced on 1 April 2000.

2. Totals relate to the number of badges on issue as at 31st March that year. Data prior to 2008 not available.

3. The automatic category includes badges issued to individuals in receipt of the higher rate mobility component of Disability Living Allowance, certain levels of Personal Independence Payment, a War Pensioners' Mobility Supplement, a lump sum (tariffs 1-8) of the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme, or to blind or registered blind people. (Not subject to further assessment.)

4. Badges issued in the discretionary category to people with a substantial permanent or temporary disability who are unable or virtually unable to walk or pose a risk to themselves or others in traffic or who have difficulty using parking meters (Disabled Persons (Badges for Motor Vehicles) (Scotland) Regulations 2000 as amended).(May be subject to further assessment.)

5. Aberdeenshire introduced an electronic data capture system in 2010; therefore figures may not be comparable with previous years.

6. Glasgow changed data capture process in 2011; therefore figures may not be comparable with previous years.

7. Highland Council, in April 2010, introduced a fee for the first time which may have contributed to the decline in number of badges issued.

8. Orkney introduced an electronic system in 2009; therefore figures may not be comparable with previous years.

9. Scottish Borders data was reviewed in 2012. Data is not available for previous years and is therefore excluded from the totals. Scottish Borders is included in the 2012 totals

10. City of Edinburgh Council advised of error in 2013 total. Revised figure down from 27,309 to17,502

11. The 2020 figures include cancelled and replaced badges as we now have the timestamps for those elements. This takes into account badges that may have been cancelled or replaced after March 2020.

Table 1.22: Motor vehicle offences recorded by the police by type of offence

Discontinuities in the table

2013-14 is the first full reporting year since the establishment of Police Scotland. As a result, data is no longer returned by the eight legacy police force areas and instead comes from one central unit within Police Scotland, using their new performance management reporting tool. To ensure that the dataset produced from this new system is consistent with data returned from legacy police forces, an extensive quality assurance exercise has been carried out to closely compare the data held by the Scottish Government with that extracted from the new force system.

This exercise has identified a number of anomalies affecting comparability of the time series resulting in breaks in the series. Vertical lines between figures represent these breaks and comparisons should not be directly made between the two series. The Scottish Government is investigating these issues further and seeking a resolution. Should this be possible, the web tables on the Transport Scotland website will be updated with revised figures for the table below. Further information about these discontinuities can be found in the Technical report, entitled Recorded Crime: Comparability of Police Scotland and Legacy Force Data, available from http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Crime-Justice/PubRecordedCrime/TechnicalReport

 

Table 1.22: Motor vehicle offences recorded by the police by type of offence

Type of offence	2010/11	2011/12	2012/13	2013/14	2014/15	2015/16	2016/17	2017/18	2018/19	2019/20
Serious Driving Offences
Dangerous driving	2,387	2,422	2,476	2,957	2,428	2,881	2,875	2,854	2,897	3,019
Careless driving	7,452	7,431	8,054	8,567	8,345	9,176	8,818	7,868	8,092	8,227
Drunk Driving of which:	7,563	7,445	6,433	6,079	5,218	5,458	5,917	5,863	5,847	6,594
Driving while unfit through drink/drugs	502	584	459	490	450	540	653	719	771	742
In charge while unfit through drink/drugs	59	63	52	92	54	71	123	137	148	159
Driving with excess blood alcohol	4,979	4,889	4,223	3,819	3,161	3,239	3,465	3,262	3,201	3,275
In charge with excess blood alcohol	484	433	445	419	390	364	331	333	333	324
Driving with concentration of drug above limit 5	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	573
Being in charge with concentration of drug above limit 5	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	43
Failing to provide breath specimen at the roadside	633	577	495	517	477	509	569	602	591	630
Failing to provide breath, blood or urine specimen at a police station	906	899	759	742	686	735	776	810	803	848
Failing to stop after accident	6,586	5,955	6,804	5,921	5,574	7,660	8,705	14,694	14,758	15,503
Driving while disqualified	1,640	1,466	1,311	1,208	898	1,162	1,371	1,414	1,285	1,396
Speeding Offences
Speeding in restricted areas	50,890	53,068	62,188	38,400	29,316	23,145	13,395	10,685	10,371	10,166
Other speeding offences2,3	63,948	73,078	62,079	44,350	31,937	31,593	21,360	18,737	17,194	18,784
Signal and Direction Offences
Traffic direction offences	34,195	31,786	34,404	26,539	16,307	11,253	5,981	4,496	4,133	3,870
Pedestrian crossing offences	3,944	4,317	4,537	3,776	2,268	1,644	1,181	869	785	858
Lighting, Construction and Use Offences
Lighting offences2	8,910	10,120	10,934	9,284	7,043	5,029	2,264	1,615	1,553	1,256
Construction and use regulations2	12,271	12,681	11,884	11,639	8,550	8,041	6,121	5,434	5,554	6,090
Documentation Offences
Vehicle excise licence offences 4	11,673	12,710	11,812	6,601	2,634	3,098	4,664	3,792	176	193
No test certificate2	10,788	11,650	12,380	18,546	15,528	14,609	14,725	15,145	14,020	14,987
Driving licence offences2	7,424	7,264	7,474	9,492	6,396	6,555	7,018	6,311	5,791	5,718
Third party insurance offences2	17,860	17,407	17,228	18,998	13,747	14,407	16,806	15,945	14,349	15,226
Registration/identification offences	4,520	3,879	3,375	2,934	1,652	1,639	1,394	1,264	1,227	1,502
Other Offences
Failure to provide information to identify driver2	1,206	1,230	971	1,528	1,394	1,474	1,536	1,348	1,296	1,321
Tachograph etc offences	2,437	1,972	2,025	1,635	1,560	1,682	1,268	950	569	424
Seat belt offences2	29,171	31,505	33,047	37,880	15,619	8,059	4,502	3,134	2,921	2,800
Mobile phone offences	27,736	29,110	30,875	35,764	17,978	10,085	6,709	3,173	2,895	2,450
Parking offences	171	177	158	143	105	163	99	76	78	71
Other offences	2,403	2,528	2048	1,850	1,488	1,484	1,459	1,348	1,314	1,452
Total offences1	315,175	329,201	332,497	294,091	195,985	170,297	138,168	127,015	117,105	121,907

