To ask if you have had 12 points on your license and if so what happened?

[daysayso]

I have 9 points currently, I have had a letter to say I was speeding 53 mph on a 40mph motorway temporary speed limit

Once I reach 12 points I've read it's an auto ban - unless you can prove hardship.

Has anyone got to 12 points and either successfully appealed it or got away with it and if so how?

No smart comments please these is really stressing me out

Thanks in advance

I know people who have been in this position, and they’ve successfully argued that they have to be able to drive for work, and been given an exemption from a total ban as a result.

12 points mens a 'totting up' ban. You can appeal and ask for leniency in some circumstances. Is there a chance of a speed awareness course? you can do one every few years I believe so it depends how old your points are and if you've done one recently. As an aside- a speed awareness course might actually be helpful, I'm not going to lecture and I know it's easily done in a variable speed limit but to get to 12 points is unusual.

What are you reasons for wanting to avoid a ban? Other than the fact nobody wants to get banned, I mean?

If you have a partner reliant on you for travel to hospital appointments for example then they might be lenient.

How serious were your other offences? 53mph in a 40mph zone would usually be seen as pretty serious, though perhaps less so on a motorway than near a school at chucking out time.

Don't want to bring you down but if you can't give a good reason why you should avoid a ban then you probably won't be able to.

As others have said it is possible to avoid a ban with 12 points but you have to inform your insurance company and your premium will go through the roof.

Firstly OP, you need to speak to a real life lawyer.

Exceptional hardship is quite a high barrier to meet, despite what certain tabloid articles would have you believe. You would have to demonstrate that you or innocent parties would suffer as a result of a ban. Suffer does not mean "have to get the bus" or "be inconvenienced". You would have to prove that there is something essential you need the car for, for which there are absolutely no other options (i.e. friends or family collecting children from school), which would mean that genuine hardship would be caused - you or someone else losing your job, for example.

Bear in mind that even if the courts are persuaded that there is an exceptional hardship, they could still enforce a ban. It might just not be as long as it would have been. Successfully pleading exceptional hardship does not mean you won't get a driving ban.

But as I said in my first sentence, see a solicitor.

My dad argued successfully against a ban, he stated he needed to drive to and from work (demonstrated that public transport wasn’t a viable option). Had he got any further points he would have been banned regardless.

his insurance premium was huge. He learned his lesson and drove slower and eventually all his points expired and he now has a clean licence.

Seek legal advice. Have a plan for the assumption you are banned. It may be a while away given the barristers' all out strike, unless courts still sit where barristers are not required.

What would be your basis for appeal?

Speeding matters are heard in the Magistrates Courts. You can represent yourself or instruct a solicitor. A barrister will not be required.

Think carefully about what you are going to say in mitigation. A magistrate may well take the view that someone who really needs a license should have been more careful - 3 points can be a simple mistake, 12 points not so much.

There is some information here which you may find helpful RE exceptional hardship: www.sentencingcouncil.org.uk/explanatory-material/magistrates-court/item/road-traffic-offences-disqualification/3-totting-up-disqualification/

Someone I know got this, all due to speeding, it was a 6 month ban, despite needing to drive for work and to get DC to school. Quite right really 🤷🏼‍♀️

I got off with exceptional hardship and a fine, but had to hire a solicitor to present my case, and there were mitigating circumstances other than my job which involved travelling. The main mitigating circumstance was that the points expire after 3 years and I had 9 points in 9 months, then completed 2 years with no further offences before getting another 3, so there was evidence that my driving had improved.

Also, I was never offered a speed awareness course and a chance to avoid points, but the local police authority had subsequently changed their guidelines and I would have been eligible had some of my offences happened a few months later.

As said up the thread, you can prove exceptional hardship but it is a relatively high bar. I had a very specialised job, from which I would have been forced to resign, and could not easily have obtained similar employment.

You are a totter and will be banned. Most appeals are unsuccessful

Losing your job is not enough to prove exceptional hardship it specifically says so in the guidelines. Please don’t talk of “ getting off” with exceptional hardship - it’s there for a reason and should be applied properly and correctly. If your exceptional hardship case is proven you will be allowed to continue driving with 12 points, however you won’t be able to use the same reasons if you are prosecuted again. If you have a short ban on the other hand your points are reset to zero and sometimes that might be a better option.

Double check the dates of your previous points as they do get cancelled after a certain time. Also, you may have the option of a speed awareness course instead of points.

My dad was literally a lorry driver, it was his livelihood. He got a driving ban and lost his job. With 4 children to support.

My Dad successfully avoided a ban as he was in a very senior position working for the water board where we are. He had to go to court and the company sent a legal representative, without them I'm not sure what would have happened.

A friend of mine had this situation. He was granted exceptional hardship and given the opportunity to do the speed awareness course . Mitigating circumstances were largely down to a gap between earlier and later points, and that the last time he was caught speeding was something particularly difficult - can't say as it would be too outing but it was for his job, with a passenger in the car who he shouldn't really have had to transport (had called for police assistance and the police were too busy) - so they accepted that he had been distracted and that while ideally he should have pulled over it wasn't that straightforward/safe in reality.

His job required him to drive and he had elderly parents who relied on him for support but he was advised that on its own wouldn't be enough. That would have been considered inconvenience (loss of income and having to pay for carers for his parents).

A close friend of mine was in this situation a few years ago and managed to get out of it. She used a solicitor and argued that she wouldn't be able to carry on in her line of work (Health sector) without driving. I wrote a character reference for her.
It quite surprised me that she did get out of it, since like others above, I believed it was a rarity that they let people off.

XH managed to accumulate 12 points but avoided a ban a few years back, because he claimed that he would be unable to support me practically with our children both of whom have ASD, as he needed to be able to drive the 50 miles to where we lived (no public transport option).

Genuinely not a smart comment, you need to slow down and allow more time to get to A to B. You also need to declare all these points to your insurance. How long until the first set "fall off" the licence. Maybe buy a slower car? I've been up to 6 points myself if my younger days, foolishly got arsy with the police officer the se one time when he started checking over the car too see if he could find anything defective to get me in as well. That ended up with a tag on the car so wherever I went a police car came and joined me for a few miles. Very tedious indeed, I wouldn't recommend to anyone.

My friend's husband was banned for 6m for this, even though he was self employed roofer and obviously relied on having a van to do this. It was a nightmare for his wife doing 3x childcare drop offs at two different settings , dropping him off at his colleagues house for a lift and going to her own job. He explained to the court how he relied on his van for work and childcare drop offs shared with his wife but was still banned, so I'd say the bar is quite high to keep your licence.

You shouldn't be on the roads. I hope you are banned. Getting 12 points is disgraceful and irresponsible.

Many may years ago DH had 16 points on his license, he was early 20s and had a big company car, he managed to retain his licence but had to go to court, he did need to drive for work. Fast forward 20 years to present day, he has no points on his licence and is the safest driver I know, so he managed to retain his licence but also learnt his lesson.

I know 2 people that were banned despite letters from their employer stating that their car was needed for them to do their job and their job would be at risk if they couldn't drive.