Post date: 05-Jun-2017 10:21:20

The number of motorists banned from the road for dangerous driving increased by a dramatic 29 per cent last year, new research showed.

According to Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency figures, 5,179 licence holders were banned for driving recklessly in 2016 - that was 1,173 more than in 2015. So which age range was banished from the road more so than any other? If you thought the youngest of drivers, you'd be wrong.

The figures were revealed today (Thursday) by tech firm and dashcam maker ASUS, which sourced conviction data from the DVLA. According to the statistics, young adults between the ages of 26 and 35 are more likely to be disqualified for dangerous driving than any other age group. In fact, 2016 saw a 28 per cent increase in bans in this demographic as a whole, with 30 per cent of all female disqualifications in 2016 coming in this age range.

Despite this, the research backs the theory that women are safer drivers than men.

In fact, 87 per cent of all disqualifications in 2016 were male drivers - up 1 per cent on data for the year previous. Rising convictions for dangerous driving are also likely to have an impact on motorists' pockets.

Experts have already predicted that the average car insurance premium will rise above £800 with the increase in premium tax from 1 June, and figures like these are unlikely to help policy costs fall for drivers. Jon Parmar, country manager at ASUS, said: 'What this data has shown is that driving disqualifications are on the rise every single year. 'Irrelevant of age, gender or how long a license has been held, more drivers are having their licenses taken away for dangerous driving than ever and the numbers are staggering.'

He added that drivers need to have their own safety at 'the forefront of their minds' at all times when in a vehicle and that dashcams are becoming an important part of bolstering this.

'Car cams need to become an integral part of every driver’s experience from the moment they first pass their driving test,' he said.

North Wales Police is currently using dashcam footage to penalise motorists filmed driving dangerously.

Called Operation Snap, it has fast-tracked the charge process for dangerous driving captured by the devices as well as helmet cameras and mobile phones. Anyone with footage of motorists driving recklessly in the region can upload their video to the force's system and fill out a short description - an officer then reviews the content and issues a penalty notice where necessary, as they would to a driver caught speeding by a fixed- or average-speed camera.

This can be appealed, though it would mean an appearance in court for the accused.

Since the operation launched in October 2016, over 100 videos have been sent to the police department, with 80 penalties being handed out.

Currently, just North and South Wales Police are using the system.

Photo credits: Co.uk

Read more: http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/cars/article-4559660/Dangerous-driving-convictions-increased-29-year.html#ixzz4j7cAsw33

Source as above and the Daily Mail.

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