Motoring Offence Solicitors

For most people facing a motoring charge, the fine is not the problem. The licence is.

Losing your licence can mean losing your job, your ability to care for a relative, or your business. Courts hear "I need my licence" constantly and are largely unmoved by it — but a properly prepared, evidenced argument is an entirely different proposition to an assertion from the dock.

Offences we deal with

Speeding

The most common motoring offence. Penalties depend on how far over the limit you were and the limit itself.

A speed awareness course may be offered where the speed falls within a set range and you have not attended one within the previous three years. It is offered by the police, not the court, and it is not available once you are prosecuted.

Careless and inconsiderate driving

Section 3 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 — driving below the standard of a competent and careful driver. Penalties range from 3 to 9 points or a discretionary disqualification. Often charged after a collision, and frequently arguable.

Dangerous driving

The distinction between careless and dangerous is a question of degree, and it is regularly contested. Getting a dangerous charge reduced to careless changes the outcome entirely.

Failing to provide driver details

Section 172 of the Road Traffic Act 1988. If a Notice of Intended Prosecution asks who was driving, you must say. Failing to respond carries 6 points and a fine — often a worse outcome than the original speeding allegation.

People are caught out by this constantly: the notice goes to an old address, or is set aside and forgotten. There is a statutory defence where you did not know and could not with reasonable diligence have known who was driving, but it is narrow and needs to be properly evidenced.

Driving without insurance

6 to 8 points or disqualification, plus a fine. Genuine mistakes — a policy lapsed, a business use exclusion, an insurer cancelling without effective notice — are more common than people assume, and sometimes provide grounds to challenge or mitigate.

Totting up

Accumulate 12 or more penalty points within three years and section 35 of the Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988 requires a disqualification of at least six months.

The court must impose it unless you establish exceptional hardship. More on that below.

New drivers

Under the Road Traffic (New Drivers) Act 1995, 6 points within two years of passing means your licence is revoked. You revert to provisional status and must pass both tests again.

Because the threshold is half the usual one, a single speeding offence plus one other can end a new driver's licence. There is no exceptional hardship argument available against revocation — which makes defending the underlying offence considerably more important.

Exceptional hardship

Where you face a totting-up disqualification, the court may reduce or avoid the ban if disqualification would cause exceptional hardship.

What it is not

Ordinary inconvenience. Everyone disqualified is inconvenienced. Parliament intended that.

Losing your job, on its own. Courts hear this in almost every case. It is rarely sufficient by itself.

An assertion from the witness box with nothing to support it.

What can succeed

Arguments generally work where the hardship falls on other people — employees who would lose their jobs if your business failed, a relative dependent on you for transport to hospital treatment, children whose care arrangements would collapse.

It also helps where the hardship is disproportionate and evidenced: letters from employers, medical evidence, accounts, care records, evidence there is no public transport alternative.

How we prepare it

We identify who is genuinely affected and how, gather documentary evidence rather than relying on assertion, prepare witnesses where their evidence adds weight, and structure the argument around the statutory test rather than sympathy.

One important point: the same grounds cannot generally be relied on twice within three years. If you succeed on exceptional hardship, those circumstances are effectively spent for that period.

Special reasons

Distinct from exceptional hardship. A special reasons argument accepts the offence but asks the court not to endorse or disqualify because of the specific circumstances.

To qualify, the circumstance must be connected to the offence rather than the offender, must not amount to a defence, and must be something the court can properly take into account.

Examples that have succeeded include genuine emergencies, a very short distance driven, and — in drink driving cases — drinks laced without the driver's knowledge.

Special reasons arguments are technical and evidence-heavy. They are also the difference between keeping a licence and losing it.

Notices of Intended Prosecution

If it was not served in time, that may be a complete answer to the charge. There are exceptions — including where the keeper's details could not be ascertained in time — so it is worth checking the dates rather than assuming.

Keep the envelope. The postmark is sometimes the evidence.

Our fees

Basis of charges: Fixed Fee — please contact us for a quote

Disbursements — additional, at cost:

Not included: any fine, prosecution costs, or victim surcharge imposed by the court.

Key stages

1. Initial consultation and review of the papers
2. Advice on plea, prospects and likely sentence
3. Obtaining and reviewing prosecution evidence
4. Preparing your case, including witnesses and documents
5. Correspondence with the prosecution
6. Representation at hearing
7. Advice on outcome and any appeal

Timescales

Magistrates' Court motoring matters typically conclude within 8 to 20 weeks of the first hearing, depending on whether the case is contested and on court listing.

Frequently asked questions

Is it worth fighting a speeding ticket? Sometimes. Grounds include a late or defective Notice of Intended Prosecution, device calibration or operator issues, disputed identity of the driver, or unclear signage. Fighting without grounds usually costs more and loses the credit for an early plea. We will give you a straight assessment.

Will I definitely be banned if I reach 12 points? Not necessarily. Disqualification is mandatory unless the court finds exceptional hardship. That argument needs proper preparation and evidence.

Can I keep driving while I appeal? In some circumstances the court can suspend a disqualification pending appeal. It is not automatic and must be applied for.

What if I did not receive the notice? Where an NIP was properly served on the registered keeper at the address held by DVLA, non-receipt is not usually a defence in itself. If your address was out of date, that creates its own difficulty. Tell us the full history.

How many points before I lose my licence? Twelve within three years for most drivers. Six within two years of passing for new drivers, which results in revocation rather than disqualification.

Do I have to attend court? For most summary motoring matters you can plead by post, though attending is usually better where the outcome matters. For exceptional hardship or special reasons arguments you must attend and give evidence.

Will a conviction affect my insurance? Yes. Endorsements must be declared and premiums typically rise, sometimes substantially. This is a legitimate factor in deciding whether to contest.

Internal links out: /criminal-defence/ · /drink-driving/ · /police-station/ · /contact