New figures from the UK Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) have revealed that motorists with up to 42 penalty points on their licence are still driving on Britain’s roads.
Drivers can be banned from the road if they accumulate 12 points on their licence over a three-year period, but there are 8,000 drivers still getting behind the wheel despite having reached or exceeded that number.
The worst offender was a woman from Isleworth, West London, who accumulated 42 licence penalty points last year, all for failing to disclose the identity of the driver between 26 May and 21 December 2012. A man from Warrington, Cheshire, amassed 36 points for driving without insurance six times in less than two weeks, between 20 February and 2 March 2012.
Other notable offenders include: a man from Southend-on-Sea with 30 points, who was caught speeding ten times between 14 March 2011 and 3 August 2012; a man from Blackburn with 29 points, who was caught speeding eight times in two months, between 29 September 2011 and 29 November 2011; a man from Pevensey, East Sussex, with 24 points who was caught speeding six times in just two weeks, between 30 September and 13 October 2012.
Failing to give the identity of the owner, speeding, and driving uninsured are the most common reasons for points.
The figures were released after a Freedom of Information request by the6187 Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM).
IAM chief executive Simon Best said: “It’s really disappointing to see that this issue has not yet been resolved. DVLA and the Courts Service are upgrading their computer systems to ensure that offence information is shared more efficiently, but this is not due to be in place until October. When drivers with ten speeding offences are getting away with holding a licence, these improvements cannot come quickly enough.
He went on, “The IAM has no sympathy for owners who refuse to reveal the identity of the driver, and we would welcome an urgent consultation on new ways to deal with this problem. Drivers must expect that twelve points means a ban or the whole system falls into disrepute.”
Drivers can be banned from the road if they accumulate 12 points on their licence over a three-year period, but there are 8,000 drivers still getting behind the wheel despite having reached or exceeded that number.
The worst offender was a woman from Isleworth, West London, who accumulated 42 licence penalty points last year, all for failing to disclose the identity of the driver between 26 May and 21 December 2012. A man from Warrington, Cheshire, amassed 36 points for driving without insurance six times in less than two weeks, between 20 February and 2 March 2012.
Other notable offenders include: a man from Southend-on-Sea with 30 points, who was caught speeding ten times between 14 March 2011 and 3 August 2012; a man from Blackburn with 29 points, who was caught speeding eight times in two months, between 29 September 2011 and 29 November 2011; a man from Pevensey, East Sussex, with 24 points who was caught speeding six times in just two weeks, between 30 September and 13 October 2012.
Failing to give the identity of the owner, speeding, and driving uninsured are the most common reasons for points.
The figures were released after a Freedom of Information request by the
IAM chief executive Simon Best said: “It’s really disappointing to see that this issue has not yet been resolved. DVLA and the Courts Service are upgrading their computer systems to ensure that offence information is shared more efficiently, but this is not due to be in place until October. When drivers with ten speeding offences are getting away with holding a licence, these improvements cannot come quickly enough.
He went on, “The IAM has no sympathy for owners who refuse to reveal the identity of the driver, and we would welcome an urgent consultation on new ways to deal with this problem. Drivers must expect that twelve points means a ban or the whole system falls into disrepute.”
