Points on licence
For newly qualified driver the New Drivers Act 1995 stipulates if the driver accrues 6 or more points in the first two years of their first full licence, then the licence will be revoked and the driver will revert to provisional status. This would mean retake both the theory and practical test again. The New Drivers Act would not be in force after the retake as it would not be their first full licence.
After the two year period of the New Drivers Act the normal rule is that if you receive 12 or more points then you will be banned from driving. However this is not always the case.
Recently a Freedom of Information request by the Institute of Advanced Motorists showed that a man from Liverpool had 45 points on his licence and was still driving. 20 drivers have 24 or more points, 3 of these are women;
http://roadsafetygb.org.uk/news/3296.html
The courts have guidelines as to what offences should constitute a ban, but it is left to the courts to decide.
The problem arises that all offenders should be treated equally for the same offence. The offender in Liverpool received the 45 points for failing to disclose the identity of the driver or for exceeding the speed limit on a public road between 01 October 2012 and 20th June 2013.
Simon Best, IAM chief executive, said: “Last September, the IAM highlighted a driver with 42 points on their license and we were told that more would be done to address the issue.”
“Incredibly, we now have someone driving with 45 points. DVLA must rapidly overall 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."
“Any suggestion that some drivers may be able to speed with impunity and then talk themselves out of a ban puts our whole approach to enforcement into question. "
“The police and the motoring public need to have confidence that those caught speeding or breaking other motoring laws will be dealt with equally.”