More than 8000 drivers have 12 or more points on their licence - and are still allowed on the roads

More than 8000 drivers in the UK have 12 or more points on their licence - despite an official upper limit of 12 before a driver faces disqualification.

A total of 14 UK drivers have more than 25 points - all of them men.

In fact the gender imbalance is very pronounced: of the top 99 licence point holders, just fourteen are women; 2256 men are still driving with more than 12 points on their licence, and 351 women are still driving with more than 12 points their licence.

The DVLA states that the official top limit for licence points is 12 (or six for those who have held a licence for three years of less) - but a Freedom of Information request carried out by the Institute of Advanced Motorists revealed that there were a surprisingly large number of drivers still on the roads with far more penalty points.

A male driver from Warrington has the highest number of points, 36.

IAM chief executive Simon Best said: “Law abiding drivers will be shocked that so many drivers are on the road who have more than 12 points.  The ‘totting up’ principle is supposed to give a simple four strikes and you are out message. Anything more than this should be a disqualification, unless there are the most exceptional circumstances.

“There must be tighter practice in courts and at the DVLA to take these motorists off the road or ensure they take a driver retraining course to help them break their points habit.”