January 7, 2014 10.40 am This story is over 121 months old

Lincoln woman third in UK for driving licence penalty points

Caught out: A Lincoln woman has accumulated 34 penalty points on her driving licence, ranking third in the UK top 20.

A Lincoln woman has accumulated 34 penalty points on her driving licence, ranking third in the UK top 20, according to figures from the DVLA.

Drivers who chalk up 12 points in three years can be disqualified. Despite this, the Lincoln woman continued to drive.

The woman, who has not been named, was caught speeding three times, and failed to give information to identify the driver four times between January and September 2012 — a total of seven offences.

Of the top twenty licence-points holders, only three are women.

One driver from Liverpool held a record-high 45 penalty points. The second-highest points total, 36, went to a man from Cheshire, who was caught driving without insurance six times in less than two weeks in 2012.

Also, a female from Hull with 31 points was caught speeding eight times in two months in 2011, and a man from Westcliff-on-Sea, with 30 points, was caught speeding six times in just two weeks in 2012.

The road safety charity IAM highlighted the figures from the DVLA obtained via a Freedom of Information request.

IAM chief executive Simon Best said: “DVLA must rapidly overhaul their systems and working relationships with the courts to ensure that the whole principle of 12 points and you are off the road is not undermined.

“Any suggestion that some drivers may be able to speed with impunity and then talk themselves out of a ban puts our whole approach to enforcement into question.

“The police and the motoring public need to have confidence that those caught speeding or breaking other motoring laws will be dealt with equally.”

A DVLA spokeswoman said: “DVLA’s role is to record the information provided by the courts.

“The courts are able to use their discretion to decide whether or not to disqualify a driver.”