Mitigating and special reasons
With certain driving offences, even if someone is technically guilty, the court does not always impose a ban. Even for an offence such as drink driving, where a ban is usually mandatory.
A defendant can state a "Special Reason" for which they should not be disqualified from driving.
A Special Reason must be directly connected with the commission of the offence and one which the court should to take into consideration when imposing punishment.
Special Reasons can apply to the following offences:
- Driving without Insurance
- Drink driving
- Speeding
- Going through a red light
The law relating to 'special reasons' allows the court to exercise discretion in not disqualifying a motorist, or prevents the imposition of penalty points on a motorist.
Examples of Special Reasons might include.
- Driving someone to hospital while over the alcohol limit
- Driving to rescue a person from a danger and speeding to get there
- Driving whilst over the limit after your drinks have been "spiked" or laced
A court will not allow Special Reasons where the fact that the defendant was driving was not proportionate to the need to break the law. The court will also bear in mind, among other things, the driving conditions, the state of the vehicle being driven, the length of the journey, and, in alcohol cases, whether a sober person at the scene would have recommended driving.
So, to summarise, a Special Reason must be:
- To do with the events, and not to do with the personal situation of the defendant.
- A good reason why someone should not be disqualified.
- Something done that was at the time and is in hindsight now a reasonable thing to do, considering all the circumstances.
It is strongly recommended that legal advice is sought should this happen to you can in these instances, we can help.
