Thousands of drivers still on UK roads despite racking up 12 licence points
Wed, 10 Jun 2026
New research has found that more than 4000 drivers are still allowed to drive legally despite racking up 12 or more penalty points for speeding.
The RAC submitted a Freedom of Information (FOI) request to the DVLA to uncover the number of drivers on the road with 12 or more speeding-related points on their license.
The shocking result was that 4154 drivers are still legally permitted to get behind the wheel despite having a more than 12 points on their licence.
Get to the point
As of March 2026, there are 101 drivers on the road who have collected 20-29 points for speeding, and 14 with 30-39 points.
The RAC also found that there are two drivers with 43 and 45 points on their licences, but have been allowed to carry on driving, as they proved in court that a ban would have caused exceptional hardship.
Slowing down the speeders
In a bid to reduce the number of drivers caught repeatedly breaking speed limits, the RAC is supporting the Stop Excessive Speeders campaign.
This aims to encourage the government to give courts the power to order offenders to have a speed limiting device fitted to their vehicle that they must use.
To back up its bid, the RAC's research around the government's recently published Road Safety Strategy found that nine-in-10 (86%) drivers support measures to target those who speed excessively.
What's the tech?
The RAC is suggesting the use of Intervening Intelligent Speed Assistance (IISA) devices, which would be fitted to the car of someone convicted of speeding excessively.
Unlike the speed limit alerts fitted to as standard to most new cars, as the IISA device actively stops a vehicle from exceeding the speed limit, except in emergency override situations, which are logged so they can be reviewed.
"It’s very concerning that so many repeat speeders have been allowed to carry on driving," says RAC head of policy Simon Williams.
"A better solution for people like this who have demonstrated a compelling need to the court to be allowed to continue driving would be for them to have devices fitted to their vehicles that prevent them speeding again."
