Penalty Points
There are different offence codes for different types of offences, and penalty points come in lumps from one single point right up to eleven, depending on the type and severity of an offence that you have committed.
There are different periods of time for which the points stay on the licene, for really serious things it is eleven years from the date of conviction: for instance causing death by careless driving while under the influence of drink.
The majority of offences carry a four year penalty, so if you have an offence dated 5th May 2004 it stays on unti l5th May 2005.
The more penalty points, the worse. Ideally you always want to have what is referred to as a "clean licence" throughout your driving career - this means one that has no points against it.
When you get high enough points - 12 - within a three year period, then you can be disqualified for driving.
If you have accrued penalty points and you want to find out more details about what the mechanisms behind the scheme are together with the length of penalty received for various offences, then you can find out more on the DirectGov website.
The link to go to is listed below and tells you more about the system and how to do things like removing expired endorsements from your driving licence and checking your endorsement details and so on:
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Motoring/DriverLicensing/EndorsementsAndDisqualifications/DG_4022550
Related Articles...
What causes accidents: speed
There is a well known saying from safety campaigns which simply says that "speed kills".
Although many people think that you have to be travelling really quickly in order to make an impact...
Types of brakes and braking system
The brakes on your car are one of the most important elements of the car, and when you learn the ABC of accelerator, brake and clutch you realise if you hadn't already how to standardly operate the...
Show me tell me test
If you've not heard of the "show me tell me" test, then this is something
that happens at the start of the driving practical test as opposed to on the
theory test. They ask one of each of the two...
What to do if you breakdown at a level crossing
Driving is potentially dangerous, but it is important not to worry about things that could happen when driving but at the same time you should know what to do in the unlikely event that something...
Road position and large vehicles
In a car there are of course blind spots, but as soon as you drive a lorry you realise how significant the blind spots are for those vehicles.
For one simple thing even with vans you can't...
Tips on driving in the country
Driving in the country can be quite a different experience to driving around towns and on motorways.
Firstly, depending where you are, the road quality can be very variable and bumpy and...
Driving and Eyesight Requirements
If you require glasses in order to meet the requirements for driving legally, then you must ensure that you wear them whilst you drive (or corrective lenses).
There are some conditions that...
What causes accidents: junctions
An alarmingly high proportion of accidents happen in and around junctions.
This is because of the combination of busy roads, traffic that can be nose to tail and people crossing all sorts of...
What time of day should I book my driving test?
This is entirely up to you and so there is no right or wrong answer to this.
Many of us function either better in the morning or in the afternoon. If
you are a morning person then you will...
When you must not stop when driving
The regulations relating to stopping article looks at when you must stop, now it is time to look at when you must not stop as a driver...
There are times when you need to stop, but also many...
Back to home page of driving theory test questions
