Some 3,552 large goods vehicle (LGV) drivers have been disqualified for having too many points and 567 lost their licences by having more than six points within two years of passing their test, according to newly published data.
The statistics follow a Freedom of Information (FOI) request by Crown Oil to the DVLA regarding LGV driver penalty points.
The DVLA data shows that 6,747 drivers have three or more points on their LGV licence, with about half that number – 3,552 – having been disqualified for aggregating too many points; an offence known as TT99.
Speeding is the most common offence, accounting for 45% of points. According to Crown, there were also 8,791 offences due to “bad drivers being issued multiple codes”. This was followed by 10% of drivers receiving points for insurance offences.
Matt Greensmith, managing director of Crown Oil said: “LGV training is rigorous and earning the licence is something many LGV drivers pay for themselves, so losing their licence means losing their livelihood too. Large vehicle drivers need to also be acutely aware of the risk to other drivers of driving a commercial vehicle in the event of any road incidents. In the interests of road safety, businesses that operate LGV fleets also need to ensure their drivers are the company’s ambassadors on the road.”
The DVLA also revealed that with 1,231,000 LGV licences awarded since 2016, 99.4% of large vehicle drivers have no penalty points.
Offences by LGV drivers
| Count | Offenced | Code | Percent of total |
| 3,982 | Speeding | SP | 45% |
| 921 | Insurance | IN | 10% |
| 866 | Careless driving | CD | 10% |
| 706 | Miscellaneous | MS | 8% |
| 590 | Traffic signal | TS | 7% |
| 357 | Failed to stop after an accident | AC | 4% |
| 257 | Construction and use | CU | 3% |
| 124 | Pedestrian crossing | PC | 1% |
| 121 | Drinking offences | DR | 1% |
| 118 | Licence offence | LC | 1% |
| 72 | Motorway offences | MW | 1% |
| 71 | Driving while disqualified | BA | 1% |
| 13 | Drug offences | DG | 0.15% |
| 3 | Dangerous drivers | DD | 0.03% |
| Points | Number of licences |
| 3 | 1,269 |
| 4 | 246 |
| 5 | 268 |
| 6 | 1,700 |
| 7 | 297 |
| 8 | 403 |
| 9 | 1,031 |
| 10 | 326 |
| 11 | 285 |
| 12 | 382 |
| 13 | 97 |
| 14 | 86 |
| 15 | 137 |
| 16 | 47 |
| 17 | 28 |
| 18 | 60 |
| 19 | 15 |
| 20 | 9 |
| 21 | 25 |
| 22 | 5 |
| 23 | 7 |
| 24 | 6 |
| 25 | 1 |
| 26 | 1 |
| 27 | 4 |
| 28 | 1 |
| 29 | 1 |
| 30 | 5 |
| 33 | 2 |
| 35 | 1 |
| 60 | 2 |
| Total | 6,747 |
Author:
Andrew Baxter
Former deputy editor (maternity cover)
Andrew Baxter is an experienced journalist and content creator, starting out as a staff writer 17 years ago. He has held a number of positions on both B2B and consumer titles, including AM magazine.
Edward Handley - 14/10/2019 20:31
These are interesting figures but potentially very misleading. LGV (Large Goods Vehicles) are any goods vehicles over 3500 kg, where as HGVs (heavy goods vehicles) were goods vehicles over 7500 kg, so all HGVs are LGVs, but most LGVs are not HGVs. Drivers who passed the car test before 1/1/1997, in effect most drivers over the age of about 42, were given a licence for goods vehicles up to 7500 kg so are by definition LGV drivers. There are somewhere between 15 and 20 million people with this grandfather's rights licence, but only a very small proportion actually drive trucks. Then there are drivers who have passed the LGV or HGV test and hold the licence - around a million of them, but only about half actually use their licences. When the question is asked "How many LGV licence holders have points on their licences?" you need to enquire what the definition of LGV used was? Was it all LGV licence holders? because if so, the figure is almost meaningless, because most of them were not trained to drive trucks, they got grandfather's rights, and most of them do not, and have never, driven trucks! The Traffic Commissioners are responsible for the professional conduct of vocational licence holders, and vocational drivers who acquire lots of points tend to find themselves hauled up in front of the TC to explain themselves. If the explanation is lacking, very shortly afterwards their licences are lacking categories too. The important thing is to ask the right question, which should be, How many LGV licence holders with DCPC cards and/or Tachograph cards have points on their licences? The answer would be rather different, and much more revealing I suspect. If you ask a computer, in this case DVLA's computer a question, it is very important to ask the right question, because if you do not, you will get the wrong answer!