Exceptional Hardship – Consequences Of Dangerous Driving

Exceptional hardship is the name of a plea that a defendant can use in order to retain their right to drive their own vehicle. There are different reasons that can be put before the court for consideration leading to severe conditions for the defendant if there is a ban on their driving. The clause under the Section 35 of the Road Traffic Offenders Act of 1988 gives a ban or disqualification from driving if there are 12 and more penalties given to an individual for bad driving within a period of 3 years. The disqualification is at least for a period of 6 months. In some cases of serious offenders, this period can be extended even further as per the scope of the law. There is a strict adherence to this law and other laws that deal with dangerous driving. In recent years, cases of road traffic accidents have been on the rise. There has been a significant increase in the instances of death caused by dangerous or drunk driving which has necessitated the strict adherence to legal statutes. This is a serious form of offence that will entail the consequences of a ban from driving along with criminal charges as well. A professional lawyer or solicitor will only be able to handle the seriousness of the charges with pleas of Exceptional hardship that are usually involved in these cases. Accused may face different kinds of penalties if their cases are not handled with proper care. Fatality caused as a result of driving itself will be considered a grievous offence; a plea for exceptional hardship will depend on a court to consider. Death by dangerous driving has been handled with utmost severity in many countries of the world like UK; a maximum punishment sentence of 14 years of imprisonment can be declared in the UK depending on the casualties involved and the cause of the same. The levels of severity of a case are determined by the presence of alcohol in the driver’s bloodstream and the presence of previous records of rash driving. Earlier pleas for exceptional hardship resulting from careless and dangerous driving instances will also be taken into account.