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A Guide To The New Drivers Act
The New Driver’s Act, officially known as The Road Traffic (New Drivers) Act of 1995 sets specific conditions for those who’ve been licensed for less than two years. Within this two year period, if a new driver gets 6 or more penalty points, the DVLA will automatically revoke their licence. A ‘new driver’ is defined as an individual who pass their practical driving test under two years ago.
Passing your practical and theory test can be a difficult experience for a lot of new drivers, with some having to re-take their test a number of times before being successful. An essential piece of legislation all new drivers ought to be aware of, is the New Driver Act 1995.
If a new driver receives an endorsement of six or more penalty points, within the first two years, they receive a licence revocation. Having your licence revoked, essentially means you are unable to drive and your licence returns to a provisional licence status. The driver would then be required to retake both their theory and practical driving tests before being permitted to drive again.
There are options available to you as a new driver to try and preserve your licence. This article outlines potential defences and the best course of action to take, dependent on your circumstances.
If you are facing any driving penalty as a new driver, consulting a legal expert is advisable to navigate the best course of action, due to the increased risk of losing your licence.
Understanding the intricacies of the Road Traffic (New Drivers) Act can be complex for those new to driving but our legal experts here at Caddick Davies Solicitors have extensive experience dealing with new driver revocations.
We understand all the options available and can offer strategic advice on the best path forward for your specific circumstances. Whether it’s appealing the decision, reapplying for your licence, or petitioning the courts for an alternative ruling, we will build the strongest case possible.
Don’t lose your driving privileges without exploring every avenue. We’re here to help.
Charged with a New Driver Offence?
Contact Caddick Davies today for expert advice or call us on 0333 443 2366
Understanding the law is crucial when facing the potential loss of your driving privileges. Read on to learn more about licence revocation under the Road Traffic (New Drivers) Act 1995.
Charged with a New Driver Offence?
Contact Caddick Davies today for expert advice or call us on 0333 443 2366
Once you have passed your theory and practical driving test and have a valid driving licence, you are required to adhere to the rules of the road. If you fail to do so, then your licence may be revoked by the DVLA under powers given within the Road Traffic (New Drivers) Act 1995.
This statute covers the following key areas:
Per Section 1 of the Road Traffic (New Drivers) Act 1995, all drivers are within a ‘probationary period’ for the first 2 years following the date of becoming a qualified driver. For example, if you passed your driving test on the 1st of January 2023, then you are regarded as a ‘new driver’ in law over a two-year probationary period until the 1st of January 2025.
If you fall within this ‘probationary period’, then you are subject to the regulations under the Road Traffic (New Drivers) Act 1995 and the DVLA have the power to revoke your driving licence should you accumulate a certain number of penalty points on your driving licence within this time.
According to Section 2 of the Road Traffic (New Drivers) Act 1995, if you accumulate 6 or more points within the ‘probationary period’ then your driving licence is automatically revoked by the DVLA.
The penalty points that will be considered by the DVLA are any points for offences committed during the ‘probationary period’. Therefore, if you commit an offence during the ‘probationary period’ but the points are not put on your licence until after this period has ended, then you will still be subject to the new driver regulations and your driving licence will be revoked by the DVLA.
Once the DVLA have been notified that you have accumulated 6 or more points within the first 2 years of driving they will send you a letter in the post to inform you that your driving licence has been revoked and warning you to not drive until you have taken further re-tests.
You will be required to surrender your driving licence to the DVLA by posting it to them.
Having your driving licence revoked essentially resets your driving status back to square one. Unlike being disqualified, where you’re temporarily banned from driving for a set period, revocation means you completely lose your licence. As a result, you can’t drive at all until you pass your driving tests again.
To regain your driving licence after revocation you will need to:
Only once you have done the above 3 things will you be given a valid driving licence and be able to drive again.
If you do not retake your tests and continue to drive on a revoked driving licence, then you are committing an offence of ‘driving otherwise than in accordance with a licence’. Pursuant to Section 87(1) of the Road Traffic Act 1988, which states ‘It is an offence for a person to drive on a road a motor vehicle of any class otherwise than in accordance with a licence authorising him to drive a motor vehicle of that class’.
