Driving licence points reversal scheme ?
Discussion
Just some musing further to discussions on other threads about a lack of incentive for drivers to improve their standards or undergo additional training - plus the disparity between getting points for safely exceeding the speed limit and not getting points for having a stupid (relatively minor) accident.
How about changing the points system and combining it with no claims discount ? New drivers would start with perhaps 5 points, which would increase by 1 point per year providing they have no accident or penalty points (much like NCB). The current penalty point scheme would remain pretty much as is, but reduce points instead of giving them out. Accidents would also lose you points, depending on severity. Once you have no points on your licence you are effectively disqualified from driving.
Points would directly equate to the insurance group of car you are allowed to drive, so new drivers would be limited to smaller, low powered cars until they build experience. Even footballers could not drive a group 20 supercar just because they have the money - they would need the skill & experience to go with it.
Points would be gained from additional training courses, advanced driving tests, skidpan and even speed awareness to get back points you may have lost through speeding. Maybe start taking them off each year after 60 so elderly drivers need reassessment courses.
Costs would be minimal as it would be simple to implement. Just a £5 per year admin fee to have your extra point added. Other changes would be included in the cost of the training fee or fixed penalty. Cost for training courses would be offset by cheaper insurance as you gain more points.
It changes the current stick into a carrot - giving an incentive for people to improve and aspire to. Those wanting performance cars will be better trained to handle them, and won't want to risk being demoted to a lower insurance group by breaking the law. The masses who currently aren't interested in improving their skills can just stick to middle of the range cars. Consistently poor drivers get removed from the road unless they undergo additional training.
Everyone's a winner, including some additional jobs to help in this recession. Current clean licence holders with full NCB would not be penalised as this would simply transfer pro-rata into points.
Any thoughts, or votes for / against ?
How about changing the points system and combining it with no claims discount ? New drivers would start with perhaps 5 points, which would increase by 1 point per year providing they have no accident or penalty points (much like NCB). The current penalty point scheme would remain pretty much as is, but reduce points instead of giving them out. Accidents would also lose you points, depending on severity. Once you have no points on your licence you are effectively disqualified from driving.
Points would directly equate to the insurance group of car you are allowed to drive, so new drivers would be limited to smaller, low powered cars until they build experience. Even footballers could not drive a group 20 supercar just because they have the money - they would need the skill & experience to go with it.
Points would be gained from additional training courses, advanced driving tests, skidpan and even speed awareness to get back points you may have lost through speeding. Maybe start taking them off each year after 60 so elderly drivers need reassessment courses.
Costs would be minimal as it would be simple to implement. Just a £5 per year admin fee to have your extra point added. Other changes would be included in the cost of the training fee or fixed penalty. Cost for training courses would be offset by cheaper insurance as you gain more points.
It changes the current stick into a carrot - giving an incentive for people to improve and aspire to. Those wanting performance cars will be better trained to handle them, and won't want to risk being demoted to a lower insurance group by breaking the law. The masses who currently aren't interested in improving their skills can just stick to middle of the range cars. Consistently poor drivers get removed from the road unless they undergo additional training.
Everyone's a winner, including some additional jobs to help in this recession. Current clean licence holders with full NCB would not be penalised as this would simply transfer pro-rata into points.
Any thoughts, or votes for / against ?
Yes I like the carrot vs stick approach.
I'd argue that there should be a maximum number of points someone can earn simply through time. Let's face it someone can pass their test, never drive a car again for some reason, and then after twenty years would have the reward points of someone who'd driven tens of thousands of miles a year and kept a clean sheet.
So to pick some arbitraty number, say any pointage above ten? points could ONLY be earned by satisfactory completion of training.
I'd argue that there should be a maximum number of points someone can earn simply through time. Let's face it someone can pass their test, never drive a car again for some reason, and then after twenty years would have the reward points of someone who'd driven tens of thousands of miles a year and kept a clean sheet.
So to pick some arbitraty number, say any pointage above ten? points could ONLY be earned by satisfactory completion of training.
Sounds like a good idea to me 
tegwin said:
on one hand those are some good ideas.... but... I dont want the governement to have any more control over me than they already do... if I choose to buy a supercar at 19... I should have the right tto do so!
You can still buy it - you just can't drive it tegwin said:
if I choose to buy a supercar at 19... I should have the right tto do so!
You could - but would have to pay for several training courses to build points. Sounds expensive ? What would the insurance be now for a 19 year old to drive a Zonda??? This way wouldn't be much different in price as the insurance would be lower based on training & experience - not just age.At least this way their is more incentive for drivers to improve themselves and aspire to something better, or just stick with something suitable to their skill level if they are not petrolheads.
