Motorist with 62 penalty points legally allowed to drive

Motorist with 62 penalty points legally allowed to drive

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robinessex

Original Poster:

11,046 posts

180 months

Thursday 23rd February 2017
quotequote all
Motorist with 62 penalty points legally allowed to drive

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-39053658

"A driver who clocked up 62 points on his licence is still allowed to drive, the BBC has learned.
The West Yorkshire man, who was speeding, was among 10,000 motorists legally driving on British roads last month, despite having excessive points.
Usually 12 points means a ban, but magistrates can choose not to enforce it in "exceptional cases".
Brian Cornick, who lost his stepdaughter in a motorbike accident, said there should be "no excuses"

I notice the BEEB resorts to their favourite road safety 'experts' again. And here's Brian Cornick story:-

http://www.kentonline.co.uk/medway/news/please-lea...

And here

http://www.standard.co.uk/news/weve-forgiven-drive...

Absolutley NOTHING to so with lots of penalty points !!! What a surprise !!

Shakermaker

11,317 posts

99 months

Thursday 23rd February 2017
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I think I would love to be his insurance broker

Along the lines of:

"62 penalty points? Your policy for this year is £98,300, or a deposit of £12,000 followed by 9 equal payments of £11,000"

hornetrider

63,161 posts

204 months

Thursday 23rd February 2017
quotequote all
robinessex said:
Motorist with 62 penalty points legally allowed to drive

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-39053658

"A driver who clocked up 62 points on his licence is still allowed to drive, the BBC has learned."
62 is ridiculous but I do think the current number of 12 is too low. A driving ban can be life changing and with the recent proliferation of cameras everywhere making being caught a few mph over a limit so much more likely, I think the ban criteria needs to move up a few. Maybe 18?

GT03ROB

13,210 posts

220 months

Thursday 23rd February 2017
quotequote all
hornetrider said:
62 is ridiculous but I do think the current number of 12 is too low. A driving ban can be life changing and with the recent proliferation of cameras everywhere making being caught a few mph over a limit so much more likely, I think the ban criteria needs to move up a few. Maybe 18?
Why is 12 too low? Over a 3 year period you can't avoid getting 4 speeding tickets??

Shakermaker

11,317 posts

99 months

Thursday 23rd February 2017
quotequote all
GT03ROB said:
hornetrider said:
62 is ridiculous but I do think the current number of 12 is too low. A driving ban can be life changing and with the recent proliferation of cameras everywhere making being caught a few mph over a limit so much more likely, I think the ban criteria needs to move up a few. Maybe 18?
Why is 12 too low? Over a 3 year period you can't avoid getting 4 speeding tickets??
Indeed, over the last 15 years I have been caught, but only once, and so my licence has been clean for 7 years now.

Not hard not to get caught!

hornetrider

63,161 posts

204 months

Thursday 23rd February 2017
quotequote all
GT03ROB said:
Why is 12 too low? Over a 3 year period you can't avoid getting 4 speeding tickets??
Well, I have avoided it cheers thanks for asking.

You ought to try living in Avon and Somerset. They have vans all over the place randomly, and never in accident black spots. Always somewhere it's easy to stray a few mph above. I think in cases like that where points are accumulated for SP30s in a 50 limit for example, or on the motorway, that the ban threshold needs to be higher.

If that means increasing the points for more serious driving offences such as careless, dangerous etc so that the same instance of those results in a ban, then fair enough.

BlackLabel

13,251 posts

122 months

Thursday 23rd February 2017
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10,000 driving legally with 12 or more points is quite a number - didn't realise it was so high.

spookly

4,011 posts

94 months

Thursday 23rd February 2017
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hornetrider said:
GT03ROB said:
Why is 12 too low? Over a 3 year period you can't avoid getting 4 speeding tickets??
Well, I have avoided it cheers thanks for asking.

You ought to try living in Avon and Somerset. They have vans all over the place randomly, and never in accident black spots. Always somewhere it's easy to stray a few mph above. I think in cases like that where points are accumulated for SP30s in a 50 limit for example, or on the motorway, that the ban threshold needs to be higher.

