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Totting-up driving bans – How do they work and are there any exemptions?

Getting points on your driving licence can be worrying for drivers, especially if they already have existing penalties on their licence. This can result in higher insurance costs and may affect your job if you are a professional driver.

But did you know you could face a driving ban if you have too many points?

Through a process commonly known as totting up, anyone who accrues 12 points on their licence, in any three years, is automatically banned from driving for a minimum of six months.

This means that if you are caught speeding four times in a row, and receive three points each time, you risk temporarily being unable to drive for up to six months.

This could have a significant impact on your life and may even prevent you from working if you are required to drive as part of your role or you need to commute via your private vehicle.

Is there any way of avoiding a driving ban for having too many points?

While the best way to avoid a driving ban entirely is to not commit road traffic offences in the first place, if you are faced with a ban, your options are limited.

The only real exception to the totting up rules is where a motorist can prove that losing their licence will incur ‘exceptional hardship’.

This process is by no means simple, and drivers are usually required to seek out specialist legal advice to make a convincing case to the courts.

For an exceptional hardship claim to work, you will have to prove that, on the balance of probabilities, a driving ban would cause more than the straightforward hardship of no longer being able to drive.

Typically, a judge or magistrate will want to know how a ban would affect innocent third parties who would be penalised as a result of a ban, such as dependants or employees.

As the motorist committing the offence, the onus is very much on you to prove exceptional hardship and so you must ensure that all the evidence in support of the argument has been considered and is presented in the strongest possible terms.

If you have relied on an exceptional hardship argument previously to prevent a driving ban you should be aware that the same reasons cannot be given in support of a similar claim twice in any three years.

Are you facing a driving ban for the totting up of penalty points on your licence? Get in touch to find out how we can assist you.