Given he was a new driver (a new driver is governed by the Road Traffic (new drivers) Act 1995 which establishes a 2 year probationary period for newly qualified drivers and applies to any person who first passes a driving test on or after its commencement date, which was on June 1st 1997. The accumulation of 6 or more penalty points by such a driver before the end of the period of 2 years beginning on the date on which he first passed the driving test will result in the revocation of his licence and the requirement for him to pass another driving test in order to restore his previous entitlement), the defendant was concerned that he would either receive 6 penalty points in which case his licence would be revoked, or that he would be disqualified from driving for a substantial period.

Carl Millar managed to persuade the Court not to revoke his licence but to penalise the defendant with a short period of disqualification. The Court were persuaded by this argument by the fact that the defendant’s employer was able to attend Court to confirm that they would accommodate the defendant for a period of 28 days but, thereafter, they would have no alternative but to terminate his contract of employment if he were not able to fulfil his contractual obligations of being able to drive a motor vehicle. The Magistrates indicated that they would have disqualified the defendant for a substantial period if they were not, indeed, persuaded by the evidence of the defendant’s employer.

In exceptional hardship cases and cases where a “new driver” is faced with the possibility of his licence being revoked, it is vital that a letter is obtained from the employer or better still the employer attends at Court if the consequence is that the defendant will be sacked from his job

Failing to stop at the scene of an accident carries between 5-10 endorsable penalty points. Likewise, failing to report an accident carries between 5-10 endorsable penalty points. Careless driving carries between 3-9 penalty points. Mr D was very concerned that his licence would be revoked and requested that Carl Millar try to persuade the Court to give him a short period of disqualification instead of his licence being revoked.

If somebody’s licence is revoked then they will need to arrange for a driving test once again which will involve applying for a provisional licence and being subject to the terms of a provisional licence, before having to pass both the theory and practical driving tests before they are in a position to be able to drive. Also, the penalty points will remain on the licence. All three aforementioned offences carry a discretionary period of disqualification.

In Mr D’s case, Carl Millar was able to persuade the Magistrates at Trafford Magistrates Court to disqualify Mr D for a very short period, instead of his licence being revoked. This has the advantage of the defendant not having to take his tests again, and he will have a clean licence once the period of disqualification has expired.