Source: Recorded Crime, Scottish Government

Notes:

1. The full time series is no longer comparable, the vertical lines in the table represents the break in the series. Direct comparison between the period on either side of the break in the series should not be made. Further information can be found at: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Crime-Justice/PubRecordedCrime/TechnicalReport

2 A number of historic figures in these categories have been revised as a result of the quality assurance process noted above and will not match the figures presented in earlier editions of STS, further information can be found at the link in note 1.

3. Includes motorway and clearway offences, which previously appeared as a separate category under Other offences.

4. The number of Vehicle Excise Licence Offences recorded decreased from 3,792 in 2017-18 to 176 in 2018-19. This was largely due to standardisation of practice across Police Scotland divisions in November 2017, whereby the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (rather than the police) took primacy in dealing with these offences.

5. New offences introduced in October 2019 in relation to drug driving (driving or being in charge of a motor vehicle with concentration of a specified controlled drug above a specified limit).

 

Table 1.23: Households with a car or van available by gender, 2011

	Total Number
	None	1	2+	(=100%)
			percent of people in households
All people in households:	23	40	37	5,196,386
Men	20	40	39	2,521,307
Women	25	40	35	2,675,079

Source: Scottish Census 2011, National Records of Scotland

 

Table 1.24: Households with a car or van available, 2011

	Total Number
	None	1	2+	(=100%)
			percent of households
All households:	31	42	27	2,372,777
by selected household type:
Single adult (aged under 65)	48	48	4	511,447
Married or cohabiting family with dependent children	8	36	56	409,369
Married or cohabiting family with no children	11	44	44	413,022
Single parent	43	45	12	263,360
All students	63	27	10	20,928
Single pensioner	64	35	1	311,867
by tenure:
Owned outright	8	38	54	652,675
Owned with a mortgage or loan	6	38	56	1,585,110
Social rented (council)	49	38	13	372,920
Social rented (other)	53	37	10	317,812
Private rented (private landlord or letting agency)	41	40	18	421,264

Source: Scottish Census 2011, National Records of Scotland

 

Table 1.25: Households with a car or van available by disability and ethnicity, 2011

	Total Number
	None	1	2+	(=100%)
			percent of people in households
All people in households:	23	40	37	5,196,386
by disability:
Day-to-day activites limited a lot	46	40	14	472,795
Day-to-day activites limited a little	34	42	23	523,272
Day-to-day activites not limited	19	40	42	4,200,319
by ethnicity:
White: Total	22	40	38	4,995,665
White: Scottish	22	40	38	4,382,131
White: Other British	16	41	43	403,604
White: Irish	27	40	33	52,086
White: Gypsy/Traveller	35	41	24	4,029
White: Polish	31	52	17	60,324
White: Other White	32	42	26	93,491
Mixed or multiple ethnic groups	26	42	32	19,068
Asian, Asian Scottish or Asian British: Total	27	38	35	133,506
Asian, Asian Scottish or Asian British: Pakistani, Pakistani Scottish or Pakistani British	16	36	48	48,968
Asian, Asian Scottish or Asian British: Indian, Indian Scottish or Indian British	29	38	33	31,442
Asian, Asian Scottish or Asian British: Bangladeshi, Bangladeshi Scottish or Bangladeshi British	32	41	27	3,710
Asian, Asian Scottish or Asian British: Chinese, Chinese Scottish or Chinese British	36	36	28	29,596
Asian, Asian Scottish or Asian British: Other Asian	36	44	19	19,790
African	51	36	13	28,170
Caribbean or Black	39	39	22	6,279
Other ethnic groups: Total	34	43	23	13,698
Other ethnic groups: Arab, Arab Scottish or Arab British	36	42	21	8,959
Other ethnic groups: Other Ethnic Group	31	43	25	4,739

Source: Scottish Census 2011, National Records of Scotland

 

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