In one of the most worrying press announcements of recent years, insurance comparison site confusing.com has revealed that learner drivers are an absolute blo*dy menace.

No fewer than 54,000 UK motorists have penalty points on their provisional licenses, confusing.com’s research analysts guess following a recent survey, with more than one in five of the 33% of British drivers with points on their licence having picked these up whilst still learning to drive.

Jemima Cranberry head of motorcar insurance at confusing.com comments: “We are aware that people might make mistakes along the way as they learn to drive, however picking up bad habits such as speeding or jumping lights before officially passing your driving test is never a good way to start.”

Nor, for the avoidance of confusion, is speeding or jumping the lights after officially (or unofficially) passing your test a good way to continue or indeed to end.

“There no way we can carry on like this,” adds Barry Aardvark of Motorpiphany, Cardiff. “It’s not as if we haven’t got enough drivers already. The time has surely come to stand up and say ‘enough is enough’. Young people need to learn some respect. Keeping them off our roads would be a step in the right direction.”

One factor potentially compounding the seeming recklessness of learner drivers may be a mistaken belief that it is not possible to pick up points on a licence you have yet to earn – and thus that learners may misbehave with impunity.

“It’s concerning that a considerable number of motorists (29%) were unaware that they could get penalty points on their licence before officially” (or presumably unofficially) “passing their test,” says Jemima.

Any new drivers who do have points on their licence may find it harder to find an affordable motor insurance premium, she warns. The best thing for them to do in such circumstances – or any other circumstances, for that matter – would be to shop around.

And a really great way to do that would be to visit a price comparison website such as…

See what she did there?!

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