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Over ten thousand motorists in the United Kingdom are still allowed to drive in spite of having twelve or more driving licence penalty points. A BBC News analyst has demonstrated that the greatest number of still valid licences that had at least a dozen points was held by motorists that live in the north of England. That people who have such a large number of points on their driving licence are still being allowed on British roads makes a joke of the entire system, according to a number of road charities.
The figures
The figures include a number of individuals who have served temporary bans but then reapplied for a driving licence successfully, the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency says. It does not include drivers who were banned as of June 30th, 2017. If drivers receive as many as twelve penalty points within a three year period they can be banned, though magistrates can choose to not enforce the directive in exceptional circumstances.
The data covers the United Kingdom through to the close of June this year, and also showed that men aged between 25 and 34 had the greatest offending rate, and were also more likely to have gained penalty points. However the licence with the most points – a staggering 51 in total – belongs to a 55 year old woman from Oxfordshire. Around a hundred motorists are still allowed to drive vehicles on the roads of the United Kingdom even though they have a minimum of 24 driving licence points.
Dangerous driving
According to the director of campaigns for the road safety charity Brake, Jason Wakeford, enabling dangerous drivers to keep their licences makes a mockery of the entire system. Wakeford says these drivers have proven their irresponsibility and disregard for the lives of other road users and the law on numerous occasions, and that those who have more than 12 points should be automatically banned, so as to send the clear message that there will be zero tolerance for dangerous driving. However lawyers argue that magistrates carefully consider all cases, and a Ministry of Justice spokeswoman noted that the punishment for offences must fit the crime.
The law and penalty points
Twelve points accumulated on a license within three years results in a ban. The great majority of penalty points are valid for three years following conviction, but remain on licences for as long as four years. The nature of the offence committed determines the number of points accrued.
New drivers need to make sure that they do not accumulate a minimum of six points within the first two years after having passed their test, or their driver’s licence will be revoked. Penalty points on provisional licences that have not expired will carry over to full licences once the driving test has been successfully passed. However any further penalty points will result in them receiving six or more penalty points in the next two years, and will see their licence cancelled.
Those to whom this applies will have to begin the cycle of attempting to gain a licence from the very beginning again. These laws apply to those who passed their test in the United Kingdom, Northern Ireland, the Channel Islands, the European Economic Area and the European Community, Gibraltar and the Isle of Man.
