More than a million motorists are now just one conviction away from losing their driving licences, it has been revealed.
As many as 16% of drivers currently have penalty points on their licences for speeding, research from car insurance company Direct Line found.
Of these, 21% are one conviction from disqualification - up from 17% last year.
This means that the number of drivers on the brink of losing their licences has risen by more than 215,000 in the last 12 months.
The area with the most drivers close to disqualification is north-east England (20%), while only 8% of south-west England motorists are one conviction away.
Direct Line said that with the proliferation of speed cameras, drivers have paid out more than £300 million in speeding fines in the last three years. Nearly half of these convictions involved drivers being over the limit by less than 10mph.
Under the new graduated penalty points system, drivers going less than 10mph over the limit are likely to receive fewer penalty points than the current three.
The Direct Line research found that 75% of drivers supported the Government's proposal.
Direct Line motor spokeswoman Emma Holyer said: "With the advent of speed cameras and the introduction of points for being caught for driving using a mobile phone, we urge motorists not to break the law as they could face numerous consequences such as killing or injuring themselves or others, disqualification, job loss and financial loss.
"We fully support the graduated penalty point system and urge the Government to bring this implementation forward."
