Move to cut length of driving ban

DRIVING licences could have all points restored after two years with no new offences, MPs suggest. Drivers start with 12 points and lose them for motoring offences, making them temporarily invalid when all 12 are lost.

The measure, if adopted as part of the Loppsi security law, would be more generous than the current three-year wait. The law has been through a Senate stage and the National Assembly’s Laws Commission has been considering it before a debate later this month.

MPs also support a Senate proposal that the period after which you regain a single point lost for a minor offence should go from a year to six months.

Supporters say the changes will avoid people losing their licences for mere “carelessness” and avoid abuses such as trafficking of points on the internet and unlicensed driving.

However Transport Minister Dominique Bussereau said he opposes the reforms, though allowing recuperation of one point a year might be acceptable. He does not want to be seen as tolerating driving offences, he said.