Another Exceptional Hardship Success – Driver Avoids 6 Month Ban

Our barrister represented a driver facing a 6 month totting up disqualification, which was due to be imposed for reach 12 penalty points on his Licence.

The speeding offence was dealt with a Nottingham Magistrates’ Court and our motoring lawyer Millicent Dooher presented the driver’s circumstances including the fact that he would lose his employment if he was given a lengthy disqualification. The court had a number of options open to it:

• Penalty points and a minimum 6 month ban clearing the Licence of points;
• No penalty points but a shorter discretionary ban and 9 points remaining on the licence
• Penalty points, exceptional hardship and no ban leaving 12 points remaining on the licence
• Penalty points, exceptional hardship, a short ban clearing all points on the Licence.

On this occasion, the Court was persuaded to sentence to the fourth option, which was a great outcome for our client. He was sentenced to a two week disqualification under the totting up rules reduced from 6 months. As you can only argue Exceptional Hardship once every 3 years, if a driver is successful in arguing exceptional hardship but avoids a disqualification in full, it leaves them in a very dangerous position for the next 3 years.