This offence carries a sentence of a financial penalty and the endorsement of between 3-6 penalty points on your driving licence.
With the introduction of new legislation and sentencing for matters, like using a mobile phone while driving, obtaining six penalty points on your licence as a new driver can happen extremely easily. The most common offences leaving new driver subject to a revocation are as follows:
If you obtain six or more penalty points before passing your test, whilst having a provisional licence, this can put you at higher risk of revocation once you pass your test. Any penalty points received whilst you hold a provisional licence, will effectively be endorsed on a ‘ghost licence’. Whilst these points will not result in your licence being revoked instantly upon passing your test, it means that if you obtain any further endorsements (even just a three point speeding offence) – your licence will then be revoked due to the accumulation of points totalling six or more.
No, once you retake and pass both the theory and practical driving tests after a revocation, you are no longer regarded as a new driver under the law. In this case, a further 6+ points would not lead to another revocation. However, you are still subject to ‘totting up’ rules that can impose a 6-month driving ban if you accumulate 12+ points within 3 years according to Section 35 of the Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988.
For further information, please also refer to our previous article on ‘totting up’
If the police give you a Conditional Offer of Fixed Penalty for a driving offence, which involves adding penalty points to your licence, be careful if you’re a new driver. For those in their first 2 years of driving, accumulating 6 or more points leads to revocation, so in this case, you shouldn’t accept this offer if you want to try to keep your licence.
You can either ignore this offer or write to the police to formally reject it. There is no penalty for not accepting a Conditional Offer of Fixed Penalty.
If you don’t accept the offer, the police will move the case to the Magistrates’ Court. You’ll then get a ‘Single Justice Procedure Notice’ from the police, charging you with the offence. This notice gives you 21 days to plead and ask for a court hearing.
If you’re trying to avoid licence revocation, it’s important to request a court hearing. This is because, at the hearing, you can advance the argument you may wish to make. This could be either a special reasons argument, as basis on plea, a not guilty plea or presenting mitigation with a guilty plea to try ask the court for a different penalty such as a short term disqualification.
If you receive six penalty points with at Court or by way of accepting a fixed penalty offer, your licence will be revoked and the decision is final. Whilst you can still appeal a court decision, if you wished to run one of the forementioned arguments, there is no option to run something like an exceptional hardship argument (as is available for drivers of more than two years).
Caddick Davies can support you in this process and offer guidance on which may be the best course of action for your specific case. Contact our team at 0333 443 2366 for advice.
If you’re a new driver and have accepted a Conditional Offer of Fixed Penalty from the Police which has resulted in your driving licence being revoked, your options to reverse this are quite limited.
You can try asking the Police nicely to reconsider their decision, but there isn’t an official appeals process after you’ve accepted the offer. It’s up to the Police’s discretion to change their decision. It’s quite uncommon for the Police to cancel an accepted Conditional Offer of Fixed Penalty and then take the matter to the Magistrates’ Court.
If you have received notification from the DVLA that your licence is revoked, and the case has already been considered in the Magistrates’ Court, then you cannot appeal to the DVLA to reconsider their position.
The DVLA are required by statute to revoke the licence of any driver that accumulates 6 or more points within the first 2 years of driving. The circumstances surrounding the date of the offence made/accumulation or the reasons that you need your driving licence does not matter to the DVLA.
The DVLA are bound by statute, and therefore there is no appeals process with them.
In this scenario, your only options are to appeal to the Crown Court
Charged with a New Driver Offence?
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If you’re in this situation, you can appeal the Magistrates’ Court’s decision to the Crown Court.
To do this, you need to file an appeal against the sentence with the Magistrates’ Court within 21 days of receiving the sentence. Once you’ve submitted your appeal and it’s processed, the DVLA will be informed to reverse the revocation of your driving licence.
Note that until your driving record is officially updated, you won’t be allowed to drive, even while your appeal is in progress. So, after lodging your appeal, it might take a few weeks for the DVLA to update their records, and only then will you be able to drive again if successful.
If you didn’t know about the court proceedings against you, an appeal isn’t necessary. You can request to reopen the case using a ‘statutory declaration’ under Section 16E of the Magistrates’ Court Act 1980.
