Exceptional Hardship Successful Willesden Magistrates Court 2024

Our client drove through a red light on one occasion, and on a separate occasion, he was captured by a speed camera speeding. He already had nine penalty points on his licence, and he intended to plead guilty to these two offences, which would have led to him acquiring 15 points on his licence. When your penalty points exceed 12, the court must disqualify you from driving for at least 6 months under the totting up provisions.

Our client wished to argue the exceptional hardship he would suffer due to a driving disqualification. We argued the following for our client –

• A married man in poor health, suffering from high cholesterol.
• His wife suffered from fibromyalgia and was a blue badge holder.
• His daughter was a victim of modern slavery at age 17 and had been forced by drug dealers to participate in drug transactions.
• Our client's son lived at home and also suffered from severe mental health problems.
• Our client's wife was a diabetic.

We argued the following exceptional hardship as his family obligations with his wife/children and hospital appointments, combined with his car tyre business being two hours away by public transport, led the court to accept that our client would suffer from exceptional hardship and be banned from driving. The court had already refused other similar applications where defendants had appeared in person, unable to argue their case sufficiently.

Having expert representation from an expert road traffic lawyer is crucial in these cases. You must demonstrate an exceptionally high level of hardship rather than just hardship. We were able to distinguish this case from ordinary hardship by explaining the various problems the defendant had in his personal life and the added complications of running a small business involved with vehicle repairs.