What to do if You’re Facing a Driving Ban
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While serious offences such as causing death by dangerous driving will result in an obligatory driving ban, others are open to the court’s discretion. So, if you’re facing a totting up of points ban, or a ban for a less serious offence: all is not lost.
Fighting a driving ban on the grounds of exceptional hardship is the most common line of defence. Specialist solicitors in this area can also deploy certain strategies, providing the best chance of a positive outcome, for you and your family. We are experts in this area, we know the law and how to work within it to secure the result that you need.
With the abundance of traffic enforcement in place on today’s roads, along with the sheer volume of traffic across the country, it is becoming more and more likely that minor lapses in concentration will result in heavy punishment. If you’re facing a driving ban and concerned about how it will impact your livelihood, you need to know your options. In fact, it is thought that a third of drivers with twelve points or more (usually an automatic ban) are still on the roads. So, there is a lot of hope that the initial outlook won’t be terminal, especially if you would experience exceptional hardship as a result of any ban.
Exceptional hardship is discretionary, with each individual case decided on its own merits. Exceptional hardship could mean a loss of your job or the loss of your business. The court will also consider how a driving ban will detrimentally impact others. Would your business have to issue mass redundancies if you were no longer able to drive? How would a driving ban impact any dependants that you have? We can help you consider your whole circumstances to put up the strongest defence.
Even in the case of a successful outcome, you need to know that the points will still remain on your licence. Should you commit another offence within three years, you will be facing the same punishment. Furthermore, you cannot argue exceptional hardship for the same reasons during any subsequent defence.
An example of an extreme case involving the court’s discretion is that of Alex McFarlane, who over the course of July and August 2014, racked up an excessive forty-two points, for seven different offences. After arguing that a driving ban would cost him his job, the court agreed that he could keep his licence, despite the huge accumulation of points in such a short period. It was made abundantly clear however, that any future offence would result in immediate disqualification.
If you’re facing a driving ban for any reason, contact our road traffic experts on 01282 433 241. Start your journey of continued freedom today.
