Manchester is the worst city for banned drivers in the United Kingdom, MM can exclusively reveal.
Stats discovered in a freedom of information request show, of the cities with the highest amount of disqualified drivers in the UK, Manchester currently has the most per capita.
Manchester has 3,044 disqualified drivers – around 0.6% of its population – whereas London only has 9,321 – only 0.11% of its population.
Second behind Manchester is Nottingham, with 0.56% of its population disqualified from driving, and Birmingham comes in with 3,326 banned drivers, only 0.33% of its population – almost half that of Manchester’s.
Mike Beavan, of Manchester Group of RoSPA Drivers and Riders, puts the amount of banned drivers down to carelessness and a lack of concentration.
“If they get banned they have broken the law and they usually break the law because they are not concentrating,” he explained.
“They all know what the speed limit is – you won’t be done for speeding unless you reach ten percent and two above the limit, so 35 in a 30, 47 in a 40.
“So if you’re done at 35, with speedometers reading a little bit fast, you’re probably two miles faster than that and you’re doing nearer 40 when you get caught.”
Nottingham is home to the second highest per population, Bradford third, while Glasgow hosts the most in Scotland and fourth highest in the UK.
Inspector John Armfield of Greater Manchester Police insists the Traffic Network Section have made it their priority to make the roads of Greater Manchester safer.
“Through Operation Dice we have been targeting dangerous road users to bring down the number of people killed and seriously injured on our roads,” he explained.
“We know that speeding, using a mobile phone, not wearing a seatbelt or drink driving can have devastating consequences for all road users, and although our advice may seem simple, there are many motorists who choose not to follow it.
“In doing so they are putting their lives and those of others at risk, and we will always take robust action against them, which may result in disqualification.”
And Roger Lawson from the Alliance of British Drivers agrees, stating drivers who break the law have no reason to feel aggrieved at being given a ban.
“We are very much against driving uninsured or under the influence of alcohol and we think it quite right they should be banned,” he said.
“People driving when uninsured are a particular problem in cities, police are trying to crackdown on these drivers in London, but it is often too easy for them to avoid getting caught.
“This could also be a problem in Manchester, but those who get banned usually do so from totting up too many points, driving at ridiculous speeds or not paying attention.”
Mr Beavan explained the origins of the word ‘cop’ come from pre-speed camera days, where a policeman using a speed gun would measure drivers’ concentration, observation and planning.
RoSPA also offer an Advanced Drivers and Riders Manchester group to help people wanting to improve road safety, who are graded at gold, silver and bronze level.
Picture courtesy of Timo_w2s, with thanks.
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