The Archives-  October 2002

Current penalties for driving offences in the UK (Part 2)

How Offences interrelate

UK driving licences are subject to a system of 'penalty points', which are added to the licence following an endorsable offence.

Points can be added:

• As a result of a fixed penalty offence after apprehension by a police officer
• Following a driving offence conviction in court

The points system works as follows:

• Between 2 - 10 points can be added to a licence at any time

This will depend on the seriousness of the offence. Normally each offence will constitute a preset number of points, however the court can adjust the number of points at their own discretion.

• Acquiring 12 penalty points within a 3-year period will lead to automatic disqualification

This disqualification will apply for at least 6 months, after which the number of penalty points acquired will revert to 0 and the licence will be returned (another 12 points would then be required to result in a subsequent disqualification).

However, subsequent disqualifications will result in harsher sentences. Within a 3-year period, the penalties will be greatly increased and will be at the discretion of the court.

However in usual circumstances the following penalties can be expected:

• 12-months (minimum) disqualification for a second disqualification
• 24-months (minimum) disqualification for a third disqualification

Driving while disqualified is a serious offence, carrying fine of up to £5,000 and up to 6 months in prison (or both).

Automatic disqualification

Some offences lead automatically to disqualification no matter how many points on a licence.

These are:

• Causing death by dangerous driving
• Dangerous driving within 3 years of a similar conviction
• Driving or attempting to drive while unfit through drugs
• Driving or attempting to drive with excess alcohol in the breath, blood or urine
• Racing and speed trials on the public highway

Some lesser offences can also lead to disqualification. If a court accepts exceptional circumstances as a reason for non-disqualification, 4 penalty points will be added instead. These exceptional circumstances do not lessen the seriousness of the offence and they are not allowed to be cited twice in any court within a 3-year period.

Getting your licence back

To get a licence back after disqualification, re-application must be undertaken once the disqualification period is up. To do this a provisional licence must be applied for and an extended test taken.

A full driving test will need to be re-taken if:

• Illness has caused inability to drive for 10 years or more,  or,  six or more penalty points have been accumulated by a new driver within two years of passing the driving test

Look out for part 3 next month