Special Reasons Hearing
It is possible, in some circumstances to avoid penalty points on your license or a driving disqualification if you qualify for a ‘special reasons’ hearing. It is vital to get in touch with a specialist as early as possible in your case to see if special reasons is applicable to you and your offence.
What are Special Reasons in motoring law?
Section 34 of The Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988 states:
“Where a person is convicted of an offence involving obligatory disqualification, the court must order him to be disqualified for such period not less than twelve months as the court thinks fit unless the court for special reasons thinks fit to order him to be disqualified for a shorter period or not to order him to be disqualified”
Most commonly, special reasons are used on the following motoring offence cases:
- Speeding offences
- Drink Driving
- Failing to Provide a Specimen
- Driving without Insurance
The ‘Special Reasons’ must also meet the following criterea:
- be a mitigating or extenuating circumstance;
- not amount in law to a defence to the charge;
- be directly connected with the commission of the offence;
- be one which the court ought properly to take into consideration when imposing sentence
Some examples of special reasons arguements could include:
- Emergencies
- Spiked drinks
- A short distance driven
- Confusing and misleading insurance