Let my learner driver brother drive my car down a quiet road and got caught

[Aretnap]

The offences he could be charged with would be:

 

Driving without insurance (6-8 points and a fine)

Driving otherwise than in accordance with a licence (3-6 points and a fine)

 

For you it would be

 

Causing or permitting driving without insurance (6-8 points and a fine)

Causing or permitting driving otherwise than in accordance with a licence (3-6 points and a fine

 

Even if you are both charged with both offences, in 99% of cases you will only get the points for the more serious offence - so most likely 6-8 points each (probably 6) for the insurance offences.

 

It won't stop your brother getting a licence, but when he does get one the 6 points will remain in play with respect to the New Drivers Act. In practice this means that rather than having the usual 6 points to play with, if he gets any points at all in the first two years after passing his test he'll revert to a provisional licence and have to take his test again.

 

If you passed your own test less than two years ago 6 points would also see your own licence revert to learner status and you'd have to retake your test. Probably won't do either of your insurance premiums much good either.

 

There's no need for you to be given any paperwork at the roadside, though if you've been given a producer you'll have to go to a police station with your licence/insurance documents. You might get a fixed penalty through the post, but possibly not as it was more than one offence - if you don't then they have 6 months to begin court proceedings.

 

The most lenient thing he *could* have done would have been to give you both a dressing down and send you on your way without making a report... but no insurance is taken very seriously these days so you would have to have caught him in an exceptionally good mood for that to have happened. As above he'd have been within his rights to have seized the car, so I suppose by not doing that he was showing a bit of leniency.