Penalty points can be added to your licence for a wide variety of driving offences, and the number of points given will reflect the seriousness of the offence.
Under the “totting up” rules, a driver who has 12 or more points added to a licence within a three-year period will face a mandatory driving ban of at least six months.
For example, if you are caught driving above the speed limit, you may receive between 3 to 6 points added to your licence. While many speeding convictions result in only 3 points being added, drivers who habitually break the speed limit can easily tot up 12 points within three years, and thanks to improving speed camera technology, there is a pretty strong chance of getting caught as a speeding driver.
While for most drivers, 12 points in a three-year period will lead to a six-month ban, if a driver gets a second ban within the same three-year period, it will be for 12 months. A third accumulation of 12 points in the same three-year period will attract a two-year ban.
The rules are different for newly qualified drivers. Accumulating 6 or more points on a licence within the first two years of driving will mean the driver’s licence is revoked and they must re-take both the theory and practical tests before being able to drive again. Points added to a provisional licence are carried over to the full licence and will be combined with any points added to the full licence.
Most people rely heavily on being able to drive. They drive to work, drive for their jobs and drive the children to school, for example. Even a short driving ban could have a pretty devastating effect on your daily life.
Most points are valid for three years from the date of the inital offence, but they stay visible on the licence for four years. Valid simply means that for those first three years, the points can be added to other points to make up the dreaded 12. For the fourth year, they can still be seen on the licence, but cannot be added into your totting up score. They can still be taken into account by courts considering other driving offences, and can also be seen by employers and insurers. It is important to remember that points on a licence can affect your ability to get insurance, and your premiums are likely to be significantly higher than with a clean licence.
While most points are valid for three years from the date of the initial offence and remain visible for four years, there are some driving offences with slightly different rules. Penalty points for reckless or dangerous driving, and penalty points which result in a driving disqualification are valid three years from conviction (i.e. not from the actual date of the offence). They stay visible on the licence for four years, also from the date of conviction.
Penalty points given for driving while under the influence of drink or drugs, causing death by careless driving while under the influence of drink or drugs, or causing death by careless driving and failing to provide a specimen for analysis: these are valid for 10 years from conviction, and show on the licence for 11 years. Insurers and employers, however, will only be able to see these up to five years from conviction, or during the first 30 months if the driver is under 18.
Any driver facing a driving ban should get expert advice from qualified solicitors. At Auriga Advocates, we have an excellent track record of supporting drivers facing driving bans. In some cases, it may be possible to make an exceptional hardship argument. A driving disqualification is meant to cause hardship to some degree, so the hardship you face must be truly exceptional for your argument to be effective. If the court accepts the argument, then the driving ban may be lifted altogether or reduced.
It is essential to have the help of a solicitor if you are to have any chance of success with an exceptional hardship argument, as courts are often reluctant to accept them, and your argument must be supported with clear, admissible evidence. Get in touch with us at Auriga Advocates and our totting up solicitors will do all they can to help you put your case to the court.