12 Points On Licence

Are You Facing 12 Points on Licence?

Points don’t mean prizes

12 points on licence has become a fact-of-life for many drivers, quite often through fixed-point penalty notices for ‘minor’ speeding offences, and often obtained by being caught by one of the many speed cameras. This is usually 3 points on your licence and a fine. Getting to 12 points means you will lose your licence for a period of time but you can achieve this much faster by conviction for more serious speeding offences or ‘driving without due care and attention’ or ‘dangerous driving’.

But if you have had your licence for less than 2 years you are at a much greater risk of losing your licence. If you get to 6 points, then your licence will be revoked and you’ll have to go back to being a learner and starting all over again. This includes any points you get while you hold a provisional licence. It has been done to encourage new drivers to drive responsibly.

 

The answer is… it depends on when the points were accrued and if within 3 years, whether or not you succeed on your exceptional hardship argument. One of our recent clients answers this question – he faced a driving ban having ended up with 13 points on his licence and was represented by one of our barristers, we having already given very detailed advice and guidance on steps he needed to take before the hearing, by which stage he already had the optimal chance of succeeding:

In circumstances where a Court has discretion whether to disqualify a motorist or not then it may be possible to persuade the Court not to disqualify you due to your own personal circumstances. In a careless driving case mitigating circumstances could be a sudden change in weather conditions, a momentary lapse or a minor risk.

In alcohol related cases it may be possible for you to argue that an emergency situation arose, you were only moving your vehicle a very short distance or that your drink may have been laced by an unknown person or somebody known to you.

If you were accused of failing to stop or failing to report mitigating circumstances may apply if you had stayed at the scene but failed to give your full particulars before leaving, there was nobody at the scene, there was limited damage to your vehicle and the other persons vehicle or you had a genuine fear of retaliation.

If you do have a genuine fear for your personal injury or safety this will afford a complete defence and you will be acquitted .

In respect of allegations of driving without a valid certificate of insurance then this could have been a genuine mistake, the responsibility for obtaining the insurance could have laid with another person such as your parent/owner/hirer or it was an accidental oversight.

If you have 12 points on licence and require legal advice you can ask Patterson Law a free, no obligation question about the points on your licence. With professional legal advice you can keep driving by protecting your licence.