Road traffic offences are the most commonly prosecuted criminal offences in England and Wales. They range from fixed penalty notice speeding offences to serious charges carrying mandatory disqualification and imprisonment. Understanding the offence you face and the potential consequences is the first step in deciding whether to seek legal advice.
Speeding
Speeding is usually dealt with by a fixed penalty notice — a £100 fine and 3 penalty points — or by a speed awareness course if offered. For significant excess speed, you may be summoned to court, where fines are means-tested and disqualification is possible. Speeding at more than twice the speed limit — for example 70mph in a 30 zone — can result in disqualification of 7–56 days or 6 points.
Drink driving
Drink driving carries a mandatory minimum 12-month disqualification and an unlimited fine. The disqualification is reduced by 25% if you complete a drink drive rehabilitation course. For high readings or repeat offences, imprisonment is possible. The legal limit is 35 micrograms of alcohol per 100ml of breath, 80mg per 100ml of blood, or 107mg per 100ml of urine. There are specific defences — including the hip flask defence and post-driving consumption — that a solicitor can advise on.
Drug driving
Drug driving carries the same minimum 12-month disqualification as drink driving, plus a criminal record, an unlimited fine, and up to 6 months in prison. Legal limits apply to 16 specified controlled drugs. A solicitor can challenge the reliability of the drug wipe used at the roadside and whether the sample was taken and analysed correctly.
Dangerous and careless driving
Dangerous driving — driving far below the standard of a competent driver — carries up to 2 years in prison and mandatory disqualification. Careless driving — driving without due care and attention — carries 3–9 points or disqualification and a fine. Where death results from dangerous driving, the maximum sentence is 14 years; from careless driving, 5 years. The distinction between dangerous and careless driving is crucial and often contested.
Totting up and exceptional hardship
If you accumulate 12 or more penalty points within three years, the court must disqualify you for a minimum of 6 months unless you can argue exceptional hardship. Exceptional hardship means hardship to others beyond the normal inconvenience of losing a licence — losing your job and the impact on your family, the effect on elderly dependants you care for, or the employment of others dependent on you driving. A solicitor can prepare and present an exceptional hardship argument.
Driving disqualification can have serious consequences for your livelihood. A specialist motoring solicitor can challenge the evidence and argue exceptional hardship.