Drivers break law to beat penalty points

• 29% of drivers would accept partner's points
• 23% would ask partners to do same for them
• Drivers want speeding graduated points system

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Motorists are breaking the law to escape points on their licence, a survey by car insurer Churchill has discovered.

The research looked at how much motorists try to beat getting points on their licence. It shows that 495,000 drivers have swapped penalty points with their partner - an offence which could lead to prosecution.

Almost one in three drivers would accept their other half's points if they were on the verge of losing their licence, and 23% would ask their partners to do the same for them.

Nearly one-in-10 drivers is willing to ask their partner to take the blame for other offences, including driving through red lights, using a mobile phone and driving without insurance.

Drivers with speeding points 'not dangerous'
The survey also revealed interesting driver attitudes to those who have been convicted of speeding - nearly half of drivers (49%) believe that having points on a driving licence doesn't make a motorist a bad driver.

Two-thirds of motorists think driving convictions should be graduated, so that driving a little over the speed limit would only gain two points, while driving significantly over the speed limit would gain more points.