THE CHILDREN BANNED FROM DRIVING
STATISTICS SHOW CHILDREN AS YOUNG AS 13 HAVE BEEN DISQUALIFIED THIS YEAR
Boys 17 under the age of have been banned on 111 occasions so far in 2019 Girls have been banned six times
ORE than 100 children have been banned from driving so far this year - and the vast majority are boys.
Figures obtained from the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) under the Freedom of Information Act reveal that 117 under 17-year-olds were disqualified from driving in the first part of 2019.
Of those, 111 were male, while only six were female.
Two 13-year-old boys are the youngest people disqualified so far this year.
The statistics also show that 63 people under the age of 17 have received endorsements for driving without insurance, and 63 have been endorsed for driving without a licence.
The number of children banned from driving has been falling in recent years.
There were a total of 749 bans in 2018, down from 991 the previous year and 950 in 2016.
If the current rate continues, the figure could fall to under 640 this year.
It’s not just young people being banned, either.
The figures also reveal the disqualification of a 93-year-old female this year.
So far in 2019 some 23,855 people of all ages have been barred from getting behind the wheel.
Although the number of children being banned from driving is falling, the overall number of people banned has risen in recent years.
There were 123,087 disqualifications in 2018, up from 114,559 in 2017 and 107,552 in 2016.
People in their late 20s are the most likely to be banned from driving, with males making up the majority.
That is why car insurance is typically higher for men.
A spokesperson for road safety charity Brake said: “It is shocking to see so many underage disqualified drivers already this year.
“Irresponsible underage drivers are untrained and unlicensed, and pose a grave danger to themselves and other road users.
“Quite simply, they have no right to be on the road.
“The rise in the total number of driving bans in previous years highlights that dangerous driving and repeat offending are increasingly prevalent on our roads.
“We need to see greater investment by Government in roads policing, so that the police have the resources they need to ensure there is a true deterrent to dangerous driving on our roads.”