There are nearly 7,000 drivers still on British roads who have 12 or more penalty points on their driving licences, according to government data.
A Freedom of Information request submitted to the DVLA by Co-Operative Insurance revealed that 6,523 motorists are currently still driving despite having more than 12 points to their names.
Nottingham appears to be the worst area with 180 drivers there alone, while Doncaster and Cardiff come in at second and third places, with 174 and 173 drivers respectively.
Interestingly, although younger drivers are typically seen as being the most dangerous on the roads, the figures show that more drivers aged between 26 and 35 have 12 points or more than any other age group.
A total of 1,880 motorists in this age bracket have been identified by the data as currently driving with more than 12 points, compared to a relatively small 680 drivers aged 17 to 25.
Steve Kerrigan, head of telematics at The Co-Operative Insurance said: “As new generations of young drivers come through it is extremely important for safe driving education to continue and, in future, we will hopefully have safer roads as a result.
“We want to see the number of people on the roads with an excess number of penalty points reduce from the 6,500 figure and believe that telematics will be a key enabler to this.”
According to the government, the courts can disqualify a driver for receiving more than 12 penalty points within a period of three years, though the DVLA insists that it’s not a set rule.
The government agency revealed that a man in Liverpool has 45 penalty points on his licence, while a woman in Blackburn has 38, and both drivers are still on the roads.
A spokesman for the DVLA said: “In a small percentage of cases where the driver has accumulated 12 or more penalty points, the DVLA understands that a court can exercise its discretion and not disqualify the driver.
“In the majority of these cases, courts may have decided to allow drivers to retain their entitlement to drive where it is considered that disqualification would cause exceptional hardship.”
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