Penalty Points “Totting Up” – Date of Offence, Conviction, or Sentence?
What is the “Totting Up” System?
- The “totting up” system refers to the accumulation of penalty points on a driver’s licence for various motoring offences. If a driver accumulates 12 or more penalty points within a 3-year period, they can face disqualification from driving.
- This system is used to penalise repeat offenders, discouraging reckless or dangerous driving behaviour.
Key Terms Defined
- Date of Offence: The date on which the driving offence occurred (e.g., the day you were caught speeding or committing a driving-related infraction).
- Date of Conviction: The date on which you are found guilty of the offence in a court of law or accept responsibility for the offence (e.g., by paying a fixed penalty or accepting a court fine).
- Date of Sentence: The date on which the court imposes a penalty, such as a fine, penalty points, or a driving disqualification, following a conviction.
Totting Up: Which Date Counts for Penalty Points?
- Date of Offence: Penalty points are applied based on the date of the offence, not the date of conviction or sentencing.
- This means that when determining whether you have accumulated 12 or more penalty points within a 3-year period, the relevant date is the date on which the offences occurred, rather than the date you were convicted or sentenced.
Example of How Totting Up Works
- Scenario 1: A driver is caught speeding on 1st January 2022. They attend court and are convicted on 1st April 2022, with the penalty points being applied at that time. The date that counts for the purposes of the totting-up system is 1st January 2022, the date of the offence.
- Scenario 2: A driver commits an offence on 5th February 2021 and receives 3 penalty points. They commit another offence on 1st March 2023. Since both offences fall within the 3-year period (counting from the date of the offence), these points will “tot up” and contribute to the potential disqualification threshold.
How the 3-Year Period is Calculated
- The 3-year period for the totting-up system is calculated from the date of the offence. If a driver accumulates 12 or more points from offences that all occurred within 3 years, they may face disqualification.
- Once the 3 years have passed from the date of an offence, the penalty points for that specific offence no longer count towards the totting-up total.
Totting Up and Disqualification
- If a driver accumulates 12 or more penalty points within a 3-year period based on the date of the offences, they are subject to disqualification for at least 6 months. This is often referred to as a “totting up” ban.
- A court will consider the total points accumulated and may allow the driver to argue mitigating circumstances to avoid disqualification, although this is rare.
Special Circumstances: Court Delays and Totting Up
- Even if there is a delay in conviction (e.g., due to court backlogs), the key date for the penalty points remains the date of the offence.
- For example, if an offence occurred in January 2020 but the case was not resolved until March 2022, the penalty points will be backdated to the date of the offence (January 2020), and the offence will drop off the totting-up system 3 years from that date.
Impact of Multiple Offences Close Together
- If a driver commits multiple offences in quick succession, the dates of the offences are key in determining whether the points “tot up.” Even if the court hearings or convictions happen at different times, the penalty points will still be based on the offence dates.
- For example, if offences occurred in March 2021 and April 2021, and both are processed and convicted at different times, both will count towards the totting-up system within the 3-year window from the offence dates.
Exceptional Hardship
- If a driver faces disqualification due to totting up, they may argue in court that a ban would cause exceptional hardship (e.g., loss of employment, impact on family responsibilities).
- If the court accepts the argument, they may avoid disqualification, though this can only be used as a defence once in a 3-year period.
What Happens After Disqualification?
- Once a driver is disqualified under the totting-up system, they return to driving with a “clean slate” after the disqualification period ends. The penalty points no longer carry over, and the 3-year period starts afresh.
Conclusion
In the “totting up” system, the date of the offence is the key date for determining when penalty points are applied, not the date of conviction or sentencing. If you accumulate 12 or more points for offences that occurred within a 3-year period, you could face disqualification from driving. Even if there are delays in the legal process, the points will always be backdated to the date the offence was committed.
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