Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of the penalty points system in deterring repeat speeding offenders.

The Department for Transport does not hold an estimate of the number of speeding offenders who go on to commit additional motoring offences. The Home Office, which publishes statistics on roads policing, has confirmed that this information is not held.

The penalty points system is designed to act as a deterrent. Penalty points are applied for a range of motoring offences, including speeding, and accumulate on a driver’s record. Drivers who reach 12 or more points within a three-year period are liable for disqualification.

Department for Transport research published in 2008 examined whether the threat of disqualification deterred drivers from speeding and found that it did. The research indicated that the threat of disqualification was effective, with relatively low reconviction rates, and suggested it may be a stronger deterrent than disqualification alone.

This cumulative approach over a three year period is intended to provide a longer lasting deterrent to repeat offending, across a variety of motoring offences, including speeding.

The Department keeps the motoring offences framework under review to ensure it remains effective in promoting road safety.