driving while disqualified

[grahams007]

i was convicted of drink driving and was given a years ban. Whilst i was on my ban i was caught on a speed camera i phoned the dvla and they informed me that i did not have a ban. I asked for my licence back- which they sent. I sent my driving licence off and my 3 points were added on 14th Nov 2007. On 6th feb 2008 i was pulled over my the police and charged with driving whilst disqualified. They informed me that my ban was due to end on the 21st feb. Can they charge me( and what would the charge be) ?? The dvla had no records & gave me my licence back straight away. Will they find out about my speeding fine prior to receiving my licence back?
Can you tell me the worst that can happen to me ;-( ? And the best course of action please, thanks

[Loosehead]

Well the clues are there mate, you where driving on a ban! simple. The fact that your licence was returned early is irrelevant. Just look at the facts and try and avoid latching on to admin errors as some sort of invalidation.

[mrs_overall]

My friend and her 2 grandkids were killed by a drunk driver so you won't get any sympathy from me.

Fact - you were convicted of drunk driving & banned

Fact - you obviously think you are above the law as you continue to drive whilst banned.

The worst that can happen to you is imprisonment....fingers crossed.

Grow up.

[grahams007]

this is a friend of mine im not condoning what he did im just tryin to find out what hes gonna get

[MustafaTickl]

You ask for the best course of action. Join here without delay.

[Hymie]

My advice would be to get myself a good lawyer, who will argue on my behalf that I was entitled to believe that I was not banned, because dvla gave me my license (what else do I need to prove I am allowed to drive?) Also arguing that you cannot be held responsible for dvla�s incompetence.

Some may think grahams007 should not get away on such a technicality � but over the last few years dvla have been removing entitlement to ride a motorbike from many drivers, only for them to find out at a later date, by chance. Having discovered this, dvla has been advising them that they (dvla) have no record of them having passed a motorbike test. The only solution has been for them to re-take their bike test - dvla cannot have it both ways.

[Hymie]

Oh, I forgot to mention that the worst that can happen to you is that you will go to jail (what is the point of banning you for longer, if you will just ignore it).

I think it unlikely that you will be jailed (only because they are full).

[doglady]

It is unlikely you will be sent to prison for this. I work for the Probation Service and would think you'll get a Community Order or a Suspended Sentence. Probably some Unpaid Work and you'll be banned for a further length of time.

[fredpuli47]

It's not an answer for you to claim that you were deceived by the DVLA. You weren't. When you drove you knew that you were disqualified. What the DVLA mistakenly told you was after you were stopped, not before. You hadn't been deceived by anyone when you drove that time. You weren't then driving because you believed you had no ban, but in spite of the fact that you knew and believed you were banned..And you were right, as the police discovered, and you well knew. In fact, knowing the truth, that the DVLA were mistaken, you deliberately took advantage of their mistake to get yourself your licence. So you might then have presented the licence to your benefit, such as in hiring a car. If anything, that makes your case worse as does the fact that you didn't obey the law anyway, in speeding.

Brazenly driving disqualified would normally attract a short custodial sentence but in this case you may get a non-custodial, as the previous poster says. If you do get
short custody it's not likely to be appealable.

[Yorkie580]

It is not down to the DVLA - to receive a ban you would have had to be in court. The court will provide evidence that you were there and that you were disqualified. This happens all the time when people try to get out of taking responsibilities for their own actions. This is not a case of the DVLA removing entitlements or not - this is a case of you being disqualified for drink driving and then driving anyway with a complete disregard for the law. It's even arguable that you obtained your licene back fraudulaently - the DVLA's records may have been incorrect - but you used that to your advantage to get you licence sent you when you were not entitled to.

Grow up and take responsibility for your actions.

[stuart936]

It is only the DVLA's fault for example if you were caught going through a speed camera and they didn't endorse the points on your licence you could quite simply argue the matter as was there a film in the camera etc, however, you attended court, you pleaded/found guilty so you know what your punishment, it wasn't as if you were coming up to the end of your sentence and got a few days mixed up, you driven knowing your were banned.

18 month community order, for the fact of they may give you a slight advantage of the DVLA not telling you etc, community order also makes sure you will not re-offend if so you will go to prison without fail.

Will also extend your ban by possibly another 12-18 months

[cocoman78]

I was Disqulified from driving for 240 days under the "totting up system" on the 3rd of july 2007, the 240days will end on the 27th of Febuary 2008. The D.V.L.A. did not make any contact with me 56 days before the end of my disqualifacation, as the court told me they would. So I contacted them. I was told that I had only been disqualified for 24 days. Someone had left out the zero. I knew this as I was told in court it was 240. I have made no attempt to drive. If I was charged with "Driving While Disqualified" it would have been my fault, not the fault of the D.V.L.A. you are in the same boat.

[TheDr-UK]

I was disqualified in 2001 for three years, I asked my solicitor to appeal however lost contact with them as the firm went under. In 2003 I rang DVLA to see if any appeal had been heard and was told I could have my licence back. A few months later I was spot checked, showed my licence, was told no I was still banned, and got another 12m ban. A year later I started driving again, all legally and above board and set up my own business with all the vehicles insured through me. Early in 2007 I was stop checked again and although the PNC said I was fine to drive the DVLA one in his car said I was disqualified until I had passed an extended test (it seems this may have been said in court, I didn't hear it, or understand it), but his computer showed it was under query, so he let me go and said if there was any problem he'd let me know. In July another spot check (we have a LOT round here) and I mentioned to the officer about the previous stop, the extended test and showed my licence, he rang through even asking if I was banned, answer, "No", so he waved me on my way. In October yet another stop check, again everything was okay until he checked his car computer which showed the DVLA as until extended test passed, again I showed my licence (which he confiscated to check it) and I was told that he would check and get back to me. A few days later he came to my place of work and arrested me for driving whilst disqualified and no insurance (due to the disqualification). I disageed totally, called Swansea (when I was bailed) and was told that they didn't know why the other licence was sent out, here's a provisional, you need to take you test again, both parts, which I did and passed within a few weeks. Now I have to go to court for this, and they've even brought up the one from January of this year whic was served on me in November (claiming to have been started a few days before the six months was up).