Some offences carry outright or an obligatory disqualification such as Dangerous Driving, Causing Death by Dangerous Driving or Driving with Excess Alcohol. The court also has power to impose a prison sentence for these offences.

With other offences, the magistrates have a discretion as to whether they should disqualify e.g. careless Driving, Speeding, Failing to provide a specimen etc. Where the court has a discretion to disqualify, a driver can put to the court particular factors to argue against disqualification. These can include personal factors, such as the fact that you will lose your job if the court exercises its power to disqualify.

Then there is Disqualification under the "totting-up" provisions, where a driver has accumulated 12 or more penalty points. Disqualification must be ordered when twelve points have been accumulated unless there are grounds for mitigating this. In deciding whether a driver is liable to a totting-up disqualification, points are added together for any offences committed over a three year period. The usual minimum period of disqualification under totting up will be 6 months, unless there has been a previous disqualification in which case it will be more! To avoid being banned for totting up you will have to show that a disqualification would cause exceptional hardship. Anyone who would lose their job if disqualified (lorry driver, sales manager, etc.) might be able to prove exceptional hardship to themselves or their family as a consequence of disqualification resulting in the loss of their livelihood. For further information on how to successfully argue at an exceptional hardship hearing please contact us.

One bit of good news - if you are banned, then a totting up disqualification has the effect of wiping the slate clean of penalty points. This means that when you apply for and get your licence back at the end of the ban there will be no endorsements.