Special Reasons and Disqualification

If you are convicted of an offence involving an obligatory disqualification (such as drink driving) you may be able to argue that “special reasons” exist for not being disqualified.  But these reasons must be special to the offence and not to you as the offender. 

For example, you may only have driven a car:-

• Because of a medical emergency and no other transportation was available

• For a very short distance and no one was put in danger

• After someone had laced your drinks without your knowledge

The fact that the offence is trivial, or that you have a good driving record or your driving was not impaired, is never a good enough “special reason”.

“Special reasons” arguments may also apply in cases when the only penalty the Court is considering is an endorsement of your licence (and a fine).  So you may be able to say that your licence should not be endorsed as you had a reasonable excuse for breaking the law.  For example in a speeding case, if you were committing the offence but felt you had no alternative because a passenger suddenly became ill.

The onus of establishing special reasons lies on the defendant and the standard of proof is that of the balance of probabilities.

This is a difficult subject and much case law is relevant. Consult an experienced solicitor.