A UK motorist has 51 driving penalty points and yet still has their licence, it has recently been revealed. The information was released as a result of a Freedom of Information request from the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM).
Generally, a driver with a full licence in the UK is allowed a maximum of 12 penalty points in three years before being disqualified. For a provisional licence holder, the maximum is 6 points in two years.
The Oxford-based motorist is among three in the country with greater than 40 points on their licence, while still being allowed to drive. The information also showed that of the 45 million licence holders in the UK, 3 million have some points on their licence, and 13 have 28 points or more.
The IAM wanted to make the information public to highlight the risks related to "devaluing the '12 points and you're out' road safety message". Investigations also revealed that the offender with the most penalty points held a provisional licence, had three speeding offences in a 30mph zone and had failed to provide driver details seven times.
The DVLA commented on the revelations, saying: "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 cause exceptional hardship." This generally refers to cases where the driver would experience extreme hardship through loss of income if banned from driving.
IAM chief executive officer Sarah Sillars responded: "The IAM has been highlighting this issue for several years now and we appreciate that the flow of information between the DVLA and the courts is slowly improving, which will allow the courts to make better decisions while armed with the full facts.
"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."
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