Clause 24 - Penalty points
Road Safety Bill
10:15 am
Mr Christopher Chope (Shadow Minister, Environment and Transport; Christchurch, Conservative)
The hon. Member for Stafford (Mr. Kidney) has raised a number of issues, many of which I wanted to raise myself with the Minister. This is potentially a good and useful clause, which emphasises the importance of education and training in improving road safety. As the hon. Gentleman said, it builds on the initiative introduced by the Conservative Government in the Road Traffic Act 1991 to establish drink-drive rehabilitation courses. There are some pertinent questions about why the figure of seven to 11 points has been specified in the Bill, and I await the Minister's explanation on that and other questions that have been put to him.
One other question that I want to ask the Minister is why 12 months must elapse from the date of the order before there is a reduction in the number of penalty points. It is important that the courses are undertaken as quickly as possible, because, as soon as they are completed successfully, there is a better driver on the road than there was before. Surely the reduction in penalty points on the licence should take place as soon as the course has been completed. As I understand it, it would not take place until after a year, thereby reducing the individual's incentive to undertake the course quickly instead of waiting until the end of the one-year period, as only after a year will they see a reduction in the number of penalty points on the licence.