THE postcodes which are home to Scotland's worst drivers can be been revealed - with Motherwell having the highest number of drivers who have given penalty points for driving offences.

An analysis of DVLA statistics carried out by the Sunday Herald has also found one in ten drivers in Scotland have penalty points on their licence - with one motorist north of the border racking up an astonishing total of 24 points for driving offences.

Two postcodes – ML6 covering areas such as Airdrie and Chapelhall and ML1 covering Motherwell, Carfin and Newhouse – top the table for the highest number of licences with penalty points.

Other postcodes in the top five include G72 in Glasgow, which covers areas such as Blantyre and Cambuslang, KY11 covering Rosyth in Fife and EH54 covering Livingston in West Lothian.

Overall, a total of 346,594 drivers in Scotland have been hit with penalty points, with the percentage of overall drivers with penalty points ranging from just under 14% in the Glasgow postcode area to just under 4% in Shetland.

The individual licence with the highest number of penalty points – 24 – was recorded in the G41 area of Glasgow, which covers Pollokshields and Shawlands.

The figures were compiled from a database published by the DVLA showing a ‘snapshot’ of penalty points by postcode in March 2015.

Penalty points can be added for offences ranging from having defective tyres and breaking the speed limit to drink driving and causing death by dangerous driving.

More unusual categories include refusing to submit to an eyesight test and “furious” driving, which falls under the category of reckless or dangerous driving.

The endorsements stay on the driving licence for four or 11 years, depending on the offence, and drivers who rack up more than 12 points in three years risk being banned from the road by the courts.

New drivers who accumulate six points in the first two years of passing their test also automatically have their licence revoked by the DVLA, and have to sit their test again to resume driving.

Responding to the figures Mike Bristow, spokesman for road safety charity Brake, said: “The penalty points system exists to protect the public by taking dangerous repeat offenders off the road, while giving drivers who have made a mistake a chance to change their driving behaviour.

“If drivers who rack up 12 points or more are not banned, it makes a mockery of the system, and puts everyone else in danger.

“Governments north and south of the border need to recognise that action needs to be taken to prevent drivers from continually flouting the law.”

Scotland’s Worst Drivers, a website that highlights everyday examples of poor motoring, features various shocking cases such as drivers overtaking on blind bends and using their mobiles to film while behind the wheel, as well as bad parking.

A spokesman for the website said: "I am not shocked at all that one in 10 drivers have points on their licenses - in fact I think the figure should be higher given the number of offences that go undetected. Some we have featured, but police are unwilling to deal with due to no complaint by a witness despite video evidence.

"I also think it is safe to assume that nine in 10 offences are speeding or mobile phone related given the number of those that enter our inbox daily.”

However Edmund King, president of the AA motoring association, said drivers in Scotland were potentially at a disadvantage with penalty points.

He said: “For various motoring offences in England and Wales drivers can be offered diversion courses or speed awareness course in lieu of penalty points - 87% of drivers say they would recommend speed awareness courses to other drivers.

“In our view education is preferential to penalty points or prosecution.”

He added that drivers in urban areas tend to accumulate more penalty points as there are lower speed limits, more speed cameras and police, and more complex road networks.

Official statistics last week showed the death toll on Scotland’s road increased by 16% in Scotland last year. A total of 200 motorists, pedestrians and cyclists were killed in 2014, up from 172 on the year before. However the overall number of casualties recorded was 11,258, the lowest level since records began.

A spokesman for the DVLA said the figures were a snapshot taken from its live database of people who held a driving licence and penalty points, which is constantly updated.

He said some people could have more than 12 points on their licence after serving a disqualification period and then resuming driving before the points expired.

He added: “Our role in this is as a record keeper: the courts decide whether or not a driver should be disqualified and the points that should be endorsed – then they contact us and we will endorse the record accordingly with that.

“Obviously there are certain procedures in place - courts have their guidance on what they can or can’t do when making a decision and whether to disqualify a driver is at their discretion.”