Colombia's Ministry of Transport has floated a points-based driving licence system, and while the fine print is still missing, the direction of travel is clear: repeat traffic offenders could eventually lose their right to drive altogether.
Announced on November 2 by Transport Minister Elsa Noguera, the proposal is part of a wider overhaul of the country's National Traffic Code, aimed squarely at speeding and drink-driving. The mechanics are familiar to anyone who has driven in Europe: every driver would carry a points balance that drops with each violation, and hitting zero would mean losing the licence. What Colombia hasn't yet decided is how many points you'd start with, how much each offence costs, or how a suspension would work.
This isn't the first go at it. A 2022 attempt under then-minister Guillermo Reyes went nowhere, and a more recent bill actually made it through both chambers of Congress — only to fail at the final hurdle. The House and Senate couldn't agree on starting balances (the Senate's compromise text settled on 26 points for private drivers and 36 for professional ones), and the House voted the conciliation report down 56-43 in June 2026. So the ministry's new announcement is a fresh proposal, not a revival of that dead bill.
Motorcycles sit at the heart of the debate. They made up 62% of Colombia's registered vehicles in 2024 and 61.6% of road deaths that same year, and for many families on city outskirts they're essential transport rather than a lifestyle choice. Universidad de los Andes professor Alvaro Rodriguez Valencia has argued that safety depends on regulation, enforcement, education and infrastructure moving together — not on one measure alone. An open question that matters even to car-driving visitors: whether points would follow the driver across licence categories, so an offence on a motorbike could touch your entitlement to drive a car too.
If Colombia does go ahead, it will be joining a crowded club. Spain starts drivers at 12 points, with deductions for serious offences and recovery through courses or clean driving. Germany accumulates penalty points up to eight, at which point the licence is withdrawn. The UK disqualifies drivers who rack up 12 points in three years, and revokes the licences of new drivers who collect six within their first two years.
For travellers, the practical takeaway for now is that nothing has changed yet — this is a proposal, not law, and no start balance or penalty table exists. But if you're renting a car in Colombia or riding a scooter along the Caribbean coast, expect enforcement of speeding and alcohol rules to tighten over the coming years, and expect the rules to be written with motorcyclists front of mind. Anyone planning an extended stay, or a road trip mixing bikes and cars, should keep an eye on how the final draft handles multi-category licences.
Story via Colombia One
