Driving penalty points: UK towns and cities with the most law-breaking motorists

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DVLA data reveals the postcodes where the highest proportion of drivers have penalty points

Britain’s worst areas for law-breaking drivers have been revealed by new analysis of licence data.

A comparison of licence holders and penalty points per postcode has revealed that in the worst areas, drivers are three times more likely to have points on their licence than the national average.

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West Yorkshire has been named the overall worst region, with eight of the top 10 postcodes on the list within its borders, while two more, including the single worst area, are in Merseyside. You can see how your own postcode ranks using our tool at the end of this article.

According to figures from the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA), five per cent of all drivers - around two million people - have penalty points on their licence.

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These points are issued for a huge range of motoring offences, ranging from speeding and drink-driving to using a mobile phone while driving or driving a car with unsafe tyres.

However, 15% of drivers in the L24 postcode, which covers parts of Liverpool and East Merseyside, have points on their licence - more than any other single postcode in the country. A second Liverpool postcode - L28 - is sixth on the list of shame, with 13.8% of drivers holding valid points.

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Although Liverpool appears twice in the list, drivers in and around Bradford are the most likely to have points, with five BD postcodes in the top 10.

In BD3, which covers central and eastern parts of the city 14.5% of drivers have points, putting it in second place on the list compiled by Collingwood Insurance Services. The BD1, 4, 5 and 9 postcodes all also feature in the top 10, although east Leeds and Wakefield are in third and fourth places respectively.

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In contrast, the thinly populated EC4V postcode in the heart of London has no drivers with penalty points, according to the official figures. The nearby ECVA postcode is also among the areas with the lowest proportion of offenders, coming fourth, with just 1.8% of drivers holding points.

However, it is the Scottish Hebrides that appear to have the most law-abiding motorists in the country. Five of the 10 postcodes with the lowest proportion of points-holders are within the island chain, including the PA48 and PA43 postcodes on Islay which, with just 1.3% and 1.7% of drivers carrying points, are second and third on the list. Coll, Tiree and Harris also feature in the list, along with the nearby isle of Arran, Newport on the Isle of White and the Covent Garden area of London (WC2E).

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The lower proportions of drivers with points in these areas could be down to impeccable driving standards or the fact that less populated areas such as the Highlands and Islands have fewer detection devices such as speed cameras as well as a lower density of police officers to catch law-breakers.

You can check exactly what proportion of drivers in your postcode have penalty points using our searchable tool below.

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