UK Motoring news: December 2024

Car-related news from across the UK.

Some UK drivers still hold current, valid licences despite collecting more than 100 penalty points

A recent Freedom of Information request by the BBC revealed that 10,000 drivers in the UK still hold valid licences entitling them to drive despite having 12 or more driving penalty points. More than 50 of those drivers have 30 or more points.

One 26-year-old driver from Flintshire in North Wales still has his licence despite earning himself a staggering 229 penalty points. Three more men in the UK also hold valid licences despite acquiring over 100 points. One woman has retained her licence even though she has 96 penalty points.

Drivers will usually be banned from driving for six months if they accumulate 12 or more penalty points within a three-year period. When the ban expires, points are wiped from the licence and the driver may resume driving with a clean licence. However, if a driver is able to convince a court that a ban would result in exceptional hardship to themselves or to someone else, then a driving ban can sometimes be avoided, even with 12 or more penalty points.

Alison Ashworth, a senior solicitor and an expert in motoring law, explained that the number of penalty points did not necessarily dictate when a ban would be imposed. She said that the decision rests on the consequences of a driving ban on the offender and those around them.

“The court wants to punish the offender, but they don’t want to punish innocent third parties that haven’t done anything wrong," she said.

Nicholas Lyes, director of policy and standards at the road safety charity IAM RoadSmart, reacted to the figures saying: “These shocking statistics call into question whether the definition of exceptional hardship needs reviewing. [...] At the very least, those that accrue 12 or more points on their licence should be required to take an additional training course, even if they are allowed to keep their licence because a court has deemed that losing it would cause exceptional hardship.”

Police target uninsured drivers as insurance-dodging hotspots are revealed

Police forces across the country announced their participation in Operation Drive Insured which began on Monday 11th November. The operation sees a nationwide effort to detect and seize uninsured vehicles that are being used on the road network illegally.

Developed by MIB (Motor Insurers’ Bureau) in partnership with the National Roads Policing Operations, Intelligence, and Investigations (NRPOII) committee, the week of action is an annual date in the National Police Chiefs’ Council’s (NPCC) road safety calendar.

Police in Birmingham said that they have seized over a dozen vehicles and issued fines and penalty points to offenders during Operation Drive. The announcement comes as Birmingham is revealed to be one of the UK's worst areas for uninsured driving offences.

Below is a list of the top 15 postcode hotspots for uninsured driving. The rankings are calculated from MIB’s data from the past two years:

• B11, Birmingham
• B21, Birmingham
• DA17, Bexley
• WV2, Wolverhampton
• NE29, North Tyneside
• HP12, Buckinghamshire
• B18, Birmingham
• SK1, Stockport
• B8, Birmingham
• WS4, Walsall
• CV7, Solihull
• BL7, Bolton
• B33, Birmingham
• DN8, Doncaster
• MK7, Milton Keynes

MIB data shows that more than 129,000 uninsured vehicles were seized last year, and that 35,000 claims were made for victims who were injured by uninsured or hit-and-run drivers. An average of 300,000 uninsured vehicles are on the UK roads every day, and someone is hit by an uninsured or hit-and-run driver every 20 minutes.

MIB reminded drivers of the likely penalties for driving without insurance.

• £300 fine
• Six points on your licence
• Vehicle seized and potentially crushed
• Court referral, resulting in an unlimited fine and a driving ban
• Driving convictions can show in background checks, impacting job prospects

The best and worst places to take your driving test in the UK?

Financial services comparison company GoCompare has compiled a report showing the UK driving test centres with the highest and lowest first-time test pass rates.

At the top of the table is Newtown in Powys, Wales. With a pass rate of 72.5%, Newtown's enviable pass rate is nearly double that of the lowest scoring centre.

* It is unclear why Galashiels appears twice in this table

While Wales, Scotland and Northern England perform well in these rankings. Further south, however, things are less encouraging.

Below is the table of test centres with the lowest first-time pass rates. Wolverhampton in the West Midlands has the dubious distinction of achieving the lowest pass rate at just 37.2%. Test centres in the West Midlands and London feature prominently in this table.

The reasons for the wide variation in performance are difficult to conclude from statistics like this, but it seems likely that the more sedate driving conditions experienced in more rural areas may be much easier for a learner driver to negotiate than the chaotic state of affairs found on the roads in larger cities.

Hotspots for mobile phone use while driving

Insurer Dayinsure recently published a report on mobile phone use while driving. One aspect of the report focused on identifying the areas where the incidence of phone use behind the wheel was highest and lowest.

Below is the table of areas with the most instances of illegal phone use while driving. The table is based on data for 2020 - 2023.

And the table of areas with the fewest instances of illegal phone use while driving. Again, the table is based on data for 2020 - 2023.

Holding and using a device for any reason, except for an emergency, may earn a £200 fine and six penalty points.

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