If you acquire 12 or more Penalty Points on your licence over a three year period then this will result in a disqualification from driving under the “totting up” provisions. The minimum period of disqualification is 6 months.
The general guidelines on periods of disqualification are as follows:
- 6 months if no previous disqualification is to be taken into account
- 1 year if one previous disqualification of at least 56 days has taken place within the last three years immediately preceding the date of this offence
- 2 years if more than one previous disqualification of at least 56 days has taken place within the last three years immediately preceding the date of the new offence
If you face a possible ban under the above “totting up” provisions then it may be possible to persuade the Court to impose a shorter disqualification period or waive the ban altogether by arguing ‘exceptional hardship’. Tactically, however, an advantage of being disqualified is that a ban of any length under “totting up” will clear your licence of penalty points effectively wiping the slate clean. Examples of what a Court may consider to be exceptional hardship include:
- A restriction on mobility for a driver with severe health problems
- A threat to job stability of employees if a manager, business owner or key employee is unable to fulfil their role
- Loss of career. This might be shown to amount to exceptional hardship but requires the right preparation, supporting information, good advocacy at Court and sympathetic Magistrates. Loss of employment, on its own, will not usually amount to grounds for exceptional hardship