Special Reasons
Special reasons for not disqualifying should not be confused with exceptional hardship. Special reasons only relate to the offence itself, that is any reasonable excuse you may have had for breaking the law. Exceptional hardship is the advancing of arguments to the Court after conviction as to why you should not be disqualified.
It is always advisable when advancing either Special Reasons or Exceptional Hardship to be represented by an expert motorists solicitor such as MotoringSolicitors.com. HOW MUCH IS YOUR LICENCE WORTH?
The Court can decide not to impose a period of mandatory disqualification or not endorse a driver's licence with penalty points if they find that special reasons exist why this should not be done.
A special reason is defined in law as being one that satisfies all of these four conditions:
a) it is a mitigating circumstance, one which tends to reduce the seriousness of the offence
b) it is not a defence to the charge in law
c) it is directly connected with the circumstances in which the offence was committed and not related just to the personal circumstances of the driver
d) it is a factor which the Court ought properly to take into consideration
An example of facts capable of amounting to a special reason not to endorse or disqualify is shortness of distance travelled: eg. where a car is moved a distance of feet, whilst the driver is over the drink-drive limit.
The Court will have to be satisfied that the facts do amount to a special reason in a particular case, and a special hearing to determine this will be required
Our clients Testimonials
(click here)