Bradford driver with 32 points on licence still not banned

The driver totted up the points after being caught driving uninsured four times, yet still has a licence, the statistics from road safety charity Brake and insurance company Direct Line said.

The figures also show that across the country there are 13,449 drivers with 12 points or more who have been disqualified, which they say means that 43% of those with 12 points or more have hung on to their licences.

In Leeds, a driver has totted up 28 points on their licence without being disqualified, with offences including two cases of driving uninsured.

Five drivers have 27 points on their licence - two from Doncaster, one from Wakefield, one from Chatham in Kent, and one from Newcastle upon Tyne. One was caught speeding on a motorway eight times.

London and south east England, Yorkshire and Humberside and north west England each have more than 1,000 of the 12 points-plus drivers still on the road.

Brake and Direct Line said that although drivers can expect a ban of at least six months when they reach 12 points, many are successfully pleading that being disqualified would cause “exceptional hardship”.

Brake campaigns director Julie Townsend said: “We are asking the Government to act quickly to address this appalling situation. Clearly, when the points system was designed, it wasn’t intended that nearly half of drivers with 12 points would evade disqualification.

“It is outrageous these individuals, who rack up offence after offence, are allowed to continue driving, causing enormous risk to the public.”

Andy Goldby, director of underwriting and pricing at Direct Line, said: “It seems ‘exceptional hardship’ isn’t that exceptional after all. Someone who has accumulated more than 12 points on their licence has shown a complete disrespect for the law.

“It sends out an entirely wrong message that these individuals are still allowed to drive.”