Place:Chelmsford Magistrates Court

Offence:Driving whilst Disqualified and Driving without a valid Certificate of Insurance

Defence: Mitigation

Millars Solicitors were instructed by Miss E who was very concerned about the prospect of a custodial sentence as she was driving whilst disqualified. Powerful mitigation was advanced at Court emphasising that Miss E was an unsung hero caring for her 85 year step mother, sick husband and depressed son as well as holding down a full-time job as a prison officer.  The Judge had some sympathy in the circumstances and imposed 6 penalty points for the offence of driving whilst disqualified, with no separate penalty for the driving without a valid certificate of insurance matter.  This was the least sentence that could possibly have been imposed.  Miss E was expecting that the disqualification would be extended and that a community order would be imposed, at least.  She was greatly relieved and thankful for the service provided by Millars Solicitors.

Early Return of Licence

It is possible after having had a ban to ask for your licence to be re-instated earlier to the court that disqualified you.

We help numerous clients prove that they should be allowed their driving licence reinstated and navigate the pitfalls of dealing with CPS who almost certainly will oppose any application.

Place: Stockport Magistrates Court

Offence: Driving with Excess Alcohol – guilty plea

Defence: Mitigation

Carl Millar from Messrs Millars Solicitors was instructed by Mr A in respect of an allegation of driving with excess alcohol.  His reading in breath was at 78µg of alcohol in 100ml of breath.  He was advised that the Magistrates Court Sentencing Guidelines suggest a period of disqualification of between 17-22 months where the reading is between 60-89µg of alcohol in 100ml of breath.

Mr A was a minor (below 18) and had very good mitigation.  He was supported by his mother in Court.  The Court were sympathetic to the mitigation that was advanced and imposed the minimum period of disqualification of 12 months.  He was also awarded the Drink Drivers Rehabilitation Course, which would allow a reduction of 3 months in the circumstances.  In effect, his disqualification will be for a 9 month period when it could have been as high as 22 months.

Offence: Speeding – 98mph in a 70mph speed restriction area – possible Totter and facing minimum period of disqualification of 6 months

Defence: Mitigation

Carl Millar was instructed by Mr C who potentially faced a minimum period of disqualification of 6 months under the totting up provisions.

Mr C had 6 penalty points on his driving licence made up of 2 separate speeding offences.  For the third incident, he was travelling at 98mph in a 70mph speed restriction area.  The Magistrates Court Sentencing Guidelines suggest the imposition of between 4-6 penalty points or an outright disqualification where the speed is between 91-100mph.  Obviously, Mr C was at the higher end of the scale and therefore could possibly have received 6 penalty points on his licence.

Powerful mitigation was presented and Mr C received 5 penalty points and therefore avoided the totting up provisions whereby an exceptional hardship case would have to be presented.  The Court were persuaded by the fact that Mr C would not be able to generate an income if he were to receive a 6 month ban and, in turn, he would not be able to pay his rent.  The knock-on effect of this would be that he would not be able to make the maintenance payments for his children and they would suffer through no fault of their own.  Naturally, Mr C was delighted with the outcome of the case.

Place: Oxford Magistrates Court

Offence: Speeding

Defence: Mitigation

Carl Millar was instructed by Mr D who faced a driving disqualification for speeding at 66mph in a 30mph speed restriction area.

Mr D had been advised that the Magistrates Court Sentencing Guidelines stop at 60mph for a speed of 30mph.  He was therefore literally beyond the scales of the guidelines which suggested 6 penalty points or disqualification of up to 56 days.  At all costs, Mr D wished to avoid a driving disqualification as this would have an immediate impact upon his ability to continue with his job.  The Court accepted the mitigation advanced by Messrs Millars Solicitors and 6 penalty points were imposed instead of a driving ban.

Place: Weymouth Magistrates Court

Offence: Totting Up 12 penalty points on driving licence

Defence: Exceptional Hardship

Carl Millar was instructed by Mr D who faced disqualification for a minimum period of six months under the totting up provisions.

Mr D’s primary concern was that if he were to be disqualified for the minimum period of six months, then he simply would not be able to continue to work and would lose his business.  This would have the consequence that he and his wife would not have an income as his wife was an employee of the business.  He was also concerned that two other employees would be in a position that they would lose their jobs and they had families to support that were financially reliant upon the income from their work.

