Driving 101

Facing Disqualification

It is not uncommon to find yourself in a position where you have accumulated a substantial number of points and now face losing your licence. The dreaded letter has arrived saying that you are at risk of being disqualified and need to attend Court. This is when you have either committed an offence that carries a disqualification, or you have “totted up”. Here’s what you can do and how I can help:

Am I going to be disqualified?

Certain offences carry a mandatory disqualification, if convicted you cannot avoid being disqualified, unless there are “special reasons”. If you are in this position, or think you might be, you need to get a specialist Road Traffic Lawyer at the earliest opportunity. For example, I can assist in ensuring you are offered a Drink Driving Rehabilitation Course which can get your licence back 25% quicker than without.

Unsure if the offence carries disqualification? Some of those which carry automatic disqualification are as follows:

-Driving with excess alcohol (Drink Drive);

-Dangerous driving;

-Driving or attempting to drive when unfit through drink or drugs;

-Driving or attempting to drive with concentration of specified controlled drug above specified limit.

If you are a repeat offender, you may also find yourself in a position of being disqualified for a minimum of 3 years.

So What are Special Reasons and How do they Help?

A disqualification/ penalty points, can potentially be avoided or reduced if there are relevant and exceptional "special reasons". This is a high standard to reach, and is a legal argument, it is not related to the driver but the circumstances of the driver.

If any of the following apply to the circumstances of your driving, then you could avoid a lengthy disqualification:

-a mitigating or extenuating circumstance;

-not amount in law to a defence to the charge;

-directly connected with the commission of the offence;

-be one which the court ought properly to take into consideration when imposing sentence.

Special reasons will be exceptional, for example, if a vehicle is driven a particularly short distance or there is evidence of a genuine emergency. You should take Legal advice; or request a fixed fee conference to discuss if special reasons apply to your case.

Am I a "totter"?

This is when you have 12 or more penalty points on their licence. It is important to be aware that this is 12 points at the time of the offence , not at the time of the conviction. The period for the calculating points is 3 years, so if an individual, at any time during a 3 year period, reaches 12 penalty points they are at risk of being disqualified for 6 months. This disqualification is automatic and there is a presumption in favour of disqualifying for such a period.

There are two ways to try and ensure that you are not the subject of a disqualification:

-Exceptional hardship;

-Short-term disqualification.

Exceptional Hardship

A legal argument of exceptional hardship can be advanced by anyone who has reached 12 points. The impact of successfully arguing exceptional hardship is that you will not be banned for a period of 6 months, you will simply receive the penalty points. even though the result may be more than 12 points on a person's licence.

Exceptional hardship goes beyond simple mitigation. The Court must find that there is sufficient mitigation to justify not imposing the disqualification. Again, this legal argument requires careful consideration of the law, as well as the specific factors of your case. The Court may consider:

-The Court will not take into account matters relating to the offence itself, this is relevant to special reasons;

-For hardship to be “exceptional” it must be more than is normally suffered;

-The hardship suffered is not limited to the person who is actually being disqualified, it can include their family, employees or others who are wholly innocent;

-The test is deliberately subjective to allow for free interpretation by a Court (which means persuasive argument can play a part);

-Can the hardship be avoided, for example by paying a driver? This is why it is rare for celebrities and professional sportsmen to advance such an argument.

You cannot argue exceptional hardship on the same basis during a period of 3 years.

If you find yourself in a situation where you have 12 points, you should have a consultation to see whether there is merit in running a legal argument on hardship. You will also be given advice about the supporting documentation you will need. In order to argue exceptional hardship you will likely have to give evidence, and can be cross examined. This is much less daunting, and effective if you are represented. Closing submissions on the law are also then given on your behalf. It is for that reason that it will be advantageous to secure legal representation at an early stage.

Short Term Disqualification

Alternatively, there may be a legal argument that you should be disqualified for a shorter period. If you are planning to go travelling, or not to drive for a short while, a short disqualification of 7 – 28 days can be imposed alternatively.

This is a difficult legal argument to advance and is relatively underused, however, it is possible to run alongside other arguments. It can be particularly useful where there is hardship that falls just short of exceptional hardship

Summary

Being told that you are going to be disqualified from driving or are at risk of such a disqualification is a distressing time. It’s important to consider your options, because there are various steps that can be taken to try and shorten a disqualification or avoid one entirely. TAKE LEGAL ADVICE.