If that means increasing the points for more serious driving offences such as careless, dangerous etc so that the same instance of those results in a ban, then fair enough.
You are surely having a laugh? North Somerset and Somerset have a grand total of one active fixed camera. They also, IIRC, have 2 mobile camera vans. Yes, they park in places where they are most likely to catch people, but they also publish a weekly list of where they'll be hinding on the scamera partnership website. Avon and Somerset have it better than most areas by a very long margin. Every time I visit relatives in Dorset and Hampshire it is notable for the massive number of cameras.

dcb

5,834 posts

264 months

Thursday 23rd February 2017
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GT03ROB said:
Why is 12 too low? Over a 3 year period you can't avoid getting 4 speeding tickets??
Speeding tickets are issued by the millions per year in the UK.

There is a balance to be made.

Given the excessively strong camera based enforcement of nonsensical speed limits these days,
do you really want 5 % of UK drivers off the road with bans for trivial speeding ?

I'd rather have folks concentrating on what they are doing at 80 mph than bored
senseless at 60 mph, but UK Gov seems to think that safe driving is driving slowly.

rob.kellock

2,213 posts

191 months

Thursday 23rd February 2017
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The number represents a tiny percentage of licence holders though - there are over 45 million licence holders.

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploa...

The vast majority of people with 12 or more points are on 12 - if you are a working person reliant on a licence with a mortgage to pay, most Magistrates will be sympathetic to mitigating circumstances being advanced to them.

GT03ROB

13,210 posts

220 months

Thursday 23rd February 2017
quotequote all
spookly said:
hornetrider said:
GT03ROB said:
Why is 12 too low? Over a 3 year period you can't avoid getting 4 speeding tickets??
Well, I have avoided it cheers thanks for asking.

You ought to try living in Avon and Somerset. They have vans all over the place randomly, and never in accident black spots. Always somewhere it's easy to stray a few mph above. I think in cases like that where points are accumulated for SP30s in a 50 limit for example, or on the motorway, that the ban threshold needs to be higher.

If that means increasing the points for more serious driving offences such as careless, dangerous etc so that the same instance of those results in a ban, then fair enough.
You are surely having a laugh? North Somerset and Somerset have a grand total of one active fixed camera. They also, IIRC, have 2 mobile camera vans. Yes, they park in places where they are most likely to catch people, but they also publish a weekly list of where they'll be hinding on the scamera partnership website. Avon and Somerset have it better than most areas by a very long margin. Every time I visit relatives in Dorset and Hampshire it is notable for the massive number of cameras.
Interesting.... now where do I live when in the UK... Oh yeah Dorset/Hampshire border.... come on though 4 chances over 3 years, it's really not a problem. It's actually 5 though as the first will get you a speed awareness course.

W00DY

15,467 posts

225 months

Thursday 23rd February 2017
quotequote all
spookly said:
hornetrider said:
GT03ROB said:
Why is 12 too low? Over a 3 year period you can't avoid getting 4 speeding tickets??
Well, I have avoided it cheers thanks for asking.

You ought to try living in Avon and Somerset. They have vans all over the place randomly, and never in accident black spots. Always somewhere it's easy to stray a few mph above. I think in cases like that where points are accumulated for SP30s in a 50 limit for example, or on the motorway, that the ban threshold needs to be higher.

If that means increasing the points for more serious driving offences such as careless, dangerous etc so that the same instance of those results in a ban, then fair enough.
You are surely having a laugh? North Somerset and Somerset have a grand total of one active fixed camera. They also, IIRC, have 2 mobile camera vans. Yes, they park in places where they are most likely to catch people, but they also publish a weekly list of where they'll be hinding on the scamera partnership website. Avon and Somerset have it better than most areas by a very long margin. Every time I visit relatives in Dorset and Hampshire it is notable for the massive number of cameras.
Easily the least policed roads where I've lived in the UK.



