The Situation With The 12 Points Ban

Article Written By: Johann Ken Flanders

There is a law in the UK that states that drivers who accumulate 12 strokes against their license in the same three-year period are automatically suspended for a period of time. This is called the 12 points ban, and the suspension is usually six months for a first offense. But there is more to the situation.

It is important to note that there is no single incident that can trigger the ban. 11 strokes is the maximum possibly earned in a single incident, and this is in cases of fatalities caused by drunk driving (or driving under the influence of drugs). There are 15 possible offenses that can apply to it, and while some have mandatory strokes, others are by discretion of the magistrate.

The ban is supposedly automatic, but in many cases some of the incidents fall through the cracks. It is the job of the police department or the fixed penalty notice department to submit documentation to the courts, but this does not always occur. If everything does go according to plan, the court verifies the notices, and then places an immediate suspension on the driver.

There is a provision in the law to allow drivers for whom the ban would pose an 'extreme hardship' to petition the court to remove it. However, previous petitioners have proven that losing one's job is not sufficient cause for the court to lift the ban. A solicitor is needed if you want to petition, as the case must be argued in front of the court.

Even after the suspension is up, some of the points remain on your license. This means that you may receive another immediate suspension if there are still 12 strokes on your license, or you may be only a few strokes away from another suspension because many of them remain. This is called totting up, and the only good news is that subsequent suspensions are often shorter than the first.

Before the ban is due to expire, people are supposed to receive an application for a new license in the mail. If they file this application and pay the fee, they should get their license back. However, holding valid insurance is a requirement for legally driving, and this can be hard to find after a 12 points ban.

These bans are major headaches in the best of cases, and big problems in the worst of cases. If you have a few strokes already, drive extremely carefully to avoid one. And never drive under the influence for any reason, both to avoid a ban and to keep the streets safe.

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