60,000 young drivers could be on the road illegally

Magistrates are demanding action to tackle the flouting of the New Drivers Act by mainly young 'rogue' motorists which is putting millions of lives at risk.

The law automatically revokes the licences of those who run up six penalty points in their first two years on the road. They must retake their test after the ban.

Around 1,000 new drivers a month are banned under the law, of which eight out of ten are under 24.

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But magistrates fear that up to 65,000 youngsters who have had their licences revoked under the rule – half the total banned so far – have sneaked back on to the road illegally without a valid licence.

Often they are also without tax and even if they had insurance it would be invalidated. Even the

Government's Driving Standards Agency admits that the 1995 Act, which came into force in June 1997, "isn't working as intended".

Presented with the evidence, the Department for Transport said last night that it is to review the law with a view to making it more effective.

The admission follows figures obtained by the Daily Mail from the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency which show that between 1998 and February 2007 some 127,579 licences had been revoked under the law.

Of these, only 64,078 drivers have retaken their test. The remaining 63,501 have not.

Speed cameras cannot tell that they shouldn't be on the roads. And if they are driving properly-taxed cars, it is unlikely they will be stopped by increasingly rare traffic patrols.

Magistrates are particularly concerned because most of the offenders have been banned for lacking insurance, which can cost up to £2,500 a year for a young driver.

Elliott Griffiths, national council member of the 28,000-strong Magistrates' Association, said: "The problem is that 1,000 motorists every month are having their licences revoked under this law.

"Yet only 500 a month are retakingand passing their test. Even if we are generous, it means that somewhere between 40,000 and 60,000 new drivers who have had their licences revoked simply haven't retaken their test.

"It is inconceivable that they have all given up driving. Clearly the Act is not working the way it was designed to."

The scandal has reignited calls for the minimum driving age to be raised to 18, which is backed by the Association of British Insurers and has been the subject of a Daily Mail campaign.