Driving When Disqualified

The punishment for ignoring your ban

Driving a vehicle when you have been disqualified from driving, unlike many road traffic law issues, is a criminal offence. Rather than receive a Court summons, people are often charged with it as a crime, then bailed by the police to attend their Court hearing.

Being caught driving whilst disqualified is what is known as an “absolute offence”, meaning that there is no possible defence and no situation in which you are justified in doing so.

Many people commit this crime unknowingly, having been disqualified in their absence as a result of “totting up” the penalty points on their licence. Even this, however, does not serve as a defence in such cases. The only way around it is to prove that you were not actually disqualified from driving.

Finding a professional road traffic lawyer to assist you in your case is vital in such situations, as there is a possibility they may be able to demonstrate defects or issues in the evidence being presented to the Court, thereby nullifying the prosecution’s case.

The importance of professional legal counsel is only exacerbated by the fact that being found guilty of driving whilst disqualified carries a usual minimum punishment of a community penalty, and ranges all the way up to a prison sentence. Even if you cannot get your case overturned, legal assistance is vital in order to minimise the severity of the judgment handed down by the Court.

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