According to a Freedom of Information request to the DVLA, made by the IAM (Institute of Advanced Motorists), over 8000 UK motorists are still driving with 12 or more penalty points on their driving licence. The top point scorers are all men.

Just to remind us, the official upper limit for license points is 12, or six for those who have held a licence for three years or less.

The recent DVLA report confirms that many male drivers with 25-36 points are still allowed to drive on our roads. A male driver from Warrington, for example, has the highest number of points on record at 36.

Currently, there are 20.4m male and 16.8m female licence holders in the UK to give some context to the fact that it’s largely men who fall foul of the law in this regard:

+ Of the top 34 licence point holders, 32 are men.
+ Of the top 99 licence point holders, 85 are women.
+ 2256 men are still driving with more than 12 points on their licence.
+ 351 women are still driving with more than 12 points on their licence.

IAM chief executive Simon Best said: “Law abiding drivers will be shocked that so many drivers are on the road who have more than 12 points. The ‘totting up’ principle is supposed to give a simple four strikes and you are out message. Anything more than this should be a disqualification, unless there are the most exceptional circumstances.

“There must be tighter practice in courts and at the DVLA to take these motorists off the road or ensure they take a driver retraining course to help them break their points habit.”

Steph Savill, managing director of FOXY Lady Drivers Club said: “For most motorists, collecting points is expensive, embarrassing and potentially highly stressful. But they make us more vigilant drivers. The relative few who collect 12 points in a fairly short period of time must be either ignorant or contemptuous of the rules of the road. They are getting away with it because the courts seem unwilling to play the disqualification cards they hold. There may even be a case for making serial point scorers re-sit the theory and practical driving test before their licence is reinstated.”

And the car insurance situation may well be a further cause for concern. Knowing how quick insurers are to refuse claim cover where the insured hasn’t kept their side of their insurance contract, imagine being involved in an accident with one of these high scorers whose insurer then refuses cover because they weren’t informed of these points…