Graphic: Clocking up the points

Novice drivers could face an automatic ban after a single speeding offence, and would have to retake their tests, under proposals for a tightening of road safety laws.

Thousands of experienced motorists could also face automatic six-month disqualifications after two offences if the maximum number of points issued with a fixed penalty is doubled to six.

Ministers have dropped plans to balance the harsher penalties outlined yesterday with a reduction in the number of points imposed for minor breaches of a speed limit.

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It is not necessary that the speed be high; an average of ten to 12 miles an hour would meet all ordinary requirements

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• Graphic: clocking up the points

The consultation paper on road safety compliance issued by the Department for Transport suggested that police should no longer have to take careless drivers to court. Instead, it said, they should have the power to issue a £60 fixed penalty and three points. Offences that would become punishable by a fixed penalty include driving too close to the vehicle in front, failing to signal before turning, swerving, sudden braking, passing too close to a cyclist and failing to display lights at night.

Drivers who have held their licences for less than two years are already liable for a ban if they accumulate six points. Other drivers are banned after getting 12 points within three years. Under the proposals, novice drivers could be disqualified on their first offence as ministers want to increase to six points the penalty for exceeding the limit by more than 15 or 20mph.

In 2006, 26,400 drivers were disqualified for “totting up” 12 points within three years. More than a million are driving with six points on their licences and could, therefore, be only one flash of a speed camera from a ban. There are 1.8 million people on the roads who have passed their tests within the past two years.

The department has retreated on plans to reduce to two points the penalty for those who drive at only just over the speed limit. The paper says that such a move could be dangerous because of the potentially deadly effects of small increases in speed. However, the DfT admits in an appendix to the document that introducing a two-point penalty alongside the new six-point penalty “may improve perceptions of the fairness of speed enforcement, improving respect for speed limits”.

The appendix dismissed suggestions that a two-point penalty would result in more speeding. It said: “This impact is not thought to be significant.”

Ministers are considering two speed thresholds for the new six-point penalty: under the harsher option, drivers would get six points for driving 15mph above the limit in 20mph and 30mph zones; the other option is a 20mph margin, meaning that drivers would not get six points unless doing 40mph in a 20mph limit or 50mph in a 30mph limit. On motorways and dual carriageways, where the limit is 70mph, the two options for the six-point threshold are 90mph and 95mph.

The fine for speeding fixed penalties will remain £60 regardless of the speed. Ministers had previously suggested it could be raised to £100 for higher breaches and lowered to £40 for minor breaches.

The document states that the proposals could result in more drivers being disqualified but that the impact “has not been quantified”.