Special Reasons

If a special reason is found then this could reduce the number of penalty points or reduce the period of disqualification and, in some circumstances no penalty points nor a period of disqualification may be imposed.

There are four criteria that must exist in order to raise the issue of special reasons:

1. It must be a mitigating or extenuating circumstance;
2. It must not amount in law to a defence to the charge;
3. It must be directly connected with the commission of the offence;
4. The matter must be one that the Court ought properly to take into consideration when imposing punishment.

Emergency situation
At Cunninghams Solicitors we will look at the facts of your case to try and establish whether the circumstances may amount to a special reason.  It is not possible to define all emergencies. What is necessary generally is if you act in a crisis or emergency any you have no other option.

Emergency situations have been held to amount to special reasons when a person has fled an assault or driven someone to hospital.

Shortness of Distance
If you commit a driving offence but you have only driven a very short distance, for example, while parking your car, a special reason may be found.  Carl Millar has previously represented a defendant whereby he moved his car in the middle of the night from a residential area which was on double yellow lines to a space on the same street where there were not any double yellow lines.  This was to avoid any parking charges in the morning.  Unfortunately, the defendant was exhausted due to unforeseen work commitments and when he was found by the police he was parked in the middle of the road because he had fallen asleep.  The Magistrates Court accepted that the reason why he had fallen asleep was due to his excessive work commitments rather than being drunk although he was over the prescribed limit.  In such circumstances the Magistrates found special reasons and did not impose any period of disqualification upon the defendant.

Laced Drinks
Other examples of special reasons could be if your drink is laced.  It is always possible that your drink may have been laced unbeknown to you.  Further, one of your friends may genuinely not have known that you intended to drive a vehicle and therefore laced your drink.  In such circumstances, the Magistrates’ may find a special reason if the Defence can show on the balance of probability that the defendant did not know or suspect that their drink had been laced and that, if they had not consumed a laced drink, they would not have exceeded the prescribed limit.

In order to establish that your drink has been laced Cunninghams Solicitors have many years experience working with experts who can provide calculations of what your claimed alcohol consumption would be if it were not for the laced drink.

Duress Defences
The defence of duress covers the whole array of motoring offences.  If the duress defence is established then this is a complete defence.  There is a slight distinction between the duress defence and special reasons.  If special reasons are found not to disqualify a defendant or to impose penalty points then this is still a guilty finding although the Magistrates have exercised their discretion not to disqualify or impose penalty points by virtue of special reasons.

A defence of duress would only succeed if you can show fear of death or serious injury and whether a sober person of reasonable firmness, showing a defendant’s characteristics, would have responded in this way.  This could apply to an allegation of careless or dangerous driving, speeding or an alcohol related offence depending on the circumstances.

In our experience the best way to discuss and consider any defence of your case is to telephone us on our freephone number 0800 32 888 46.  Our telephones are manned by driving defence experts throughout the day, evening and weekends including bank and public holidays.

If you wish to contact us via e-mail, please complete the online enquiry form and we will contact immediately.