Nearly 100 drivers in Devon and Cornwall have escaped a ban despite amassing 12 points or more, it has been revealed.
Responding to a Freedom of Information Act request from the BBC, the DVLA has disclosed that 95 motorists in the force area have not been disqualified despite having 12 points or more on their licences. They include one driver who has accumulated 20 points.
Magistrates can exercise their discretion to spare drivers the usual mandatory ban when they reach 12 points if there are deemed to be exceptional circumstances.
The DVLA said: "In a small percentage of cases where the driver has accumulated 12 or more penalty points, the agency understands that a court can exercise its discretion and not disqualify the driver.
"In the majority of these cases, magistrates may have decided to allow drivers to retain their entitlement to drive where it is considered that disqualification would cause exceptional hardship."
Last year 2,344 drivers in Devon and Cornwall were banned from the roads, up from 1,987 in 2009.
Chris Hunt-Cook, of the Magistrates' Association, said: "The law has long recognised that disqualifying people from driving hits some people more than others."
Examples of those granted a reprieve include a small business owner who successfully argued that his business would collapse if he were banned from driving his van, leading to three other people losing their jobs.
