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How To Respond To A "Notice Of Proposed Driving Disqualification"?
What is a “Notice Of Proposed Driving Disqualification”?
Many people are very confused when they receive such a document and wonder what it means. You may be sent a “Notice Of Proposed Driving Disqualification” by the court if you are convicted of a motoring offence in your absence and the court is considering banning you from driving. A “Notice of Proposed Driving Disqualification” essentially asks you if you object to being disqualified in your absence.
The courts like to issue these notices because it cuts down on the number of full-court hearings where the accused attends and therefore saves court time. Also, a “Notice of Proposed Driving Disqualification” gives individuals the opportunity to avoid having to attend court when they do not want to raise any issues and they are simply prepared to accept a period of disqualification.
Why have I been sent a “Notice of Proposed Driving Disqualification”?
A “Notice of Proposed Driving Disqualification” is a part of the Single Justice Procedure.
If a non-imprisonable motoring allegation is not resolved by way of an educational course or a fixed penalty, the police may instigate court proceedings and send you a “Single Justice Procedure Notice” in the post. You will have 21 days to respond to this document, either online or by post. Your response will then go before a single Magistrate (the single Justice) and a legal advisor. No one else is allowed to be present at this meeting.
If you replied to the “Single Justice Procedure Notice” saying that you wish to plead guilty but want to attend court, or you want to plead not guilty, then the matter will be put over by the single Magistrate for a full hearing before the Magistrates.
If you replied to the “Single Justice Procedure Notice” saying that you want to plead guilty but do not want to attend court, or if you ignored the notice altogether, then (if the offence is not very serious) the single Magistrate may just impose penalty points and a financial penalty and finalise the matter. You would then be written to with the result. If, however, the offence is more serious, and the single Magistrate believes that the possibility of your being disqualified should seriously be considered, then the matter may be put over for a full hearing for you to attend or you may be sent a “Notice of Proposed Driving Disqualification”.
How do I reply to a “Notice of Proposed Driving Disqualification”?
The document starts by saying “You have been convicted of an offence and the court is considering whether you should be disqualified from driving because of the seriousness of the offence, or the number of points on your driving record.”
Attached to the “Notice of Proposed Driving Disqualification” there is a form headed “Response to Disqualification Warning”. This document essentially gives you two options and asks you to choose one of them.
The first option says “I have no further information to give to the court and want the court to proceed in my absence.” If you agree to this option then the matter will go back before the single Magistrate who will probably disqualify you in your absence. The form goes on to warn you that if you choose this option then you may be disqualified on, or after, a certain date and you “should not drive from that date until the result is confirmed by the court.” It states this because if you are banned from driving in your absence and continue to drive then you would be committing a very serious offence of driving whilst disqualified for which you could receive up to a 6-month prison sentence.
The second option is that you could reply to the “Response to Disqualification Warning” by the set date requesting a full hearing before Magistrates. The matter would then go back before the single Magistrate who would put the matter over for a full hearing for you to attend. At this hearing you would have the chance to say how being disqualified from driving would affect you or others, in the hope that the Magistrates are sympathetic and either don’t ban you or disqualify you for a much shorter period than they would have done if you hadn’t attended court. If you do reply to the “Response to Disqualification Warning” saying that you want to attend court you should always use Special Delivery rather than the less reliable first or second class post. This way you will be issued with a tracking number so that you can prove that you sent a reply to the “Notice of Proposed Driving Disqualification” if the court questions this.
What happens if I simply ignore the “Notice of Proposed Driving Disqualification”?
Burying your head in the sand will not get rid of the matter. If you don’t respond to this document you will be treated as if you had chosen the first option in the “Response to Disqualification Warning” and accepted that you may be disqualified in your absence.
Why would I receive a “Notice of Proposed Driving Disqualification” for a speeding offence?
For speeding offences, there are two reasons why you may receive a “Notice Of Proposed Driving Disqualification”. These are where:-
1. The imposition of penalty points would bring your total to 12 points or more; If the single Magistrate believes that penalty points should be issued bringing your total up to 12 penalty points or more then he/she may order that you be sent a “Notice of Proposed Driving Disqualification”. This is because if you accumulate 12 or more points then you have to be disqualified from driving for at least 6 months unless you successfully argue Exceptional Hardship. To argue Exceptional Hardship you must appear before the Magistrates and, therefore, you should respond to the “Notice Of Proposed Driving Disqualification” saying that you wish to attend a full Magistrates Court hearing. If you argue Exceptional Hardship successfully then the Magistrates would be very unlikely to ban you from driving. The court would have to be persuaded that you and/or others would suffer Exceptional Hardship if you were banned for at least 6 months. This is not easy and most people who argue this without a solicitor fail in their attempt.
2. You were speeding far in excess of the speed limit; In such a case the single Magistrate may consider the matter too serious for penalty points, and instead may believe that disqualification may be suitable. That Magistrate will then order that you are sent a “Notice Of Proposed Driving Disqualification” to warn you that you may be disqualified and to give you the opportunity to attend a court hearing. According to the Magistrates Court Sentencing Council Guidelines, a disqualification should be considered as a very real possibility for the following speeds:-
In a 20mph speed limit - 41mph and above
In a 30mph speed limit - 51mph and above
In a 40mph speed limit - 66 mph and above
In a 50mph speed limit - 76 mph and above
In a 60 mph speed limit - 91 mph and above
in a 70 mph speed limit - 101 mph and above
In such cases, if you reply to the “Notice Of Proposed Driving Disqualification” requesting a full hearing then you may be able to persuade the Magistrates (through explaining your mitigating circumstances) to either impose penalty points after all instead of a ban, or to impose a much shorter ban than would have been imposed if you hadn’t put forward your representations in person. Again, having a solicitor to put forward your case helps enormously.
Owing to the reasons above, we at Speeding Law Solicitors would almost always advise clients to respond to a “Notice Of Proposed Driving Disqualification” for a speeding offence by saying that you want to attend court because only then is there a real possibility of saving your driving licence.
If I receive a “Notice of Proposed Driving Disqualification” why should I contact Speeding Law Solicitors?
If you receive such a notice contact Speeding Law Solicitors and we can help you avoid a disqualification by making sure you respond in the correct way requesting a hearing. At such a hearing having a good solicitor representing you can make a huge difference. Here at Speeding Law Solicitors, our founding solicitor Philip Hatvany has a personal success rate of over 90%, going back to 2011 for arguing Exceptional Hardship. He is also very skilled at putting forward good reasons as to why Magistrates should not ban someone even for a relatively serious offence. Finally, we offer very reasonable fixed fees so that you know financially exactly where you stand from the outset of the case.
If you have received a “Notice Of Proposed Driving Disqualification” contact Philip Hatvany now on FREEPHONE 0800 909 8110 for a FREE consultation.