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...
The ABC of dealing with casualties
The ABC refers to how to treat casualties if you are involved in an accident but not injured, or indeed if you are at the scene where an accident occurs.
The A refers to the word airway. This...
Prepare for driving theory tests
In order to pass tests, whether they are academic tests at school such as english, geography, spanish, french and so on, or to pass some other one - like theory tests - the methodology that can be...
Understanding illuminated signals on motorways
The location of the signs and signals that you see on motorway itself tells you some information: who it applies to.
Signs at the edge of the road will apply to all drivers, whilst those that...
Switching to driving an automatic
When you switch to an automatic car it could be for a wide range of reasons. Of course number one on that list could be that you are simply given an automatic car or you are driving in a country...
How to cancel a theory test
When you book a theory test, you of course choose a date that you think you are going to be able to make.
However with the best will in the world, there are a whole range of reasons why on...
How hazard perception scoring works
For each hazard there is a possible score of zero to five that is available. With a total of 15 hazards to find that makes a total possible score of 75 being available on the hazard test.
The...
Driving Theory
Practice makes perfect. It is a known fact that if you practice a particular skill, you get better at it. This is true of mental skills such as performing mental arithmetic: the more you try to do...
Working out what a road sign means
There are many signs that you will see day in day out as a driver and are obvious to understand. For instance signs that tell you the maximum speed limit on the road you're on. For some reason,...
Tips on passing your theory test
It is up to each individual who takes a theory test to do the necessary work and preparation to put themselves in the best position to pass the test.
Rather than attempting to 'cram' the night...
Nervous Driver Tips
Many people who learn to drive have a combination of nerves and excitement. Even if someone says they have no nerves and are perfectly confident when it comes to driving, the first time you get...
Back to home page of driving theory test questions
