Two drivers from Oldham and Bolton managed to build up 27 points each, according to road safety charity the Institute of Advanced Motorists, and yet not be disqualified. Such drivers feature in a league table of the UK’s most heavily penalised drivers created by the road safety charity.
One driver from Oldham racked up an incredible 27 points in just 12 months, being twice the 12 point limit at which drivers are supposed to be banned. Another man from Bolton also received 27 points in 18 months, after being convicted of five separate offences, including speeding and refusing to give the name of another driver.
Driver Disqualification
Safety charity, the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM), says the DVLA must take action so that the system whereby motorists are disqualified upon reaching 12 points is not ‘undermined’. They say people are often allowed to carry on driving after reaching over 12 points due to failures in communication between the courts and the DVLA.
Ordinarily, when a motorist receives 12 points or more, in a period of three years, they ‘tot up’ and should be disqualified from driving for a period of 6 months or more, unless a driver can demonstrate to the court that they would suffer from exceptional hardship should they be disqualified from driving. This is a matter for the court to decide on when considering a driver’s individual personal circumstances and the effect of any period of disqualification upon both the driver and affected third parties.
DVLA
IAM obtained details of the drivers by requesting the information from the DVLA. The identified of the pair were not disclosed and it is not known if they remain driving currently. The worst offender in the driving charity’s rouge list managed to accumulate a total of 45 points within a period of 21 months.
The most common offences for which motorists received penalty points for were failing to give the identity of the car’s owner, speeding and driving without insurance.
Simon Best, from IAM commented:
“Last September, we highlighted a driver with 42 points on their licence and we were told that more would be done to address the issue.
“Incredibly, we now have someone driving with 45 points.
“The authorities must rapidly overhaul their systems and working relationships with the courts to ensure that the whole principle of 12 points and you are off the road is not undermined.”
However, the DVLA who are the body responsible for keeping track of individual driver’s records and their points insisted information about drivers’ records was available to the courts.
A spokesman for the DVLA said:
“Our role is to record the information provided by the courts.
“The courts are able to use their discretion to decide whether or not to disqualify a driver.”
