If you accumulate 12 or more penalty points in a 3 year period you will be liable to be disqualified from driving. The Court will ordinarily impose a driving disqualification of 6 months unless satisfied on the balance of probabilities that grounds of exceptional hardship exist to either yourself and / or others. If the Court is persuaded grounds of exceptional hardship exist, the most common course of action is for them not to impose a disqualification, or in rare circumstances impose a disqualification for a lesser period. You will be prohibited from using the same grounds of exceptional hardship within the next 3 years.
One of the purposes of a disqualification is to cause inconvenience and hardship as a punishment; it is however not intended to cause exceptional hardship, the definition of which is ‘hardship beyond the norm.’ The list of potential arguments is exhaustive; common examples include loss of employment, loss of business and adverse impact on health. The Courts are increasingly looking towards the adverse impact upon others and not just yourself when determining exceptional hardship applications.
