Learner driver escapes ban despite racking up 51 points

13 motorists are still legally on our roads with more than 28 points, shocking DVLA figures reveal

Learner driver escapes ban despite racking up 51 points
A learner driver with 51 penalty points joins 12 other motorists who have not been disqualified despite having 28 points or more. Image credit: Bigstock.

An Oxford-based learner driver with more than four times the permitted maximum penalty points has escaped a driving ban, joining two other motorists in the UK with more than 40 points on their licence who have not been disqualified.

The information was released by the DVLA following a Freedom of Information request from The Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM).

The numbers of drivers with 12 or more points has gone up by nearly ten per cent in just seven months between March and October 2015.

Three million licence holders in the UK carry penalty points, 13 of which have accumulated 28 or more.

Drivers are normally only allowed a maximum of 12 penalty points in three years, or six points on two years if they hold a provisional licence.

Judicial discretion

The DVLA claims that 90 per cent of drivers not disqualified are due to judicial discretion.

It told the IAM: “In a small percentage of cases where the driver has accumulated 12 or more penalty points, the agency understands that a court can exercise its discretion and not disqualify the driver.

“In the majority of these cases, magistrates may have decided to allow drivers to retain their entitlement to drive where it is considered that disqualification would”

Sarah Sillars, IAM chief executive officer, said: “Individual courts making decision on prosecutions can lead to inconsistency in how the law is applied which risks devaluing the simple ‘12 points and you’re out’ road safety message.

“If the public sees that persistent offenders are getting away with it, they may believe that road traffic rules – which let not us not forget, are designed for their safety – are ineffective or unimportant.”

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <s> <strike> <strong>


The reCAPTCHA verification period has expired. Please reload the page.

Have your say!

0 0

Lost Password

Please enter your username or email address. You will receive a link to create a new password via email.