Proving exceptional hardship in a motoring offence case is incredibly challenging. If you are facing a potential driving ban, instructing an experienced Motoring Offences Solicitor is a sensible course of action.
This case study refers to a time when I successfully acted for a mother of two who was a student healthcare worker. Although she had a total of 12 points on her driving licence, I was able to persuade the Court that disqualification would place her and others in a position of exceptional hardship.
Background to the case
My client (C) was a single mother, whose ex-partner travelled regularly and therefore could not always be available for his children. (In all other respects the ex-partner was supportive and fully present in their lives.)
My client had no local support to help her with taking her children to and from school, or taking them to after-school activities (her parents lived over an hour away).
C had received 12 points on her driving licence. All were speeding offences (the maximum being 14mph over the prescribed limit). C had to drive long hours to attend her place of work, as it was over an hour away. C worked 12 hour shifts, and being a single parent, struggled with finding suitable childcare and getting to work on time.
In C’s healthcare role, arriving to work on time was of fundamental importance. Arriving late could have knock-on effects that could endanger patients’ lives.
Exceptional hardship argument
C stated in her evidence that if she were disqualified from driving, she would lose her job and she and her children would be evicted from their home. Furthermore, she would also have to abandon her degree course and believed she would be barred from applying for another job in her chosen field.
According to C, finding other employment in her area that did not require a driving licence would be difficult. Also, C did not have the funds to support herself and her children during a six-month ban.
Regarding her children, C believed their lives would be negatively affected if she were disqualified from driving. In addition to the struggle of getting them to/from school, C’s drop in income (from losing her job) would curtail all extracurricular activities for her children.
How I persuaded the Court to let my client keep her licence
I submitted a case of exceptional hardship to the Magistrates’ Court. I satisfied the Magistrate that my client’s hardship was exceptional and the consequences of a six-month driving disqualification would be disproportionate.
As part of my submission, I provided robust evidence that C would lose her job if she were disqualified: her entire role was built around driving. I also showed how innocent people, including her children and patients, would suffer financial and emotional hardship. I told the Court that paying for a driver and using public transport were not options available to C.
I referred to the case of Cornwall v Coke 1976 CRIMLR 519, which clearly states that the Court has a duty to assess the implications of a disqualification upon people other than the Defendant, bearing in mind such persons are effectively innocent but will suffer severe and disproportionate punishment. I also drew the Magistrate’s attention to section 35 (1) of the Road Traffic Act 1988, which states:
Where—
(a) a person is convicted of an offence [to which this subsection applies], and
(b) the penalty points to be taken into account on that occasion number twelve or more,
the court must order him to be disqualified for not less than the minimum period unless the court is satisfied, having regard to all the circumstances, that there are grounds for mitigating the normal consequences of the conviction and thinks fit to order him to be disqualified for a shorter period or not to order him to be disqualified. [emphasis added]
In addition, section 35(4)(A) states that when making a decision concerning disqualification, the only circumstances the Court should exclude are those that are alleged to make the offence not a serious one or the reasons being submitted have been relied on previously.
The Court agreed with me and handed down a fine as well as three penalty points.
Background to the case
My client was a company director with nine points on his licence but had never been disqualified from driving.
He frequently made short trips for business purposes. While away, his partner, who lived at a separate address, periodically went to his home to collect his mail. On 7 August, when my client was travelling for business, his partner, insured to drive his car, used it to visit friends. She was caught driving at 38mph in a 30mph zone.
The police duly posted a Notice of Intended Prosecution (NIP).
My client stated that his partner visited his house two to three times from the end of June until August to collect mail. She never noticed an NIP addressed to my client.
On her last visit to the house, my client's partner collected the mail, which included bills, bank statements, and a reminder letter from the police with a duplicate of the original NIP.
The next day, my client filled in the NIP and posted it first class to the police. This was 11 days after the compliance period for sending the information had expired. The police acknowledged in their evidence that the NIP was received. However, my client shortly obtained a letter from the police stating that the matter was no longer within their jurisdiction.
My client was charged under section 172(2) and appeared in the Magistrates' Court.
Concluding comments
Most people who face a driving disqualification due to totting up are extremely distressed and worried about losing their licence. Frequently, apart from a few speeding fines, they have never been on the wrong side of the law before.
This case study should give you the confidence to instruct an experienced Motoring Offences Solicitor. It shows how it is possible to persuade the Court that disqualifying you from driving would result in exceptional hardship for you and negatively impact innocent people.
To find out how I can assist you if you have been charged with careless driving, please call me on 0151 601 3743 for a no-obligation free quote.
