Criminal Attempts Act 1981; Road Traffic Act 1988

Vehicle Interference and Tampering with a Motor Vehicle

The statutory wording, points to prove, defences and penalty — verified against legislation.gov.uk (current revised versions, July 2026).

What the law says

Vehicle Interference and Tampering with a Motor Vehicle — The Criminal Attempts Act 1981 and the Road Traffic Act 1988 create offences which protect motor vehicles such as vehicle interference and tampering with motor vehicles.

CJS codes
Official CJS offence index (March 2026)
—Charged under the specific underlying offence code.

Points to prove

  • 1. The Criminal Attempts Act 1981 and the Road Traffic Act 1988 create offences which protect motor vehicles such as vehicle interference and tampering with motor vehicles.
  • 2. Although a defendant may be trying to take a vehicle without the owner's consent, the 1981 Act does not allow 'criminal attempts' for purely summary offences.

Defences

  • No specific standalone defence was extracted from the source text; consider any applicable statutory defence, reasonable excuse, lawful authority, self-defence, necessity, consent, identification challenge, or other common-law defence on the facts.

Mode of trial & maximum penalty

Varies by offence / see legislation — Varies by offence — vehicle interference (Criminal Attempts Act 1981, s 9): Summary: 3 months' imprisonment and/or a level 4 fine. Tampering with a motor vehicle (Road Traffic Act 1988, s 25): Summary: level 3 fine

Reference only — verify against current legislation and force policy before charge. Spotted an error? Tell us.

Sources

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