Points for speeding: regularly swapped says AA

AA reports finds male drivers most guilty of passing off speeding points

PERSUADING another person to take your penalty points for speeding is rife. And male drivers are the worst offenders the AA had discovered in a recent survey. According to the AA, some 300,000 drivers have passed off their points onto another person.

However, manual and service workers show significantly more scruple in not perverting the course of justice than professionals: 12% of those surveyed would not only refuse to say they were driving at the time of the offence but report the point-swapping attempt to the police.

Among professional and senior manager groups, that drops to 11% but rises to 16% among skilled manual and service workers. Among the unskilled, unemployed and those on state pensions, 20% would inform the authorities. There are also strong regional differences.

Overall, only 1% across all socio-economic groups would agree to take the blame and the points for a driving offence. Another 82% would refuse point blank but keep quiet about it.

The survey found that 2% of AA members have had someone seriously suggest they take another driver’s points, although 13% say someone they know reasonably well has been involved in points swapping, either as the offending driver or the one taking the blame.

The size of the points-swapping problem is best indicated by the 1%, mainly male, who have persuaded another driver to take the blame and the points for a motoring offence. That is equivalent to around 300,000 drivers among the 31 million UK driving licence holders. Just under half (49%) of AA members claim not to have received a notice of intended prosecution in the last 10 years.

Regional differences show that nearly one in six drivers in Northern Ireland would report a request to take someone else