LONDON, May 31 (Reuters) - Thousands of motorists are resorting to illegal tactics to escape driving convictions, research shows.

A survey commissioned by insurer Churchill found that an estimated 495,000 drivers had swapped penalty points for speeding with family and friends.

And 29 percent -- which equates to nine and a half million motorists -- said they would happily accept their loved one's points if they were on the verge of losing their licence.

Twenty-three percent would ask their partners to do the same for them.

The survey of 1,649 motorists also showed that many Britons cannot face being banned from driving.

Some 21 percent said they would not be able to work if they lost their licence and nine percent said they relied on their cars to take their children to school.

Frances Browning, a spokeswoman for Churchill, said: "This research shows the lengths that some drivers will go to in order to stay on the roads despite committing driving offences.

"Trying to escape convictions by swapping points with another person is highly illegal and can lead to prosecution."

Those caught letting others take the rap for their driving convictions could be charged with perverting the course of justice -- an offence which carries a theoretical maximum penalty of life imprisonment, although no sentence of more than 10 years has been handed down.

SafeSpeed.org.uk -- a body which believes speed cameras have made roads more dangerous due to the impact they have on driving quality -- said the survey showed that cameras were "making a mockery of British justice".

Founder Paul Smith said: "The public isn't taking them seriously for one simple reason -- they don't deserve to be taken seriously.

"Speed cameras are infernal devices. They are to road safety what a hammer is to clock repair; they just make matters far worse."

Almost 24,000 people have signed the group's petition for speed cameras to be scrapped.