12 points on licence

[shiznit]

What is the ruling on someone having 9 points and then recieving another 3, all for speeding. Do you then have 12 points and continue to drive, or is it a ban straight away for having 12 points


Thanks

[kempie]

If you accrue 12 or more penalty points within any 3-year period you may be disqualified (normally for 12 months) under the totting-up procedure.

However disqualification is not mandatory with 12 points. You are allowed to plead what is known as "special circumstances" in a bid to avoid disqualification. This often means that you can claim that a special hardship would be forced upon you if you were to be disqualified from driving. If you were to lose your job if you lost your licence, for instance, then the magistrates might take the view that the punishment in your particular case would be out of keeping with the severity of the offence and would therefore allow you to keep your licence, albeit with a heavily increased fine.

You can only claim "special circumstances" once because it is accepted that you will have had your chance to reform and if you then blow it, tough luck.

[shiznit]

Thanks kempie, good clear answer, fortunately it is for a friend and not me.

I had heard that there are sometimes mitigating circumstances, however I think in my friends case, he is screwed.

Can always rely on you for a good quick answer, cheers mate.

Shiznit

[steve2010]

i believe magistrates have been told by the lord chancellers office that only extreme cicumstances are to be taken into consideration now.

[JudgeJ]

The �exceptional hardship� plea to which kempie refers is being increasingly made with the increase in the number of drivers reaching twelve points.

It is by no means straightforward to succeed with this plea. The circumstances have to be as the name suggests � exceptional. Losing employment because of the loss of one�s licence is not usually considered exceptional. On the contrary, magistrates often take the view that people who rely on their licence to earn a living should be exceptionally careful not to fall foul of the totting up rule. After all, you have to commit a minimum of two and usually four offences before you receive a ban.

No fresh guidelines have been issued to magistrates concerning this argument. It has always needed to be robust and usually succeeds only when hardship to persons other than the driver himself will result.

Upon being accused of an offence which will take the driver to twelve or more points a fixed penalty is not offered, but instead the driver is summonsed. If convicted and if unsuccessful with an exceptional hardship plea the mandatory disqualification is one of six months.

[seatrout]

I was interested in your answer Judge. In my local courts loss of a job is generally accepted as amounting to exceptional hardship - even by the District Judge - provided there is a covering letter from the employer of course

[knobbynonuts]

Just claim that you are an ilegall immigrant and you do not even have a licence anyway so they cant take it from you and that will confuse them all and your mate can issue a counter claim for taking away his human rights for making him scared about loosing his licence and he will win a free holiday to america of course fully inclusive free disney passes and them come home to a free new jag and of course a free new 250k home servants included complete with a big swimming pool and jet ski...........

[welshweather]

So, if my last endorsement was in 06.04, is that endorsement now defunct? (by 07.07).What happens if I get another endorsement in the meantime>
Cheers
A very worried CHRIS