Merseyside area has worst drivers in Britain, DVLA data reveals

Britain’s worst areas for law-breaking drivers have been revealed by analysis of licence data. A comparison of licence holders and penalty points per postcode from 2021 to 2022 has revealed that in the worst areas, drivers are three times more likely to have points on their licence than the national average.

West Yorkshire has been named the overall worst region, with eight of the top 10 postcodes on the list within its borders, while two more, including the single worst area, are in Merseyside. You can see how your own postcode ranks using our tool at the end of this article.

According to figures from the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA), 5% of all drivers - around two million people - have penalty points on their licence. These points are issued for a huge range of motoring offences, ranging from speeding and drink-driving to using a mobile phone while driving or driving a car with unsafe tyres.

However, 15% of drivers in the L24 postcode, which covers parts of Liverpool, Speke, Hale and Widnes, have points on their licence - more than any other single postcode in the country. A second Liverpool postcode - L28, which also covers parts of Knowsley - is sixth on the list of shame, with 13.8% of drivers holding valid points.

Although Liverpool appears twice in the list, drivers in and around Bradford are the most likely to have points, with five BD postcodes in the top 10.

In contrast, the thinly populated EC4V postcode in the heart of London has no drivers with penalty points, according to the official figures. The nearby ECVA postcode is also among the areas with the lowest proportion of offenders, coming fourth, with just 1.8% of drivers holding points.

You can check exactly what proportion of drivers in your postcode have penalty points using our searchable tool below.