SPECIAL REASONS NOT TO ENDORSE YOUR DRIVING LICENCE

Although there isn’t a definitive list of reasons why a licence shouldn’t be endorsed, and it is up to the court to decide whether the reasons given are sufficient, here are some examples. We must point out however that ‘reasons not to endorse’ are not a defence and will only apply in cases where the motorist has been found guilty of the offence.

The most common special reasons are:

• Spiked drinks / Food spiked with drugs
• Driving in an emergency
• Being misled that you were insured.
• Driving a very short distance, eg-moving your vehicle when blocking someone in whilst over the limit

• They must not amount to a defence in law
• They must be valid reasons that the Court should take into account when deciding what sentence to pass, they cannot be irrelevancies
• They cannot relate to the offender, they must relate directly to the commission of the offence in question
• The reason must be something that lessens the severity of the offence, a mitigating circumstance

A special reason means that although you are still guilty of the offence in question there are ‘special reasons’ why you should not receive the normal punishment. If the Court accepts a Special Reasons argument it is able to impose no penalty points at all in cases where the punishment would normally involve points going on one’s licence and in cases of driving disqualification impose penalty points instead of an outright ban.