Client avoids driving ban with Exceptional Hardship

Case study summary

Our client was charged with a speeding offence. He already had 9 points on his licence which meant he was at risk of a ban. We prepared his defence and made a successful exceptional hardship argument meaning he was still able to drive and keep his job.

Case study

Our client was a highly skilled surgeon. His work meant that he could be on call at the hospital where he worked, and may be required to get there quickly to carry out emergency surgery in the middle of the night. His ability to drive was crucial to his role.

He had received a low-level speeding notification for driving 37 mph in a 30 mph zone. However, as a result of previous points he had accumulated, he faced a 'totting up' ban as he had reached 12 points and would be disqualified from driving.

We carefully prepared an exceptional hardship defence to demonstrate to the court that losing his licence would cause extreme hardship to others around him. We identified people who could provide supporting evidence and took witness statements from them. We also instructed an expert barrister who argued on his behalf to successfully persuade the court not to disqualify our client.

He was therefore able to continue to drive and carry on helping patients often with life-saving surgery.