It would appear that he has only three “valid” points so would be dealt with via post. No totting up as new balance will be six.

I assume that his latest offence was committed on or before 3rd July2023.

When he reaches 12 points the court must disqualify him for a minimum of six months unless he can show that he or others wills suffer "exceptional hardship" if he is banned.

I'll reply more fully later (probably tomorrow now) but meantime, here's the Magistrates' guidance which they use when considering such a matter:

"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."

A couple of things worth mentioning immediately:

The details of the offences which led to the twelve points are not to be considered and the length of time they have to remain "active" is also not a consideration.

There is no "case law" to be considered. These matters are dealt with in the Magistrates' Court which is not a "court of record", so no precedents are recorded. Each case is considered on its own merits.

Or hope for a short ban. Which I've heard from some associates getting 2 week ban or 1 month. Rather than 6. Not sure how common this is?

It is not common at all. Whilst the court does have the power to impose a shorter ban, invariably it does not. If it finds exceptional hardship a ban is avoided entirely, if it is not found, it is six months.

I'll come back with more tomorrow and try to cover some of your other points, especially whether it is worth considering using a solicitor (my view it is not and I'll explain why). I'll also go through presenting his argument. The most important point to bear in mind is that you should see, from the guidance above, that any hardship must be exceptional - that is, over and above that which any other driver might suffer. Inconvenience is not enough.

Thank you so much for all the info already. Much appreciated. The date of the offence was 26/06/23.

The SJPN was dated 1st December. We sent it back and have since received another letter- 'Notice of Proposed Driving Disqualification' dated 4/1/2024 giving us until 2/2/2024 to respond to the driving disqualification warning - asking us to sign and respond again to say if he wishes to attend court.

I am preusming Christmas closures/post has delayed this extra letter? But not sure why when we sent the SJPN back.

Any further advice very much welcomed. Many Thanks

HI! You mentioned when I originally posted you might be able to over view a draft argument- we now have a date, actually later this week for totting up ban court appearance. I would be very grateful if you were able to give an view, or further advice on things we could/should add. or leave out. My husband is going to defend him self and is happy to speak in court. Thank you, in anticipation.

DRAFT. I am here today representing myself. Whilst having pled guilty to the offense, I am asking for consideration under the grounds of extraordinary hardship

I would ask the court to note that I have held my license for over 25 years and have never before been in this position. In addition to the 9 points on my license at the time of the offense, 6 of those points expired within a couple of days.

On the evening of the offense, I was driving (down hill) doing 36 in 30, taking my eldest daughter to Rainbows.

I was stressed and admittedly distracted, my wife was heavily pregnant (39 weeks) with our 4th baby and had been in prodromal labor on and off for a few days. I did not like leaving her during these times.

I am pleading with the court to show leniency and allow me to continue to support my family.

• The loss of my license would have a catastrophic impact on my family and put us into serious financial hardship.

• I have 4 children aged 7 and under, and am the main income earner in my family. My wife is currently on maternity leave and with this earns only a nominal amount from her own small business. We cannot switch earning roles due the age of my youngest, he is only 8 months old (and exclusively breastfed)

• My ability to earn relies on being able to not just drive, but drive my van, which is necessary for my work.

• I work as a self-employed gardener and handyman. I use my van not just to transport myself to jobs but also to transport tools and machinery. I have set clients I work for on a weekly basis in gardening and grounds keeping capacity, in North Yorkshire. This is the majority of my income.

• We ourselves live in a semi rural location, on the outskirts of Bradford. I have investigated other possibilities for transportation and unfortunately there is no immediate bus route nor are there alternatives trains etc and my North Yorkshire clients live in rural locations away from public transport.

• However even if there was, this would be impractical/impossible as I would be unable to transport tools needed to complete my work.

• As a self employed person with private clients, not being able to fulfill my obligations here would not just be a temporary loss of earnings through a ban, but would mean this income permanently lost as in my absence they would have to look to employ someone else. Making it very hard to re-establish my business and income after a ban.

• Loss of this income would mean our monthly liabilities could not be met. I have detailed my income and expenditure on the submitted forms but they total X a month. Missed mortgage payments, arrears. Missed loan payments, utilities, CT. Potentially facing default orders. I am not in the position to loan or borrow from extended family.

• In addition to this, our older 3 children attend different early years and school, there are in opposite directions, that are a drive away, not connected by public transport. And not possible without both me and my wife doing separate runs in order for them to get there on time.

• We have no family support or grandparent help locally to support this. Our extended families living down South and in Wales

• My eldest 2 children 7 and 5 also attend regular extra curricular activities which support their development, swimming lessons, gymnastics and now Brownies. All of which they rely on me taking them to due to the time of evening and my wife caring for our younger children during this bedtime hours. Again not on bus routes. Which they would have to give up if I was unable to take them.

Edited by JMcG on 11/03/2024 at 14:44

"we now have a date, actually later this week for totting up ban court appearance"

The ship may have already sailed, but it may help someone else Middleman.