MORE than a million British motorists are just one offence away from being banned from driving, with more than 125,000 of them claiming they will lose their jobs as a result.

The growing number of speed cameras across the UK – reported at about 6,000 – are blamed for the ‘nationwide surge’ in the number of drivers with penalty points on their licences.

The number of drivers with three points on their licences has increased by 7% in the last two years, with Direct Line, the company behind the study, estimating that motorists have paid more than £121 million in speeding fines over the past 12 months.

Asked their views on speed cameras, more than half (61%) believed they are used to raise revenue. More than 4.8 million (16%) drivers now have penalty points on their licences but despite the risk of getting caught by cameras say they are failing to deter them.

A Direct Line spokeswoman said: ‘Despite the growing number of speed cameras in the UK and the increase in motorists receiving penalty points, our research shows that drivers are still speeding.

‘Drivers need to take notice of the speed limits and cameras, regardless of whether they agree with them or not.

‘Speed cameras exist because speeding is one of the biggest dangers on UK roads with one in three road deaths attributed to it so motorists do need to be aware of the limits.’

The research was carried out for Direct Line by YouGov, which questioned almost 2,500 UK adults.