If you’ve ever received a fixed penalty notice or been stopped by the police and asked to give a breath sample, you’ll know the feeling of mild panic as you try to make sense of where you stand and work out what to expect. With a fixed penalty notice, you’ll soon see that unless you’re prepared to take your case to court, there’s little room for contesting a decision – even if the penalty appears unfair. If you’re at the roadside being questioned by the traffic police, you may well be concerned about the potential far-reaching consequences that you could be set to encounter. While in the latter case, you’ll certainly want specialist drink driving solicitors available to advise and guide, whatever your situation, forewarned is forearmed, and what follows are the basics of what you need to know about the driving licence penalty points system.
How many points do you get for speeding?
The most common driving offence on British roads is speeding. Most cases of going over the speed limit will get you a £100 fine and 3 points on your licence. Those points will stay there for 4 years. But, if you were caught speeding very significantly over the speed limit (eg more than 50mph in a 30mph zone) that punishment could be made more severe, with a fine of up to £1000 plus your licence being revoked.
What’s the penalty for a vehicle defect?
A broken brake light, cracked mirror or faulty indicator are all common reasons for the police to pull you over and awarding a fixed penalty notice. Typically, like a minor speeding offence or other minor traffic offence (such as failing to properly wear your seatbelt or driving too close to another vehicle), these vehicle defect offences will bring about a £100 fine and 3 points on your licence. But if the defect in question is bald tyres, that’s 3 points per bald tyre – so 4 bald tyres is potentially enough to get you 12 points and so incur a driving ban.
What’s the penalty for drink driving?
Drink driving could in fact incorporate a number of different charges – attempting to drive while unfit through drink, being in charge of a vehicle with alcohol level above the limit, refusing to give a sample – and may be tied up with a separate driving charge, such as careless driving or dangerous driving. If convicted, the penalty will therefore depend greatly on the specifics of your case – you could receive a range of 3 to 11 points for driving offences of this nature, a fine of up to £5000, a discretionary driving ban, and a prison term.
If you have to go to court because of a driving charge and are in danger of losing your licence, receiving a hefty fine, or a prison term, the motor lawyers of DFR Solicitors have a 95% success rate of protecting our clients against driving disqualifications.
Contact us today and get a FREE consultation.