Mr D is a professional foot trimmer and there was also a concern that his clients would be affected as they depended on his business.

The Court accepted all of these circumstances and found exceptional hardship and therefore Mr D was not disqualified from driving for the period of 6 months.

Offence: Speeding

Defence: Mitigation

Carl Millar was instructed by Mr DC who faced a minimum period of disqualification of six months under the totting up provisions.

Mr DC was travelling at 72mph in a 40mph speed restriction area when he already had 9 penalty points on his driving licence.  He was advised by Carl Millar from Messrs Millars Solicitors that he did not have good grounds for an exceptional hardship hearing.  We explained that we would try and persuade the Court to disqualify him outright for the offence alone, and therefore this would circumvent the possibility of the minimum period of six months disqualification under the totting up provisions.  The Court were persuaded by this argument and disqualified him for a period of 7 days for the offence of speeding.  Mr DC was delighted as he could have received a six month disqualification under the totting up provisions.

Offence: Totting up 13 penalty points on driving licence

Defence: Exceptional Hardship

Carl Millar was instructed by Mr H who faced disqualification for a minimum period of six months under the totting up provisions.

Mr H was travelling at 67mph in a 50mph speed restriction area and he received 4 penalty points for this offence.  Unfortunately, he already had 9 penalty points on his driving licence at the time of the offence.  Exceptional hardship was advanced whereby Millars Solicitors explained that Mr H would lose his job as a result of the disqualification.  He did not have any transferrable skills and his work over the previous 15 years revolved around him being able to drive a motor vehicle.  This would have impacted upon his family as he was the main breadwinner in the home.  The Court accepted that without the ability to earn an income then Mr H would face repossession proceedings as he would not be able to pay his mortgage and his wife’s income alone would not cover the mortgage payments.  Naturally, Mr H was delighted with the outcome.

Offence: Totting up 12 penalty points on driving licence

Defence: Exceptional Hardship

Carl Millar from Messrs Millars Solicitors was instructed by Mr J who faced disqualification for a minimum period of 6 months under the totting up provisions.

Mr J had accumulated the penalty points as a result of 4 separate speeding incidents.

In summary, if Mr J were to be disqualified from driving then his contract of employment would have been terminated.  He was a 56 year old gentleman who was concerned about obtaining gainful employment after any period of disqualification had ended.  Furthermore, he had only ever worked in the motor industry and it would have been difficult to obtain any other job without the ability to drive.  His case was supported by the fact that he had a letter from his employer confirming that they would have to terminate his contract of employment.  Naturally, Mr J was delighted with the outcome as his driving licence was saved.

Offence: Drug Driving

Defence: No evidence of driving

Carl Millar from Messrs Millars Solicitors was instructed by Mr L who was initially charged with drug driving.

Representations were made by Keep My Driving Licence part of  Millars Solicitors to the Crown Prosecution Service to explain that the appropriate charge should be one of being in charge of a motor vehicle with drugs, rather than driving with drugs.  The Crown Prosecution Service accepted this position.  The significance is substantial as anybody facing a punishment for driving with drugs in their system will be disqualified for a minimum period of 12 months, and it can be up to 3 years.  With an offence of being in charge of a motor vehicle through drink or drugs, the Court have a discretion to endorse 10 penalty points on a defendants’ driving licence rather than a driving disqualification.  In the circumstances, the Court heard all of Mr L’s mitigation and agreed to impose 10 penalty points instead of a driving ban.

Offence: Totting up 12 penalty points on driving licence

Defence: Exceptional Hardship

Carl Millar was instructed by Mr NE who already had 10 penalty points endorsed on his driving licence.  He committed a further offence of speeding, which took him to 13 penalty points and he therefore faced a minimum period of disqualification of 6 months under the totting up provisions.  Mitigation was advanced on behalf of Mr NE explaining that any period of disqualification would cause exceptional hardship to his family as his contract of employment would be terminated by his employer in the event of a driving disqualification.  Furthermore, Mr NE’s wife could not cover the mortgage payments and the outgoings of the family home.  Mr NE was also concerned about obtaining gainful employment in the future as he was 55 years of age and it was put to the Court that he may find it difficult to find another job after having lost his job and explaining to his new employer that this came about due to a driving disqualification.  Exceptional Hardship was accepted by the Court and Mr NE was not disqualified from driving at all.