Honest John News Driving

Thirtysomething men top list of drivers with penalty points

David Ross, Editor
Mon, 24 Apr 2023

Drivers aged 30-34 are the most likely to have penalty points on their driving licence in the UK. That's according to a new study by confused.com.

Meanwhile, drivers under the age of 25 are the least likely to have points on their licence.

The research analysed Freedom of Information requests made to the DVLA, revealing that only 0.35% of drivers under 19 years old have penalty points, with 352 points per 100,000 drivers. 

Although it is possible that many drivers in this age group hold provisional licences and are yet to pass their tests. Additionally, only 4% of drivers aged 19-24 have penalty points, which is the lowest percentage across all age groups.

In contrast, drivers aged 30-34 are the most likely to have penalty points on their licence, with 6522 points per 100,000 drivers.

The data reveals that drivers aged 32 are the most likely to have points on their licence, with 6615 per 100,000 32-year-old drivers having points on their driver’s licence. Adults and middle-aged drivers are most likely to have points on their licences, with the most common age bracket being 30-34.

The study also looked at the differences between male and female drivers, finding that men are over twice as likely to have points on their licences compared to women. In total, 7.16% of male drivers have points, compared to just 3.19% of female drivers.

The most common penalty offence in the UK is exceeding the statutory speed limit on a public road (SP30), with 2,158,179 offences followed by exceeding the motorway speed limit (SP50) and driving without insurance (IN10).

The study also found that the area with the most drivers likely to have points on their licence is Coldstream, Berwickshire (TD12), with 2141 drivers per 10,000 people having points on their driving licence.

More than 2.66 million drivers have penalty points in the UK.

Age

Drivers with penalty points

Licence holders

Drivers with penalty points per 100,000 drivers

% of drivers with penalty points

Under 19

3,955

1,123,532

352

0.35%

19 to 24

161,068

3,971,932

4055

4.06%

25 to 29

242,676

3,938,746

6161

6.16%

30 to 34

292,299

4,481,758

6522

6.52%

35 to 39

288,651

4,512,363

6397

6.40%

40 to 44

284,569

4,485,136

6345

6.34%

45 to 49

274,025

4,366,053

6276

6.28%

50 to 54

300,134

4,947,529

6066

6.07%

55 to 59

274,601

4,980,725

5513

5.51%

60 to 64

201,532

4,282,182

4706

4.71%

65 to 69

129,244

3,568,016

3622

3.62%

70 to 74

89,688

2,386,939

3757

3.76%

75 to 79

65,893

1,876,899

3511

3.51%

80 to 84

34,628

996,869

3474

3.47%

85 to 89

17,312

583,123

2969

2.97%

90 to 94

3,266

122,045

2676

2.68%

95 and over

306

13,995

2186

2.19%
Ask HJ

Are motorway speed cameras always switched on?

Are smart motorway speed cameras always switched on?
We can't say for sure, but we'd treat them as if they are. I have certainly seen many instances of speeding fines outside of variable smart motorway conditions. Highways England advises to treat these cameras as if they are always on as they will default to the national speed limit when not in variable conditions. We don't think there's a case for illegality here as it's no different from being caught speeding by a mobile camera van or radar gun.
Answered by Lawrence Allan
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