If you have been driving for under two years, and you are caught speeding, your licence will be endorsed with a minimum of three points. If this happens again, and the points add up to six, you will lose your license and have to retake your driving test to regain it. However, if you have been driving for more than two years, the minimum amount of points you can gain – or ‘tot up’ – is twelve. If you are then disqualified, it will be for a minimum of six months. You cannot drive any kind of motor vehicle until your ban has been completed, upon which you can apply for the return of your licence and all previous points are expunged.

If your licence already possesses 6 points, and is in danger of gathering another 6, due to an offence such as excessive speed, then you can apply to the court for a short period of discretionary disqualification of between 7 to 28 days, instead of receiving an additional 6 points on your licence, which will make you a ‘totter’. This means that, while you are disqualified from driving for a short period of time, once the ban has been completed, you can resume driving and you do not attract any points.

Let us say that you now have 12 points on your licence, having been unsuccessful in applying for a discretionary disqualification. This means that you are now a ‘totter’, and can be disqualified from driving for 6 months. One way to avoid this ban is with the ‘Exceptional Hardship’ argument – which means that your disqualification will cause irreparable consequences to your life and financial situation. In other words, it must be exceptional. If the only consequence is the loss of your job, then this only qualifies as ‘hardship,’ but if your unemployment leads to bankruptcy and has a negative impact on other people’s lives, it could become ‘Exceptional Hardship’. If the argument is successful, the disqualification period will either be reduced or lifted completely. If it is not, then once the 6-month ban has been served, then all points on your licence will be expunged.

We have a great deal of experience dealing with disqualified driving – as a matter of fact, it is one of the most numerous cases we deal with – and we are well versed in road traffic law. Whether you are looking for a barrister or a solicitor, you will always receive a quality lawyer.

If you want to meet with me face to face, my office address is: 3000 Cathedral Hill, Guildford, Surrey, GU2 7YB.