Thousands of drivers are allowed to keep their licence even though they have accrued enough penalty points to merit disqualification.
Figures from a freedom of information request show there are 8,632 drivers with at least 12 points.
Brake, the road safety charity, said it was “appalling” that they were not banned, and police leaders said that laws should be changed to stop drivers being granted exemptions in court.
Points are put on a licence when drivers are convicted for an offence, such as speeding (three to six points) and drink-driving (three to 11 points).
Under the totting-up system most drivers are disqualified for at least six months if they accrue 12 or more points within three years.
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Courts have discretion to allow people to keep driving in extenuating circumstances, including if a ban would cause extreme financial hardship.
The figures, obtained by the PA news agency, are a snapshot of the situation on September 4.
Jason Wakeford, head of campaigns at Brake, said: “These dangerous repeat offenders have been granted ample opportunity to change their driving behaviour, yet continue to put lives at risk through their complete disregard for the law. If drivers who rack up 12 points aren’t banned, it makes a mockery of the system.”
Jack Cousens, head of roads policy at the AA, said that people who had 12 points had demonstrated “continuous poor driving” and their licences “should be taken away”.
Detective Chief Superintendent Andy Cox, of the National Police Chiefs’ Council, said that he would “welcome the removal” of the hardship exemption, which is a “glaring example of where the system is out of kilter”.
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An average of five people die every day on the roads and 60 are seriously injured. Police believe that more than 90 per cent of deaths are caused by driver error. Cox said: “We don’t have to have that devastation, it is preventable. More people in the UK die because of a road collision than they do because of murder or terrorism combined.”
Marc Jones, chairman of the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners, said that drivers with 12 points should face an automatic ban. He agreed the exemption should be ended and laws reviewed. Sentencing guidelines should also be updated to ensure “consistency” across courts, he added.
The DVLA said that drivers with 12 points were allowed to keep their licence “in a small percentage of cases”.
The government said that it was for the courts to assess the evidence to decide whether mitigating circumstances justify someone not being disqualified.
Guidelines updated last year make clear “the test should be not inconvenience or hardship but exceptional hardship, for which the court must have evidence”, the Sentencing Council said.
Payout hope for car buyers
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People who bought or leased a new car between 2005 and 2015 could be in line for a £60 payout from five of the biggest shipping companies.
A three-day hearing at the Competition Appeal Tribunal in London begins today to decide whether a collective proceedings order can be launched on behalf of UK consumers and businesses, which would result in payouts on about 17 million vehicles, totalling £150 million.
The companies are accused of setting up cartels to inflate charges for shipping over nine years. Bosses have already admitted to officials at the European Commission that the cartels existed, leading to a fine of nearly €400 million (£340 million).
Customers affected include those who bought from Ford, Vauxhall, Volkswagen, Peugeot, BMW, Mercedes, Nissan, Toyota, Citroën and Renault.
The law firm Scott & Scott has been instructed and is funded by Woodsford Litigation Funding.
