When an individual is found guilty of a motoring offence they are issued with points on their licence. These points remain on record for a period of 3 years, whereby if you exceed 12 points you will be disqualified from driving. Quite recently we dealt with a motoring offence where the client was accused of committing an offence within 3 years of committing another, which could possibly have resulted in a driving ban. In this instance the client had committed a speeding offence which took place on the exact same day as the last relevant speeding offence 3 years previously.
Three Years
The dispute on our and our clients part was that we believed that the 3 years had elapsed, and therefore the points accrued on the licence should not be used as part of a penalty total. Usually, if an offence occurs within that time period then it will be taken in to consideration for the purposes of disqualification and totting up.
Our question was that if it happened on the anniversary date, then is it classed as within the 3 years or have the 3 years passed? The legislation on this point is almost completely silent. There is a note however detailing that in such a situation, the last day of the previous relevant conviction will not be taken in to account. This means that in our case, the time will have elapsed and no disqualification would be issued.
An Unusual Case
It is extremely unusual to have a case where the last relevant offence committed is exactly 3 years to the day. After detailed research from the DFR team, we managed to persuade the court that the previous penalty points could not be used. The client kept his license and left satisfied with the services he had received.