Speeding offences and "totting up" — how to keep your licence

A few speeding tickets feel like a minor inconvenience. Until the fourth one. That's when most drivers discover the totting-up rule, and the prospect of losing their licence for six months.

The basics

Speeding carries an absolute minimum of 3 penalty points and a fine, regardless of how minor the offence. Most fixed-penalty notices (FPNs) come with a £100 fine and 3 points.

Faster excess speeds increase to 4–6 points, and at the top end can mean a discretionary or obligatory disqualification straight away.

The 12-point rule

If you accumulate 12 or more penalty points within a 3-year period, the court is required to disqualify you for a minimum of 6 months unless you can persuade the magistrates that this would cause exceptional hardship.

Special category: new drivers (within 2 years of passing) have their licence revoked if they reach 6 points. They have to retake their test.

Exceptional hardship — what counts?

The hurdle is high. Magistrates have heard every story before. What does not ordinarily count:

• General inconvenience to you
• Losing your job (unless it would be catastrophic, e.g. specialist skills, no comparable jobs)
• Cost of public transport
• The fact that you "need to drive"

What may count:

• Loss of livelihood that would cause genuine hardship to innocent third parties (employees who would lose their jobs, dependants without other support, vulnerable people who rely on you to drive them)
• Sole carer of an ill or disabled relative with no realistic alternative
• Living in a remote area with no public transport and a medical condition that requires driving

Exceptional hardship cases require proper evidence: payslips, employment contracts, letters from carers, medical evidence, public transport timetables, alternative-driver enquiries. A few minutes' chat with the magistrates won't cut it.

Use once, not twice

If you successfully argue exceptional hardship, you keep your licence — but the same hardship argument cannot be used again for 3 years. Make sure you choose the right occasion.

Speed awareness courses

For low-level speeding offences (typically 10% + 2 mph up to 10% + 9 mph over the limit), the police may offer a Speed Awareness Course instead of a fixed penalty. This:

• Avoids points
• Avoids a conviction
• Costs about £100
• Available only once every 3 years

If you're offered one, accept it. It's almost always the best outcome.

What to do before your hearing

If you're facing a totting-up disqualification:

1. Gather evidence early — letters from employer, family, carers
2. Calculate the actual hardship in concrete terms — jobs lost, hours of care missed, costs incurred
3. Engage a solicitor — exceptional-hardship arguments are highly fact-sensitive and benefit enormously from skilled presentation
4. Don't plead before getting advice — even on the speeding charge itself there may be procedural points worth checking

Lucy offers fixed fees on most motoring matters including totting-up exceptional-hardship cases. The cost of representation is almost always less than the cost of losing your licence.