6 pts + 6 pts = Ban - Details...

proformance

Hi all,

I'm wondering if the forum can help advise what happens in the scenario where:

1) Existing 6 pts (phone) - due to expire July 2025
2) Impending 6 pts (insurance) - due to register Jun 2024

I understand an accumulation of 12 pts = a driving ban of at least 6 months.

My question is - does the time-period ban (i.e. 6 months) only begin when the total points balance falls under 12 pts? In the case above, would it only start when my first point accrual expires? In other words, on July 2025 (so 6 months from July 2025)?

Hope it makes sense!

Thanks,

Z

soolin

The ban if given will apply as soon as the court gives it. That may be some time as it has to go through the system and that’s likely to take some time. When you received your points for the first offence is irrelevant. 

MX5huggy

No, how are you thinking that? 

6+6 = 12 = Ban from when the points 12 are awarded.

why would the ban start from when it falls to 6 because 6 have expired? 

facade

If you are going to accrue 12 points (or more...) in a 3 year period measured between the dates of the offences not dates of convictions then you have to attend Court and will receive a "totting up" ban of at least 6 months (don't drive there, the ban is effective immediately)

So the relevant dates are those of the commission of the offences.

To avoid this you can

1) plead not guilty and win. (Present a Statutory Defence such as driving your employer's van and they forgot to insure it)

2) argue Special Reasons not to endorse (e.g. your child was in anaphylaxis and the Paramedics were 4 hours away so you drove her to Casualty)

3) present a successful Exceptional Hardship plea (Exceptional Hardship caused to other innocent people, not you e.g. you have to drive your many disabled relatives to regular Hospital appointments and there are no Buses, Taxis or Hospital transport) and get a reduced or no ban.

Okell

proformance said:

... My question is - does the time-period ban (i.e. 6 months) only begin when the total points balance falls under 12 pts? In the case above, would it only start when my first point accrual expires? In other words, on July 2025 (so 6 months from July 2025)?

Hope it makes sense!

Thanks,

Z

No - your question makes absolutely no sense whatsoever.

Why* would you think the ban would only begin "when the total points balance falls under 12 pts"?  

If that were the case you could keep on accumulating more and more points and you'd never get banned as the balance would never fall below 12.    

You say you've currently got 6 points due to expire in July next year and I presume you are saying that a court is likely to impose (not register) another 6 points within the next month.  

Your period of disqualification will start when the court imposes it (ie with immediate effect).  Penalty points expiring after that are irrelevant.


*Are you from one of those countries that give you an allowance of points to start with and then deduct from that allowance as you accumulate penalties, and then ban you when you fall below a certain level?  Even then your question doesn't make sense...

proformance

facade said:

If you are going to accrue 12 points (or more...) in a 3 year period measured between the dates of the offences not dates of convictions then you have to attend Court and will receive a "totting up" ban of at least 6 months (don't drive there, the ban is effective immediately)

So the relevant dates are those of the commission of the offences.

To avoid this you can

1) plead not guilty and win. (Present a Statutory Defence such as driving your employer's van and they forgot to insure it)

2) argue Special Reasons not to endorse (e.g. your child was in anaphylaxis and the Paramedics were 4 hours away so you drove her to Casualty)

3) present a successful Exceptional Hardship plea (Exceptional Hardship caused to other innocent people, not you e.g. you have to drive your many disabled relatives to regular Hospital appointments and there are no Buses, Taxis or Hospital transport) and get a reduced or no ban.

Thanks for the reply. Really helpful.

I haven't accepted the fine & points yet.

However, I don't think I can successfully make a case for driving uninsured. If you have any resources, I'd love to see them.
Thanks,
Z

TadleyBaggie

proformance said:

I haven't accepted the fine & points yet.

However, I don't think I can successfully make a case for driving uninsured.

In fact you cannot accept the fixed penalty, if the points for an offence will take you to 12 or more, it automatically gets referred to court. Assuming you plead guilty, they will sentence you and then immediately you will be allowed to present an exceptional hardship plea to avoid a minimum 6 month ban.

Defending a insurance offence would depend on the circumstances, none of which you have shared.

TooManyPoints

I haven't accepted the fine & points yet.

As above, you do not  get to accept them or not. Because you are liable to “totting up” your insurance case will be prosecuted in court and the points will be imposed there.

However, I don't think I can successfully make a case for driving uninsured. If you have any resources, I'd love to see them.

Tell us how you came to be driving uninsured and we may be able to help.

...present a successful Exceptional Hardship plea (Exceptional Hardship caused to other innocent people, not you e.g. you have to drive your many disabled relatives to regular Hospital appointments and there are no Buses, Taxis or Hospital transport) and get a reduced or no ban.

You should note that “Exceptional Hardship is not restricted to hardship suffered by others (though it usually carries more weight). Here’s the Magistrates’ guidance when they are dealing with such an argument:

When considering whether there are grounds to reduce or avoid a totting up disqualification the court should have regard to the following:

It is for the offender to prove to the civil standard of proof that such grounds exist. Other than very exceptionally, this will require evidence from the offender, and where such evidence is given, it must be sworn.

Where it is asserted that hardship would be caused, the court must be satisfied that it is not merely inconvenience, or hardship, but exceptional hardship for which the court must have evidence;

Almost every disqualification entails hardship for the person disqualified and their immediate family. This is part of the deterrent objective of the provisions combined with the preventative effect of the order not to drive.

If a motorist continues to offend after becoming aware of the risk to their licence of further penalty points, the court can take this circumstance into account.

Courts should be cautious before accepting assertions of exceptional hardship without evidence that alternatives (including alternative means of transport) for avoiding exceptional hardship are not viable;

Loss of employment will be an inevitable consequence of a driving ban for many people. Evidence that loss of employment would follow from disqualification is not in itself sufficient to demonstrate exceptional hardship; whether or not it does will depend on the circumstances of the offender and the consequences of that loss of employment on the offender and/or others.