There Are 46 Motorists With More Than 30 Penalty Points On The Roads
There are nearly fifty drivers with in excess of thirty penalty points on their licenses that are still legally allowed to drive…
30+ Penalty Points
According to the DVLA, there are as many as 46 drivers on the road network with more than 30 penalty points on their driving licenses; all of whom are able to drive legally. One of the drivers is still permitted to take to the wheel despite accruing a staggering 68 points. For perspective, most drivers are disqualified when they acquire 12 points.
Another six of the drivers have more than 51 points each, and the other 39 have between and 30 and 50 each. In England, there are 8,237 drivers who’ve gone over the 12-point threshold. But men (6,837) radically outnumber women (1,400).
Most of these will have been able to remain on the roads due to the ‘exceptional hardship’ clause. This can be used to argue that, without a valid driving license, a person could lose their employment; or be left unable to access vital public services. However, new legislation is going to clamp down on the clause; requiring ‘hard’ evidence from the accused. The prospect of losing one’s job will no longer be sufficient.
What’s Going On?
A spokesman for the DVLA explained the situation. He said, “these statistics provided are likely to include cases where drivers have received court sentences including disqualification, supervision orders, community punishment orders or imprisonment”.
He added, “in a small percentage of cases where the driver has accumulated 12 or more penalty points, we understand 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 cause exceptional hardship”.
In other words, the problem lies with courts; which ultimately determine whether a driver should be disqualified or not. Regardless of the ‘exceptional hardship’ clause, anyone capable of acquiring in excess of 12 points poses a serious risk to themselves an other road-users. Acquiring in excess of 20, let alone 30, requires sustained and deliberate negligence. It’s fortunate, then, that ways around the system are being closed…
A Majority Of Over 70s Are Renewing Their Driving Licenses Online – https://autoserveclub.co.uk/blog/a-majority-of-over-70s-are-renewing-their-driving-licenses-online/
The UK’s First Mobility Hub Has Launched In London – https://autoserve.co.uk/motoring-news/the-uks-first-mobility-hub-has-launched-in-london/