Sounds like an excellent idea but one small problem. What about people that don't drive much like my mother, she has had a licence since 1968 never had an accident but she has only driven maybe 10000 miles my dad did all the driving, untill he died 4 years ago. Now she just goes to church and the shops, the car does about 900 miles between MOT's.
She would have lots of bonus points(1 every year) but very little experience, oh and she wouldn't go on a motorway to save her life.
She would have lots of bonus points(1 every year) but very little experience, oh and she wouldn't go on a motorway to save her life.
JJCW said:
tegwin said:
on one hand those are some good ideas.... but... I dont want the governement to have any more control over me than they already do... if I choose to buy a supercar at 19... I should have the right tto do so!
You can still buy it - you just can't drive it That's what the MSA race licenses are for - get one for around 450 quid all in (medical, on-track practice and test fees), and you can drive the supercar on race tracks!
Minor issue of getting it to and from circuits, but if you're rich enough to buy a supercar at 19, you can afford hired help/a race team! 
Mr Green said:
Sounds like an excellent idea but one small problem. What about people that don't drive much like my mother, she has had a licence since 1968 never had an accident but she has only driven maybe 10000 miles my dad did all the driving, untill he died 4 years ago. Now she just goes to church and the shops, the car does about 900 miles between MOT's.
She would have lots of bonus points(1 every year) but very little experience, oh and she wouldn't go on a motorway to save her life.
No problem at all. Her points will mean cheap insurance for her and she poses negligible risk with those sort of mileages. If she does have a bump it will likely be minor and she will lose points. Even if she has full points she is unlikely to suddenly buy a supercar ! She would have lots of bonus points(1 every year) but very little experience, oh and she wouldn't go on a motorway to save her life.
We are now used to getting reward points for all sorts of things, so why not driving ?
aquatix said:
We are now used to getting reward points for all sorts of things, so why not driving ?
Trouble is with the competence level of this shower of idiots in Whitehall and Swansea you'd get your weekly shop from Tesco, swipe your clubcard and then find yourself banned from driving for the next 340 years. aquatix said:
Mr Green said:
Sounds like an excellent idea but one small problem. What about people that don't drive much like my mother, she has had a licence since 1968 never had an accident but she has only driven maybe 10000 miles my dad did all the driving, untill he died 4 years ago. Now she just goes to church and the shops, the car does about 900 miles between MOT's.
She would have lots of bonus points(1 every year) but very little experience, oh and she wouldn't go on a motorway to save her life.
No problem at all. Her points will mean cheap insurance for her and she poses negligible risk with those sort of mileages. If she does have a bump it will likely be minor and she will lose points. Even if she has full points she is unlikely to suddenly buy a supercar ! She would have lots of bonus points(1 every year) but very little experience, oh and she wouldn't go on a motorway to save her life.
We are now used to getting reward points for all sorts of things, so why not driving ?
Dwight VanDriver said:
....and are we prepared to pay more in Excise/Licence duty to front these schemes????????????
It wouldn't cost anything more. Photo licences have already been phased in and many are already due for renewal in the near future. Only the paper counterpart would be affected. Just like a tax disc or insurance these could be applied for online, once a year for your additional point to be added - just a nominal small admin fee.Just like the current system points would be removed for offences by the court, or by post for an FPN. For accidents you would simply send in your paper licence along with the insurance forms. Training courses would add points as part of their cost.
You would be able to check your current point status online in the same way as for Tax and MoT. Any additional costs could easily be covered from the scameraships 'speed awareness' courses (may as well get something out of them)
Mr Green said:
Thinking about it we might not have actually got to this stage because she is 78 years old, so just run it by me again(not that I disagree) at what stage would she have to be re-tested and how many times would this have happened by the time she reaches 78. The chances are and this is a good thing she would probably pack in driving before then.
Guess it would depend on her car's insurance group. By the age of 70 you would need more frequent retests to keep your points up for a high performance car than you would need to keep driving a low insurance group. In effect an automatic limitation on the very young and very old drivers. Logical ?A ban (loss of all points) would be very serious as you would need a re-test and have to build up points again for a better car. A short term suspension (& fine) would work the same as now, with no loss of points when you are allowed to drive again. That gives plenty of sentencing options.
Ahhhhhhhh does that mean that if the driver of a supercar got pulled for something quite serious, say normally 6 to 10 points they could be put in a position were they had to stop driving the Ferrari and start driving the Fiat.
They might not like it but it's better than getting a ban.
Sounds good to me (37 years driving, no(bad)points, a V8 car in the garage).
They might not like it but it's better than getting a ban.
Sounds good to me (37 years driving, no(bad)points, a V8 car in the garage).
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