We all know someone who has racked up a few points on their driving licence, whether it’s a family member of that boy racer mate whose car you always avoid getting in at all costs.
However, it would seem many of our preconceptions about the so-called ‘worst’ drivers are completely misguided, according to a study carried out by confused.com.
Researching Britain’s motorists using Freedom of Information requests to the DVLA, the finance and insurance company found that there are over 2.66 million drivers with points on their licences in the UK.
Even more interestingly, the data seemed to show that despite the relatively common perception that either younger or older people are perhaps not the safest of drivers, neither of these groups ranked highest on the list of those with driving offences. It was, in fact, middle-aged drivers.
Middle-aged drivers commit the most offences
That’s right, despite those who have only recently passed their test or more senior drivers often being perceived as the biggest liabilities on the road, the most common age bracket was 30 to 34, with approximately 6,522 per 100,000 drivers (6.52%) having been given points on their licence.
ADVERTISEMENT
35-39 came in second with 6,397 and 40-44 came in third with 6,345.
Conversely – and while they obviously haven’t been on the road as long as others – it was found that those under 19 had the least offences; by some distance as well, with just 352 points per 100,000 drivers.
ADVERTISEMENT
While drivers with provisional licences may be included in this figure, it’s still worth noting. Moreover, the oldest age group (95 and over) with 2,186 drivers aged 95 and over per 100,000 (2.19%) having been penalised.
Once again, there are obviously far fewer drivers within this age group and making less journeys but as you can see in the full report, motorists with the most penalty points tend to bunch up between the ages of 30 and 59.
In terms of individual ages, those who are aged 32 are apparently the most likely to have points on their licence. The data reveals that 6,615 per 100,000 32-year-old drivers currently have points on their UK driver’s licence.
ADVERTISEMENT
Which sex picks up more points?
Their research also indicated which sex tends to be penalised most on the road, with men being over twice as likely to have points on their driving licence than women.
There was actually a fairly big difference in the number of penalty points accrued: only 3,187 out of every 100,000 female drivers (3.19%) have penalty points on their licence, whereas the rate for men was around 7,158 per 100,000 (7.16%).
So, while there are roughly similar numbers of men and women on the roads (26.4 million compared to 24 million), 1.9 million men have points compared to around 766,000 women.
Hey, don’t look at us — the numbers don’t lie and it’s you lot doing the driving.
The most common kind of penalty offence committed in the UK was breaking the speed limit on a public road with 2,158,179 offences, followed by speeding on motorways.
ADVERTISEMENT
As for the areas where drivers are most likely to pick up points, you’ll be glad to hear that Greater Manchester wasn’t even in the top 25 most serial offenders. Cheshire was the closest in 19th place, with around 8.22% of drivers in the region currently holding possessing points on their licence.
Do any of these revelations come as a surprise to you or are you simply so good impeccable driver that you assume everyone is just as suspect as each other?
Featured Image — Samuele Errico Piccarini (via Unsplash)
Travel & Tourism
Full list of road closures set to be in place for Manchester Day 2024
Emily Sergeant
Manchester Day is back for 2024 this weekend, and the full list of road closures set to be in place has been confirmed.
Now that schools are officially out across Greater Manchester, and the summer holidays are well and truly here, the hugely-popular Manchester Day is making a return once again this Saturday 27 July, and as always, it’s set to be “the day summer officially starts” in the city centre – with a massive celebration of “all things Mancunian” on the cards.
The theme of this year’s annual event is ‘Let The Games Begin’, and it’s inspired by the international summer of sport, just 2024 Olympics kicks off over in Paris.
The day will be packed full of free events and activities to get involved with.
Some city centre roads will be closed on Friday 26 and Saturday 27 July for Manchester Day.
These will include:
🛣️Deansgate 🛣️St Ann Street 🛣️St Mary’s Gate 🛣️Market Street 🛣️King Street
— Manchester City Council (@ManCityCouncil) July 21, 2024
But of course, in order for the all the fun to go ahead as safely as possible, and as tends to be the case for events like these, Manchester City Council says it will need to make some temporary road closures to facilitate it.
The full list of road closures has now been confirmed by the Council, and there’s some major city centre thoroughfares set to be out of action.
