by Joe Jeffrey

Colder weather predicted as snow heads east

Parts of the UK remain on high alert this week as temperatures continue to plummet in a sure sign that winter is here to stay.

With the cold snap, snow has fallen across the Borders, Pennines, Wales and the Midlands, with temperatures dropping as low as minus 7C in northern Scotland.

A mixture of rain and sleet, as well as snow, will continue to spread further to the east across England and Wales, eventually reaching the east coast tonight, with some lower ground receiving heavy bursts.

Cold and strong winds, with North Sea coastal counties predicted to play host to gales of up to 55mph, are also forecast, with the effects of scattered winter showers continuing into Friday.

The fall in temperature has prompted health chiefs to issue warnings to elderly residents across the country, advising those most vulnerable to have the flu jab and ensure homes are kept warm. The advice follows a stark rise in winter deaths last year, rising to 151 per cent which, according to official figures, saw almost 44,000 deaths in England and Wales between December 2014 and March 2015.

Public Health England’s Dr Angie Bone said: “It’s so important to remember that cold does kill, even in places where the temperatures aren’t at their lowest.

“Most of our advice at PHE on keeping warm in cold weather may seem like common sense but people should think about how the cold weather can affect them.”

The weekend looks set to allow for the cold snap to continue, with temperatures plummeting even further and mercury is predicted to fall as low as minus 15C in some parts of the UK – the lowest temperatures recorded in the UK since 2012, when it fell to minus 15.C at Holbeach in Lincolnshire.

Meanwhile, motorists have been warned of difficult driving conditions and travel disruption.

How’s the weather where you are at present? Join in with our Snow Watch topic in our forum here for all the latest updates from our readers.

Scary statistics unearthed by IAM over state of drivers on Britain’s roads

In shocking news, the institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM) has found three drivers with more than 40 points on their driving licences are still allowed on the road, after submitting a Freedom of Information request to the DVLA.

The enquiry also found that 13 people in Britain currently have 28 or more points on their driving licence, the worst of those amassing a worrying 51 points.

In further research conducted, the IAM also established that the numbers of drivers with 12 or more points has shot up by 9 per cent in just seven months between March and October 2015 – from 6,884 to 7,517.

While the DVLA does not hold details as to whether all of those individuals were still in possession of a vehicle, it did state that individual courts have the powers to choose not to disqualify a driver.

In correspondence released by the IAM, the DVLA wrote: “In a small percentage of cases where the driver has accumulated 12 or more penalty points, the agency understands that a court can exercise its discretion and not disqualify the driver.

“In the majority of these cases, magistrates may have decided to allow drivers to retain their entitlement to drive where it is considered that disqualification would cause exceptional hardship,” it added.

The location of drivers with 28 points or more across Britain by postcode district is as follows:

Oxford – 51 points
Liverpool – 42 points
Basildon – 42 points
Wigan – 39 points
Burnley – 38 points
Northampton – 33 points
SW London – 33 points
Sheffield – 30 points         
Southend-on-Sea – 30 points
Slough – 30 points
Cambridge – 30 points
Peterborough – 29 points
Stevenage – 28 points

Furthermore, the IAM took a look into the ‘top five’ districts listed above and made the following shocking discoveries:

– 51 points holder (Oxford): provisional licence holder, three speeding offences in 30mph zone, seven offences of not providing driver details. Not disqualified

– 42 points holder (Basildon): seven offences, all of which were for failing to report driver details. Previously held points for speeding including one at 109mph. Not disqualified from driving as magistrates accepted mitigating circumstances including ‘extreme hardship’ through loss of income. Not disqualified

– 42 points holder (Liverpool): currently seven counts on record, including two of speeding in 30mph areas and five of not reporting driver of vehicle. Not disqualified

– 39 points holder (Wigan): 13 counts of exceeding the speed limit for a goods vehicle. Not known if this driver has been disqualified

– 38 points holder (Burnley): 10 counts of speeding in 30mph areas. Not disqualified

Data from the DVLA shows that, of the 45 million driving licence holders in Britain, three million have points on their licence. Meanwhile, some 100,000 licence holders have been disqualified over the past four years for reaching 12 points and four per cent got all their points in one go.

The DVLA also says their evidence suggests 90 per cent of drivers not disqualified are due to ‘judicial discretion’.

Sarah Sillars, IAM chief executive officer, said: “The IAM has been highlighting this issue for several years now and we appreciate that the flow of information between the DVLA and the courts is slowly improving, which will allow the courts to make better decisions while armed with the full facts.

“However these improvements cannot come quickly enough to deliver a truly joined-up approach to the judicial process. Individual courts making decision on prosecutions can lead to inconsistency in how the law is applied which risks devaluing the simple ’12 points and you’re out’ road safety message. If the public sees that persistent offenders are getting away with it, they may believe that road traffic rules – which let not us not forget, are designed for their safety – are ineffective or unimportant.”

What do you think of these findings? Will you feel unsafer not he road knowing drivers similar to those mentioned above are still taking to our roads up and down the country?