Drivers caught at 12...and punished with a road ban!

Hundreds of children – some as young as 12 – are being caught driving every year, research reveals today.

And their punishment is to be disqualified from driving – even though the road ban often covers a time when many are still too young to be legally behind a wheel.

Some repeat offenders are being charged with driving offences up to 15 times, with a staggering 1,701 drivers under the age of 17 banned from the road in the last two and a half years.

But car insurers have called the driving bans ‘senseless’ and ineffective’ because they are often expire before the children are old enough to apply for a provisional licence, and offenders may still be able to secure a licence when they come of age.

They have called for a review of deterrents for under-age driving, and for the courts to make the bans start from the date an offender becomes 17 and is legally able to drive.

records show 725 children under the age of 17 were disqualified from driving last year, up from 692 in 2013. In the period to May this year 284 children have been disqualified by the courts – a five per cent increase on the same period in 2013.

Of the 1,701 banned since 2013, seven were aged just 12, 685 were aged 13 to 15 and 1,009 were aged 16.

The analysis by Churchill also reveals that 923 children under the age of 17 have committed more than one driving offence, with children as young as 12 convicted ‘multiple times’. Of these one has committed 15 offences, 87 young people have been prosecuted for at least five offences and 15 have been convicted of at least ten offences. Steve Barrett, head of car insurance at Churchill, said: ‘It is shocking to see hundreds of children legally disqualified from driving at an age when they should never even be behind the wheel.

‘We need harder hitting education schemes highlighting the risks and dangers of driving under-age and uninsured.’

He added: ‘It doesn’t make sense that bans are served when children are not legally able to drive. The number of repeat offenders is proof in itself of how ineffective a deterrent this is. Bans should commence from the date an offender becomes 17.’