Hoot Guide to penalty points
We love cheap
car insurance here at Hoot. We love it for bringing us
together, and we love it for paying our wages. We take pride
in providing some of the cheapest
car insurance quotes on the web, and it shows in the unrivalled
quality of customer service we offer.
But for some of us, cheap
car insurance on its own just isn't enough any more. I'm
talking about a hardcore contingent of extra-dedicated, extra-special
team members who wish they could be giving you advice on the
whole subject of motoring, not just the motor insurance part
of it.
These guys represent an amazing and largely untapped reserve
of motoring knowledge, and they want to share it all with
you, via the Hoot Guides.
Let me give you a few examples of the kind of guides we at
Hoot Car Insurance Services have produced to date. Take our
guide to buying a used car, for instance - that's a really
helpful one. Or how about the MOT test guide, the road tax
guide, or guide to seatbelt law, all of which have had lots
of hits and helped loads of people.
Now all that remains if for me to present this latest addition
to the Hoot Guides series: The Hoot guide to penalty points.
Penalty point theory
Because car crime is generally unintentional and quite often
the result of inexperience, UK law gives each motorist the
chance to commit a minor driving offence or two before taking
their licence away.
These 'chances' are represented on your licence by the number
of penalty points you have incurred, and this depends on the
frequency and seriousness of the offences you commit.
In an ideal world, everyone wants a 'full, clean' licence,
i.e. one without any penalty points on it. A clean standard
licence can take up to 12 penalty points before it is revoked
- that's the equivalent of four minor speeding offences.
However, since a change in the law in 1997, all drivers must
wait two years after passing their first driving test before
their licences will accommodate these 12 points. For this
probationary period, they're only good for six - it's a bid
to reduce the appalling casualty rate among newly qualified
drivers.
'Endorsable' offences
Not all car-related crimes carry a penalty point charge.
For example: it's been illegal to use a hand-held mobile
phone whilst driving since 2003, but until February 2007 the
penalty for doing so usually only amounted to a £30 fine.
A change in the law at that time means that that convictions
now carry a £60 fine and three penalty points.
The technical term for applying these points to your licence
is 'endorsing' them, and as such the crime of using a mobile
whilst at the wheel has become an 'endorsable' one.
All serious driving offences and the majority of minor ones
carry an endorsable penalty, with varying numbers of points
reflecting the seriousness of the particular crime. Three-point
penalties, like the example given above, apply to the least
serious sort. Causing death by dangerous driving, on the other
hand, can come with up to 11 points.
Endorsement expiry
All endorsements come with an expiry date, after which time
the points no longer count against your licence. And just
as more serious offences come with a higher points value,
they also take much longer to expire.
Take those eleven points you've been awarded for causing
death by dangerous driving, for instance - they'll stay on
your licence for the next 11 years. By comparison, endorsements
for a minor crime like speeding are dispensed with in just
four years.
This is excellent news when it comes to motor insurance,
because insurers tend to put up the premiums of any driver
with a less-than-clean licence. Even a minor offence ruins
the average cheap car insurance rate, so it's reassuring to
know that it need only stay that way for a few years.
Disqualification
If your licence is endorsed with twelve or more points in
a three-year period, you are liable to be banned from driving.
The disqualification follows a court hearing and lasts for
a period of time specified by that court, based on your particular
criminal circumstances.
Once the banned period is up you are free to reapply for
your licence, but the success of your application will rely
on your meeting certain case-specific criteria. If you lost
your original licence due to drink driving offences, for example,
you will need to prove you've sobered-up by passing a medical
exam.
People who get disqualified within their first two years
of driving fare slightly worse once they've paid their debt
to society, however. They have to re-take and pass both parts
of the full UK driving test before being allowed back onto
the roads.
Cheap car insurance from Hoot
If you've developed a sudden interest in penalty points, chances
are you're in the market for cheap
car insurance quotes, too.
Luckily for you, the team here at Hoot Car Insurance Services
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So what are you waiting for? Click below for cheap car insurance
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