3. Likelihood on losing license - speeding ticket with 11 points
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Likelihood on losing license - speeding ticket with 11 points
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My partner has a court summons for a speeding offence, what is the likelihood he’ll be banned? It’ll be heard at Chester magistrates.

He’s pled guilty to the offence online and asked to come to court in person so he can plead exceptional hardship in front of the magistrates next week, as of right now we don’t have a solicitor due to cost but do we need one?

For context, he’s had a clean driving license for 20 years but in the last year has received 11 points (6 for texting while stopped but vehicle on, 5 for careless driving incident). He then got a speeding ticket for doing 36 in a 30, (not an excuse, just context).

Regarding the exceptional hardship, he’s a full time logistics driver so his job is based on him having a license with no non-driving alternative so would instantly lose his job. He also pays the mortgage on his children’s family home that he no longer lives in, as well as CMS to their mother who works part time. He’s also currently footing the bill for legal costs due to ongoing custody proceedings which he obviously can only pay as long as he has a job.

Without his job, he’ll be unable to continue paying the mortgage on the home his children live in. Would exceptional hardship be in play here? Thanks in advance for any help or advice.
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Re: Likelihood on losing license - speeding ticket with 11 points
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Wasn't a course offered to avoid the points?  [mod edit: and this is relevant how?]

How the totting came about should not be considered by the bench.  Their guidance is thus:

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.

So they will need to demonstrate that the hardship they and/or others will suffer is over and above that would be suffered by other drivers. When explaining to the court that they will lose their job, firstly they will need to present evidence of that (e.g. a letter from employer) and then go on to explain why alternative employment, not requiring them to drive, is not possible. They will also need to explain why they think the consequences of a ban are “exceptional” (bearing in mind the above guidance). Bear in mind that they will have had some time to investigate such possibilities and the court will expect them to have investigated the possibility thoroughly.

Quote from: blkbrd26 on Today at 04:51:04 pm
Would exceptional hardship be in play here?
Only the court can decide that - but it does appear there might be hardship for others.
« Last Edit: Today at 06:13:32 pm by andy_foster »
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Re: Likelihood on losing license - speeding ticket with 11 points
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Sorry, Doris Stokes has passed to the other side.

It is within the gift of the court. Much will depend on the details of his arguments and how well he presents them. If he is banned, what would or could he do? The fact that he would lose his driving job does not in and of itself mean that he could not find a non-driving job. What are his ex's circumstances? The bench will want to know.

Received wisdom suggests that hardship liable to be suffered by innocent dependents carries more weight, than that which the criminal scum that brought this upon himself would suffer.

What we consider the likelihood of him keeping his licence, based on negligible information is perhaps even more pointless than the question itself.
If the court do not find that he (or others) would suffer exceptional hardship, they must ban him for 6 months. If they do, they can reduce that ban, potentially to zero. All that matters is what they bench on the day decide - unless he does not make an exceptional hardship argument, in which case we can tell you exactly how likely it is that he will get a 6 month ban.

If you/he want advice on how to present his argument, (i.e. ignore irrelevant points and evidence that relevant points), we can offer advice on his draft argument.
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