In British Columbia, drivers guilty of driving offenses under the BC Motor Vehicle Act (MVA) or the Criminal Code automatically receive penalty points on their driving record in addition to any fine or other penalty.  Paying a traffic ticket is seen as an admission of guilt that also results in automatic penalty points.  (Parking tickets and other minor violations of municipal driving by-laws are exceptions to this penalty points system.) The number of points depends on the offence.

 

Most offences generate at least two or three points.  Each year, the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia (ICBC) looks at the total number of points a driver has received during the 12-month period—the “assessment period”—that runs from five months before the driver’s birthday to the same date the following year.  Drivers who collect more than three points during their assessment periods are billed four weeks before their birthday for their “Driver Penalty Points (DPP) Premium.”  (The three-point threshold means that occasional minor violations do not result in DPP premium assessments.)

 

The DPP premium is in addition to: the ICBC annual insurance cost, any fine paid for the original offence, and any insurance cost increase for having been at fault in any accident related to the underlying offence.  DPP premiums are not insignificant starting at $175 for four points and going up to $24,000 for 50 or more points.  Once paid, the points are not billed for again.  Interest is payable on an overdue DPP bill and renewal of vehicle insurance and drivers’ licensing is unavailable until the bill is paid.

 

This system is designed, says ICBC “to make sure everybody is safe on the road, … to deter careless drivers from driving unlawfully.”  All DPP premium payments go to the fund that provides all holders of valid BC drivers’ licences with third party liability insurance, accident benefits, and underinsured motorist protection.  In short, the BC penalty points system operates as an active encouragement to careful driving.

 

An interesting variation of this general idea is the Spanish penalty points system, first established in July 2006 under which those who break the rules are penalized but, on the other hand, those who do not are rewarded.  All drivers have 12 points, except for beginner drivers with less than three years experience, who have eight points.  Drivers lose six points for serious offences (driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, reckless driving, etc.) down to two points for less serious offences.  Losing all points leads to license suspension for six months the first time and 12 months for any additional wipeouts.  Points can be recovered by taking road awareness and re-education courses.

 

Recently, in a move that garnered worldwide media attention, the Spanish Interior Ministry announced that it would reward with two additional points the 21 million drivers—comprising 80 percent of all Spanish drivers—who have held on to all their points since the system began three years ago.  Reportedly, road deaths in Spain fell 20 percent in 2008 from 2007, 2008 being the fifth consecutive year of decline.