Penalty Points and Driving Bans: Your Legal Options Explained

Under UK driving laws, if a driver with over two years driving experience accrues 12 or more penalty points on their licence within a specified period, they face an automatic disqualification from driving, referred to as a ‘totting up’ disqualification. Exceptional hardship applications can be made for the disqualification to either be reduced or prevented in its entirety in certain circumstances. 

Totting Up Disqualifications

If a driver receives a total of 12 penalty points within a 3-year timeframe, then they face a totting up disqualification of a minimum of 6 months. The court will look at the penalty points that were valid on the date the offence was committed, even if those points have expired by the time the case is heard in court. Under Section 29 of the Road Traffic Act 1988, penalty points still viable on a driving licence that were committed more than three years prior to the commission of the offence for which a driver is in court for will not be taken into consideration.

Disqualification Length Based on Your Driving History

• If you have never been disqualified before, it is a 6-month disqualification
• If you have been disqualified once before, it is a 1-year disqualification
• If you have been disqualified more than once before, it is a 2-year disqualification

The court counts any previous driving bans as those over 56 days that were imposed within the last 3 years. 

If an argument for exceptional hardship is successful and the court allow you to retain your licence despite having 12+ penalty points, you cannot advance the same exceptional hardship grounds for 3 years. 

What is Exceptional Hardship?

Exceptional hardship is an argument made before the Magistrates Court when a totting up disqualification will cause hardship that extends beyond a mere inconvenience to the person who appears before the court. This means that the mere inconvenience of being unable to drive will not pass the threshold; the hardship must encompass other people who are dependant in some way on the person’s ability to drive. The aim of this argument is to either reduce the level of disqualification the court impose or avoid it in its entirety.

The court will not take into consideration the following, under Section 35(4) of the Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988;

1. Any circumstances that are alleged to make the offence (or any of the offences whose penalty points are to be taken into account) not serious,
2. Hardship, other than exceptional hardship,
3. Any circumstances which within the three years immediately preceding the conviction, have been taken into account to reduce or avoid a totting up disqualification.

Exceptional hardship can focus on points such as:

• Loss of employment: losing your employment will not automatically constitute exceptional hardship unless you can show that losing your employment would have severe repercussions for not only you but others around you.
  
   
• Loss of employment to others: if your inability to drive will impact those who depend on you for their employment, this can be advanced to show that a disqualification from driving would cause exceptional hardship.
  
   
• Medical reasons: if you, or a dependant, or someone you are a carer for rely on you for transportation to and from frequent hospital or medical appointments, or there is a need for urgent transportation in emergencies, this could be argued to cause exceptional hardship. 
  
   
• Lack of public transport: this itself will not automatically mean that being unable to drive would cause exceptional hardship. However, if you live in a remote area with limited access to public transport such as trains or buses and you rely on your vehicle to enable you to undertake essential journeys, this can be taken into consideration.
  
   
• Impact on dependants: if you are a parent or carer and use your vehicle to take them to various clubs and activities that they would not be able to attend via public transport or alternative reasonable means, this can be taken into consideration.
  
   
• Financial consequences: if a period of disqualification causes severe financial consequences, such as you being the sole breadwinner for the family and losing your licence, which will mean you are unable to pay your rent/mortgage, this can be argued as exceptional hardship. 

The above examples are not guarantees of a successful exceptional hardship application. A finding of exceptional hardship is at the court’s discretion, and either the judge or the magistrates will decide whether the circumstances advanced meet the exceptionally high threshold for exceptional hardship. 

When Can You Not Make an Exceptional Hardship Application?

If you are facing a disqualification due to an offence of driving with excess alcohol (drink driving), then you cannot argue exceptional hardship to try and reduce the period of disqualification. The only application that can be made to the court in these circumstances is one of ‘special reasons'.

Preparing for Court

It is important to ensure that your exceptional hardship application is as strong as possible, and this includes obtaining supporting documents to show the court that a disqualification is likely to cause exceptional hardship. It is extremely important to ensure that the information provided is factual and is not an attempt to mislead the court in any way. 

Supporting documents could include:

• Supporting statements from those who would be impacted by your disqualification from driving
  
   
• Supporting statements from your employer explaining how a disqualification would impact your ability to continue with your employment

• Supporting statements from employees and/or colleagues

• Medical records or letters from your GP
  
   
• Bank statements, mortgage or rental agreements and bills
  
   
• Google Maps to demonstrate the lack of public transport in the area you reside
  
   
• Taxi quotes for journeys such as to work or to children’s schools and/or extra-curricular activities

How We Can Help

If you are facing a totting up disqualification, it is essential that you seek advice from a solicitor who specialises in driving offences at the earliest opportunity. The earlier you engage in obtaining legal advice, the more time you have to work with your solicitor to prepare your case for court. At Birkett Long, we understand the complexities of exceptional hardship applications and the importance of ensuring success.