Totting up ban solicitors: Avoiding disqualification with an exceptional hardship application.
If you are facing a totting up driving ban after accumulating 12 or more penalty points, our totting up ban solicitors can advise you on your options and whether you may be able to avoid disqualification by making an exceptional hardship application.
Losing your driving licence can have serious consequences, particularly if you need to drive for work, run a business, care for family members or support other people who depend upon you.
If you are approaching 12 penalty points or have received notice of a court hearing, obtaining legal advice at an early stage gives you the opportunity to properly prepare your case.
Will I Lose My Licence if I Get 12 Penalty Points?
If you accumulate 12 or more penalty points within a three-year period, the court will usually be required to disqualify you from driving under the totting up provisions.
A totting up disqualification will normally be for at least six months, although a longer minimum period can apply if you have previously been disqualified.
However, reaching 12 points does not necessarily mean that a driving ban is inevitable. In appropriate circumstances, the court has the power to reduce the period of disqualification or allow you to continue driving where it is satisfied that a ban would cause exceptional hardship.
Can I Avoid a Driving Ban if I Have 12 Points?
Potentially, yes.
If you face a totting up ban, you may be able to avoid or reduce the period of disqualification by successfully arguing that a ban would cause exceptional hardship.
An exceptional hardship application is not simply a request for leniency. You will need to satisfy the court, usually through evidence as well as legal submissions, that the consequences of disqualification would amount to exceptional hardship.
The circumstances are different in every case, which is why careful preparation before the hearing is important.
What Counts as Exceptional Hardship?
There is no single set of circumstances that will automatically amount to exceptional hardship. The court will consider the particular consequences that a driving ban would have in your case.
An exceptional hardship argument may involve the consequences for:
- your employment or business;
- employees whose jobs depend upon your ability to drive;
- your partner, children or other dependants;
- elderly or vulnerable relatives for whom you provide care or transport;
- people who depend upon you for financial or practical support; or
- other people who would suffer serious consequences as a result of your disqualification.
The court will generally be looking for hardship that goes beyond the ordinary inconvenience and difficulty that would be expected to result from losing a driving licence.
The effect upon other people can therefore be particularly important.
Can I Avoid a Driving Ban if I Need My Licence for Work?
Possibly, but simply telling the magistrates that you need your driving licence for work is unlikely, by itself, to be enough.
The court can examine precisely what would happen if you were unable to drive. For example, an exceptional hardship application might consider whether you would lose your employment, whether alternative work or transport is realistically available, what the financial consequences would be and, importantly, how other people would be affected.
If you run a business, the court may also need to consider the consequences for employees, customers or others who depend upon it.
The strength of an exceptional hardship application therefore depends not merely upon what you tell the court, but upon the evidence available to support what you say.
What Evidence Do I Need for an Exceptional Hardship Application?
The evidence required will depend upon the circumstances of your case.
It may include, for example:
- evidence from your employer;
- information about your employment and the need to drive;
- business or financial documents;
- evidence concerning employees or others who would be affected;
- details of caring responsibilities;
- medical evidence where relevant;
- evidence about the availability, practicality and cost of alternative transport; and
- statements or other supporting evidence from people who would be affected by your disqualification.
A poorly prepared exceptional hardship application can fail even where the consequences of a driving ban would be very serious. It is therefore important to identify both the strongest arguments, and the evidence needed to substantiate them.
How Does an Exceptional Hardship Hearing Work?
An exceptional hardship application is considered by the magistrates when dealing with the potential totting up disqualification.
The court will consider the circumstances relied upon and the supporting evidence before deciding whether exceptional hardship has been established.
It is important to approach the hearing as a properly prepared legal application rather than assuming that an explanation of your personal circumstances will be sufficient.
Do I Need a Solicitor for an Exceptional Hardship Hearing?
You are not obliged to instruct a solicitor, but the consequences of an unsuccessful application can be significant.
Our totting up ban solicitors can:
- review your driving record and assess the risk of disqualification;
- advise whether an exceptional hardship application is likely to have merit;
- identify the strongest arguments in your particular circumstances;
- advise you about the evidence required to support your application;
- prepare your case for the hearing; and
- represent you before the magistrates and make legal submissions on your behalf.
Every case is different. An argument that succeeds in one exceptional hardship case will not necessarily succeed in another.
When Should I Speak to a Totting Up Ban Solicitor?
As early as possible.
The preparation undertaken before an exceptional hardship hearing can be crucial. Gathering supporting documents, obtaining appropriate evidence and identifying weaknesses that the court may question all take preparation.
If you already have penalty points and are facing further points that could take you to 12 or more, you do not necessarily need to wait until the hearing before obtaining advice.
Speak to Our Totting Up Ban Solicitors
Our solicitors regularly represent motorists facing totting up disqualifications and exceptional hardship hearings. We provide clear, practical advice and robust representation aimed at achieving the best possible outcome.
If you are at risk of losing your licence because you have accumulated 12 or more penalty points, contact our totting up ban solicitors today for a free consultation about how we can help.
