UK Edition
Nearly 70,000 illegal drivers given points despite not having licence
Nearly 70,000 potentially dangerous unlicensed drivers have been given “pointless” penalty points, new figures show.
A total of 69,353 currently have penalty points despite having no licence. Points are issued to drivers convicted of motoring offences including speeding, failing to stop at a red light, and drink driving.
Drivers caught behind the wheel without a valid licence can be fined up to £1,000 and have three to six points put on their DVLA record.
One driver in the UK without a valid licence has a total of 40 points on their record, according to figures obtained by a freedom of information request.
More than one thousand drivers in the UK have more than 12 points on their licence, the threshold for disqualification.
Last year 32,399 unlicensed drivers were issued with penalty points across Britain, according to the DVLA figures.
Conservative London Assembly member Steve O’Connell, who obtained the figures, said: “It’s astonishing that anyone caught driving without a licence can get away with a fine that may not get paid and penalty points that do little or no damage to their future driving prospects. This form of punishment falls well short of fitting the crime.
“I was stunned to see there have been tens of thousands of unlicensed drivers caught in the UK over the past five years – many seemingly on more than one occasion. We need strong deterrents to stop people dangerously getting behind the wheel of a car they are not qualified to drive.
“I will be pushing the Mayor to look at this issue and demand he consider urging police forces to strengthen the sanctions currently in place that are, quite frankly, pointless.”
In January it was revealed that one motorist in Britain was still on the roads despite having been hit with 51 penalty points.