Driver escapes disqualification under totting up procedure

The driver in this case already had six points on her licence and was liable under the totting up procedure to be disqualified after pleading guilty to permitting someone else to drive her car without insurance. In this case we successfully argued  before the Llanelli Magistrates that disqualification would cause exceptional hardship.

This case involved a driver who allowed her son to drive her car for a distance of about two miles altogether, as she had a painful foot. The Police followed the car and discovered that he was uninsured for the vehicle.

Before the Court in April 2009 we put three arguements that the Magistrates should not automatically disqualify the driver under the totting up procedure, namely:-

• she lived in a rural area with no public transport, and needed to drive her husband to work a distance of five miles from their home.
• she had a teenage daughter who was unable to be left alone, or use public transport, and who, due to mental health problems, was dependant on her.
• she needed to regularly visit her mother and aunt both in their 80s and living in England, to help with jobs and shopping.

The Defendant gave evidence on oath about these matters, and the Magistrates decided they did have sufficient grounds to find this was a case where there would be exceptional hardship were the Defendant to be disqualified. They therefore endorsed her licence with a further 6 points, but did not disqualify her from driving.

This case illustrates the importance of careful preparation for a case and the necessity for quality legal representation at court hearings regarding driving matters.