500,000 drivers swop points with friends and family to avoid speed ban

Drivers who collect a total of 12 points automatically lose their licence.

But some on nine points are simply getting their nearest and dearest to claim they were the guilty motorist when they know they can get away with it, according to the research for an insurance company.

Around 495,000 - or 1.5 per cent - of all drivers have swopped points with someone so they do not build up too many points on their own licence, particularly if the extra penalty would mean they received a ban.

Such a practice is against the law. The Crown Prosecution Service said both the driver and accomplice could face charges of perverting the course of justice if caught.

And with modern cameras taking much clearer shots of the person behind the wheel it is becoming harder to get away with it.

But a sizable 29 per cent of all motorists say they see nothing wrong in using this method and would do it themselves if they needed to, according to the survey of 1,650 adults for insurer Churchill.

This may be partly caused by a perceived sense of injustice by otherwise law-abiding motorists who think their driving is safe but feel criminalised by speed cameras clocking them at just a few miles above the limit.

Nearly half of all drivers (49 per cent) do not think speed camera convictions on a licence make that person a bad driver because the catch-all cameras are so prevalent that millions are racking up points as a result.

But that could also mean that the cameras, while continuing to generate cash for the police forces that use them, are not as much of a deterrent as officers claim them to be if persistent offenders are getting off simply by swopping their points.

Point swopping also shows how much people need their cars, with 21 per cent of those surveyed claiming they could not work without their vehicle and 9 per cent saying they rely on it to get their children to school.

Twenty-three per cent said they would have no qualms about asking their partner to accept a three-point penalty on their behalf.

A Churchill spokesman said: "This research shows the lengths that some drivers will go to in order to stay on the roads despite committing driving offences such as speeding.

"Trying to escape convictions by swopping points with another person is highly illegal and can lead to prosecution. The way to avoid a speeding ban in the first place is simple - drive responsibly."

Sixty-five per cent of motorists believe speed camera penalties should be graded so there are fewer points awarded for driving a little above the speed limit and more when driving a lot faster than the limit.