The Road Traffic (New Drivers) Act 1995 established a two-year probationary period for newly qualified drivers. During this period (2 years from the date the first driving test is passed), a newly qualified driver who accumulates 6 or more penalty points will have their licence revoked. The entitlement to drive will only be reinstated upon successful re-completion of both theory and practical driving tests.
A driver may accumulate points on their provisional driving licence before passing their driving test and this will not result in the licence being revoked. This means that a provisional driver can, in theory, accumulate up to 11 penalty points before passing their driving test. However, should they then commit a further road traffic offence within the two-year probationary period this will trigger the revocation process.
A driver who accumulates six penalty points in their probationary period (or a triggering offence which causes the number of points to total 6 or more) will be required to attend Court. The only methods of avoiding New Driver revocation are to either;
If six or more points are imposed within the probationary period then the new driver will be unable to drive until they re-sit, and pass, both parts of their driving test again. A successful re-test ends the probationary period.
If a new driver accumulates 12 or more penalty points within their probationary period they will receive a minimum 6-month disqualification for “totting up” (see Exceptional hardship / totting bans) and will also be prevented from re-sitting their driving test until the disqualification has been served. The benefit of serving the ban removes the points from the driving licence.
If you are within your probationary period and receive a summons to court or a fixed penalty offer, please contact our specialist road traffic offence team to seek our advice at the earliest opportunity. We have a very successful track record in securing short discretionary bans as an alternative to penalty points in these situations. Our team of expert motoring lawyers will give you honest legal advice to obtain the best possible result if you are facing disqualification or revocation.