I remember reading about Guy Martin in his book having something like 21 points at some point and avoiding a ban, but 62 is almost impressive.

GT03ROB

13,210 posts

220 months

Thursday 23rd February 2017
quotequote all
dcb said:
Given the excessively strong camera based enforcement of nonsensical speed limits these days,do you really want 5 % of UK drivers off the road with bans for trivial speeding ?

I'd rather have folks concentrating on what they are doing at 80 mph than bored
senseless at 60 mph, but UK Gov seems to think that safe driving is driving slowly.
Are all speed limits sensible ... naah.
Is the enforcement of such speed limits sensible.... naah.

But enforcement there is & compliance is not difficult. So no excuse, certainly not for being done 4 times over 3 years. Unfortunately the same people who cannot concentrate at 60, can't concentrate at 80 either.

SS2.

14,455 posts

237 months

Thursday 23rd February 2017
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GT03ROB said:
It's actually 5 though as the first will get you a speed awareness course.
It could be 2.

Zetec-S

5,832 posts

92 months

Thursday 23rd February 2017
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Saw this article earlier, what surprised me most was the BBC actually suggested common ways in which people amass so many points, such as driving on a familiar road daily without realising there's a working camera, rather than implying they are all simply dangerous maniacs who shouldn't be allowed on the road.

I've been driving for nearly 20 years and yet to get points on my license. But on my commute I pass an old speed camera which was burnt out a couple of years ago so no longer in use. If they ever fix it I imagine it would be quite easy not to notice straight away, and I could easily build up a few tickets quite quickly before I get a NIP through the post (just to clarify, I don't fly past it but 'probably' exceed the posted limit by a couple of mph from time to time).

PorkRind

3,053 posts

204 months

Thursday 23rd February 2017
quotequote all
GT03ROB said:
Are all speed limits sensible ... naah.
Is the enforcement of such speed limits sensible.... naah.

But enforcement there is & compliance is not difficult. So no excuse, certainly not for being done 4 times over 3 years. Unfortunately the same people who cannot concentrate at 60, can't concentrate at 80 either.
The tests need to be a bit tougher then, don't they!?

thelawnet1

1,539 posts

154 months

Thursday 23rd February 2017
quotequote all
hornetrider said:
62 is ridiculous but I do think the current number of 12 is too low. A driving ban can be life changing and with the recent proliferation of cameras everywhere making being caught a few mph over a limit so much more likely, I think the ban criteria needs to move up a few. Maybe 18?
I got 2 in a month last year, so now I'm more cautious, I don't see the issue tbh?

It's really not impossible to obey the law.

GT03ROB

13,210 posts

220 months

Thursday 23rd February 2017
quotequote all
SS2. said:
GT03ROB said:
It's actually 5 though as the first will get you a speed awareness course.
It could be 2.
It could indeed but that would normally be for more than a few MPH over the limit which was the argument being used for why 12 was too low!

DJP

1,198 posts

178 months

Thursday 23rd February 2017
quotequote all
62 points makes a mockery of the 12 point totting up ban.

This tt has clearly been taking the P for years, whereas plenty of other people have got banned for one-off incidents.

There is absolutely no consistency.

I can understand magistrates using their discretion, in extreme cases, where someone has hit 12 points.

But 62 points? I mean, come on - there is absolutely no mitigation for that.

droopsnoot

11,814 posts

241 months

Thursday 23rd February 2017
quotequote all
I thought that the idea of issuing penalty points rather than just higher and higher fines was to remove the possibility that those who could afford the fines could get away with being caught speeding (or whatever) as often as they wanted to.

Interesting that on the first BBC news I heard this on, there was a clip from a chap from a road safety organisation that just kept banging on about how people with points were dangerous drivers, and that these 10,000 were causing more danger just by being on the road. Next bulletin has this replaced with someone who makes a point that they might never have committed a dangerous act in their lives, maybe just didn't notice a direct debit change which cancelled their insurance. Leaving aside how it's possible to not notice insurance hasn't been renewed, it seemed such a change in clip in the space of an hour that I wonder what sparked it.