Here’s everything you need to know.
Manchester Day 2024 – Road Closures
Saturday 27 July
From 6am to 11:59pm, Manchester City Council has confirmed that the following roads will be closed:
Deansgate (Manchester Cathedral to John Dalton Street) – access will be maintained to Marks and Spencer’s car park and Number One Deansgate.
St Ann Street (Deansgate to Cross Street)
St Mary’s Gate (Exchange Street to Deansgate)
St Mary’s Street (Southbridge Street to Deansgate)
Market Street (Exchange Street to Cross Street)
Fennel Street (Corporation Street to Cathedral Street) – access will be maintained for morning deliveries only.
Cathedral Street (Fennel Street to Exchange Square) – access will be maintained for morning deliveries only.
Cateaton Street (Exchange Square to Deansgate)
Barton Square (St Ann’s Square to St Ann Street)
King Street (Cross Street to Deansgate) – no access for deliveries.
All accessible bays, bus lanes, and taxi ranks within the closed areas will also be suspended during from 6pm on Friday 26 July to 11:59pm on Saturday 27 July.
The parking suspensions set to be in place are:
Deansgate (Manchester Cathedral to John Dalton Street)
St Ann Street – including the bays outside St Ann’s Church (Deansgate to Cross Street)
St Mary’s Gate (Exchange Street to Deansgate)
St Mary’s Street (Southbridge Street to Deansgate)
Southgate (St Mary’s Street to King Street West)
Market Street (Exchange Street to Cross Street)
Fennel Street (Corporation Street to Cathedral Street) – access will be maintained for morning deliveries only.
Cathedral Street (Fennel Street to Exchange Square) – access will be maintained for morning deliveries only.
Cateaton Street (Exchange Square to Deansgate)
Victoria Street (Cathedral Approach to Deansgate)
Todd Street (Corporation Street to Station Approach)
King Street (Spring Gardens to Southgate)
South King Street (Ridgefield to Deansgate)
Barton Square (St Ann’s Square to St Ann Street)
King Street West (Deansgate to St Mary’s Parsonage)
St James’s Square (John Dalton Street to South King Street)
Cross Street (King Street to Corporation Street)
Museum Street (Peter Street to Windmill Street)
Marsden Street (Cheapside to Brown Street)
Manchester Day 2024: Let The Games Begin! will take over the city centre on Saturday 27 July from 12pm-6pm.
Check out everything you need to know ahead of the event here.
‘Complex’ Metrolink repairs to the Rochdale via Oldham line could take weeks to complete
Emily Sergeant
Work currently underway on the Rochdale via Oldham line is expected to take several weeks to complete.
Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) has confirmed that land movement affecting the Metrolink network near Derker has now “slowed”, and this means that detailed ground investigations and temporary repair works have been able to get underway.
In order for trams to run again on the crucial line from the city centre to the two major Greater Manchester towns, TfGM says that a small section of track has to be moved back – also known as ‘slewed’ – into its original position.
The overhead line poles also need to be repaired too, the transport operator revealed.
Rochdale line update
Land movement affecting the Metrolink network near Derker has slowed, enabling detailed ground investigations and temporary repair works to get underway.
To get trams running again, a small section of track has to be moved back into its original position… pic.twitter.com/byERjitdi1
Unfortunately though, due to the “complex” nature of these works, and despite the fact that TfGM says it’s actively looking to “accelerate” the repairs, the project is expected to take up to five weeks to complete in full.
On top of this, the detailed ground investigations will also establish whether any further work to strengthen foundations beneath the track will be needed at a later date.
TfGM has apologised for the inconvenience caused to passengers.
‘Complex’ Metrolink repairs to the Rochdale via Oldham line could take weeks to complete / Credit: TfGM
Speaking on the scale of works currently underway, and how long he expects them to continue for, Pete Sommers, who is TfGM’s Network Director for Metrolink, said: “I’m sorry for the impact this is having, and will continue to have, on people’s journeys.
“We are working to get trams running through the area again, but this remains a complex and challenging issue and it could still be a few weeks before this happens.
“We will of course keep passengers updated, and I’d encourage people to check our social media channels and website for the latest information and advice.”