Totting Bans

Even with the price of fuel being so high, many of us rely on our cars and would be lost without them, whether for work, keeping in touch, socialising or shopping. It is all too easy to pick up penalty points, what with speed cameras and smart motorways. There are so many offences which can result in penalty points.

When the number of penalty points on your driving licence reaches 12, you will be disqualified from driving for 6 months, or possibly longer if you have previously been disqualified. That is the default setting.

If you want to try and avoid a Totting Ban, you must give evidence on oath in the Magistrates Court that a Totting Ban would cause you, or another, Exceptional Hardship. There is no formal definition of Exceptional Hardship, but it is clearly more than mere inconvenience or even severe inconvenience.

The most common finding of Exceptional Hardship involves loss of livelihood. A good example might be where someone has a driving job where they must drop off deliveries all over the County. No licence means no job. No job means they can’t afford the rent or mortgage and may end up homeless.

It is open to the Magistrates to find that Exceptional Hardship to another could be a valid reason not to disqualify. That could be other members of the family or someone who relies on you and your car to help them.

It’s important to prepare thoroughly for such cases, as the Magistrates need to be convinced there are no viable alternatives before they can find Exceptional Hardship. This might involve getting hold of letters from Employers or those who rely on you and your car, researching bus and train timetables.

Magistrates then must consider whether they accept that a Totting ban would cause you, or another, exceptional hardship. If they find exceptional hardship, they can ban you for a period shorter than 6 months or allow you to keep your licence and continue driving, even though you have 12 or more points on your licence. You would still be fined and awarded points, but you would be allowed to continue driving.

It is then a question of making sure you do not get any more penalty points, until some of the earlier points have expired. You cannot use the same reasons twice within 3 years, so unless you find a second set of entirely different reasons why a Totting Ban would cause you Exceptional Hardship, you will get the 6 month Totting Ban. Penalty points are valid for 3 years. They run from date of offence, to date of offence.

This can catch people out.

Eg: You may get a summons through the post for an offence that occurred 6 months ago. 6 points came off your licence 4 months ago, so you think you are in the clear. But you are still at risk of a Totting Ban, because at the date of offence those points were still current.

If you find yourself in a position where you are at risk of a Totting Ban, you would be well advised to seek expert legal advice. Legal Aid is not available, but if you are unsure about representing yourself, a Solicitor can provide an estimate of his charges and if agreed can represent and guide you through the process. Please contact us at PEACE LEGAL on 01226 341111.