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300% INCREASE IN PENALTY POINTS OVER THE LAST 4 YEARS, FIGURES REVEAL
Freedom of Information data obtained by Co-op Insurance last month revealed there has been a 300% increase in the number of penalty points issued to drivers on UK roads over the last four years.
In 2021, 2.8 million penalty points were issued in total in the UK. In 2024 that number in- creased to a staggering 9.6 million. And so far in 2025, it looks to be going up again.
Penalty Points Issued Per Year
12 mn 10 mn 8 mn 6 mn 4 mn 2 mn 0
2021 2022 2023 2024 *data obtained from Co-op Insurance Why the increase?
Quite simply it’s mainly down to more speed cameras, stricter enforcement and better technology.
Undoubtedly there have been additional cameras placed all over the UK, but this isn’t the only reason for the drastic increase. Historically the police never used to prosecute for speeds within 10% + 2mph (so a speed of 35 in a 30 limit would go unpunished), but this was reduced to 10% + 1mph. Add this to the reduction in various speed limits - a few years ago the limit was reduced from 30 to 20mph in Wales, with drivers in London seeing similar reductions – meaning that more drivers are now within the enforcement threshold.
Technology has improved as well. Older speed cameras were not necessarily as accurate, and occasionally the pictures not as good. These days, with digital cameras and enhanced technology, the cameras are more accurate and the photographs clearer, making vehicle identification far better.
All these factors combined have led to an increase in drivers getting penalty points.
So what if I am caught?
The first thing that the police need to do is identify the driver. They do this by sending a Notice of Intended Prosecution to the registered keeper within 14 days, together with a request asking the keeper to nominate the driver. Nomination is a vital step. A person that fails to nominate the driver is going to be at risk of 6 penalty points for failing to identify.
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Once you have identified the driver, one of three things will happen. You will either:
1) Be offered a speed awareness course. This is instead of penalty points and so is often the preferred choice of drivers. Courses are only offered at the discretion of the police and only when the speed is within the threshold per the green table below, if one hasn’t been completed within the last three years and it’s within 100 days or so of the offence being committed.
2) Be offered a fixed penalty of three points and a £100 fine. A fixed penalty is given where the driver isn’t eligible for a course, and as long as the speed is within the blue threshold per the table below. In order to accept, the driver must fulfil the conditions which are to pay the fine and provide licence details within 28 days, and if doing so would not put them on 12 or more points.
3) Go to court. In this regard, a driver may wish to take a case to court of their own volition to challenge a case, or alternatively it may go to court automatically if the driver will have 12 or more penalty points on their licence or if the speed is in the pink column of the table below.
How many points before I am banned?
If you are within the first two years of passing your test, 6 points will see your licence revoked, meaning you must re-take both parts of your driving test.
Otherwise, you can get up to 11 points without being banned. When you hit 12, you will be at risk of a minimum 6-month disqualification, and the case will proceed to court automatically.
Penalty points are valid for three years from the date of the offence. They will remain on your licence for an extra year, so for four years in total.
NOVEMBER 2025 PHTM
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