Moneyshake submitted a Freedom of Information request to find out how many drivers have penalty points (or endorsements) on their provisional licence.

Using the latest data released by the DVLA, it shows that a shocking 65,054 learner drivers have points on their licence before passing their test!

Discover our findings below as we reveal the DVLA’s statistics on Britain’s worst learner drivers.

12,000 drivers risk losing their new licence 

The DVLA data shows that a staggering 10,639 learner drivers have seven to nine points on their provisional licence, while 1,803 have 10 or more!

In total, 12,442 learner drivers could have their licence cancelled immediately after passing their test. Points from your provisional are carried over to your full licence, with six or more points within two years of passing your test leading to  licence revocation.

Passing to be banned 

To avoid a full licence being cancelled straight away, the driver would need to wait for the points to expire before taking their driving test. Endorsements stay on the driving record for four years, going up to 11 years for the most serious offences.

An astonishing 52,802 men already have points on their provisional licence, compared to just 12,252 women – a difference of 40,550 learner drivers!

The government statistics show that female learners have significantly fewer points across every point category, suggesting they’re safer on the roads and will be better drivers when they pass the test.

It seems that these bad driving habits continue after men and women pass their test, too. A 2019 study by Confused showed that 79% of motoring offences are committed by men, even though there’s a difference of less than 1% between the mileage of the two sexes.

Learner drivers in their 20s are the worst 

When broken down by age group, learners in their 20s are the worst for having penalty points before passing their test. The DVLA data shows that 26,552 provisional licence holders in their 20s already have one or more endorsements on their driving record.

The study exposes 21-year-olds as the worst learner drivers overall, when compared to all UK provisional licence holders by age.

It also found that 3,043 21-year-olds already have penalty points, which was also the only age to have more than 3,000 learner drivers with endorsements on their licence.

16 year olds with penalty points 

A shocking 80 learner drivers with penalty points are just 16 years old, even though we aren’t allowed to get behind the wheel until age 17. What’s more, all these drivers are male.

Based on the data, men are likely to be the most dangerous drivers, based on 10,668 male learners with seven or more penalty points on their record, compared to just 1,673 women.

Taking a closer look at the DVLA statistics, 20-year-old males are likely to be the most dangerous. It seems that 627 learners with seven penalty points or more are 20-year-old men, which is more than any other provisional licence holders by age and gender.

25-year-old women are the most dangerous for their gender category, but with much fewer learners, as only 69 female provisional licence holders have seven points or more.

Penalty points on  provisional licences

Any penalty points accumulated while learning to drive will carry over to a full licence. It can take four years for points to expire, although this goes up to 11 years for very serious offences. Most endorsements are automatically removed from your record after they expire.

Six points or more within two years of passing the test means the driving licence is automatically cancelled.

Five motoring offences that have a penalty of six points or more that could get a licence revoked:

1. Using your mobile phone while driving

2. Driving without insurance

3. Driving under the influence of drink or drugs

4. Failing to identify the driver (for example, after being caught by a speed camera)

5. Driving while disqualified

More info at Moneyshake.