A man who had lost his driving licence after being caught driving without a seatbelt has won his appeal and seen his privileges returned.
Stephen Davies, 54, appeared in Mold Crown Court on April 17th to plead ‘exceptional hardship’, after receiving a driving ban in December. Davies had been seen driving in Prestatyn without a seatbelt, and was given a penalty point on his driving licence in relation to the incident. As Davies already had 11 points on his licence, the so-called totting up process triggered an automatic six-month driving ban.
When a driving licence has 12 points added, and the driver faces a driving ban due to totting up, solicitors experienced in road traffic offences are well placed to advise on how to appeal the ban. The most common approach is to claim ‘exceptional hardship’, where a ban would severely and disproportionately affect the day-to-day life of the defendant; for example, causing job loss, home loss or affecting the ability to transport disabled relatives.
Mr. Davies appeal was met with apparent scepticism by the prosecutor, Karl Scholz, who cast doubt on Davies’ claim that the ban would cause his job loss, given that he was a major shareholder in the company. Davies also claimed that he needed to transport his adult son, who suffers from a form of psychosis, to and from medical appointments.
The judge, Simon Mills, shared Mr. Scholz’s scepticism about the possible job loss, but recognized that the driving ban could seriously affect the running of the company in ways that would cause hardship to other employees. On this basis, he allowed the appeal, but stressed that Davies could not claim ‘exceptional hardship’ for the next three years, during which the points would stay on his licence.