A statutory declaration is a formal written statement confirming that, to the best of your knowledge, you were unaware of the court proceedings. It’s like telling the court you didn’t know about the case and want it reopened. Once the court processes your declaration, the case reopens, and any previous sentences, including any DVLA revocations, are lifted. You can drive again once the DVLA updates their records, similar to the process after an appeal.
You need to submit your statutory declaration in writing to the Magistrates’ Court within 21 days of finding out about the proceedings. After submitting it, you’ll need to enter your plea for the original offence (s) and request a court hearing.
If you knew about the court proceedings but didn’t realise your licence would be revoked due to the court’s penalty, you might be able to get the Magistrates’ Court case reopened.
This is possible under Section 142 of the Magistrates’ Court Act 1980, but only if reopening the case would serve the “interests of justice.” Convincing the court can be challenging, and it’s not always the best course of action. Sometimes, appealing to the Crown Court is a more effective way to address the revocation of your licence.
You will need legal support to effectively navigate any of the three options above and our team can help.
Charged with a New Driver Offence?
Contact Caddick Davies today for expert advice or call us on 0333 443 2366
As a new driver, facing licence revocation can be daunting. If you’re charged with an offence and don’t have a defence, you’ll likely receive the standard penalty, which often means getting points on your licence. You should know however that if accumulating these points will result in your licence being revoked, there’s an alternative route you can take.
You have the option to request the court for a brief period of disqualification from driving. Opting for a short-term driving ban can be a strategic move, as it supersedes the points that would have led to your licence revocation.
Essentially, the temporary ban acts as a substitute for the points, helping you avoid the automatic revocation that comes with the New Drivers Act.
Per Part 25 of the Magistrates’ Court Sentencing Guidelines, any offender liable for an endorsement which will cause their driving licence to be revoked under the new drivers’ provisions may ask the Court to impose a disqualification from driving rather than impose points.
This will avoid the requirement to retake your driving tests. However, the guidelines also stipulate that, generally, this would be inappropriate since it would circumvent the clear intention of Parliament.
Parliament’s intention when creating the ‘new driver’ provisions is not stipulated anywhere but it is generally accepted amongst legal professionals that the purpose of the provisions was to protect the public from incompetent and new drivers. Therefore, any individuals who have demonstrated a poor standard of driving may need to undergo further testing to ensure that they are fit to drive.
When facing the possibility of licence revocation as a new driver, you may have the opportunity to persuade the court to impose a disqualification period instead. Successfully doing so hinges on convincing the court that this alternative aligns with the interests of justice.
Consider these points to make a compelling argument:
By focusing on these aspects, you can make a strong case for why a disqualification period is a more appropriate and just response than revocation under your unique circumstances.
If the Court agrees to a disqualification instead of penalty points, then it is at their discretion as to how long the disqualification is for. Generally, the disqualification will be for 7-56 days however, this is not an exact science and is at the discretion of the Court so could be for longer.
Usually, the Court will not impose a disqualification for a longer period in this case, as it would effectively be pointless if revocation would see you off the road for less time.
Disqualification may be a much better option for you than revocation for many reasons e.g.:
As a new driver, you would generally only need to go to Court if you are looking to contest the offence you are being charged with or if you wish for any other circumstances to be taken into consideration with respect to sentencing.
If you looking to advance a not guilty plea to a motoring offence and take your matter to a trial hearing, you will need to attend Court. By taking this course of action, you are essentially stating that you do you not believe you committed the alleged offence and wish to have your matter heard before the court, for the Judge to make a decision. We would always recommend obtaining advice and representation from a motoring expert for matter such as this, due to the complex nature of running a trial.
You may also be considering advancing a ‘special reasons argument’. A special reasons argument would apply to circumstances, where you may be guilty of the offence but there is a special reason which resulted in the commission of the offence. To quality as a special reason the matter must fulfil the following criteria:
For example; you may have been speeding as a result of an emergency situation or you may have been driving without insurance, due to your policy lapsing unbeknownst to you. It is imperative that you attend Court to run a special reasons argument, as this is a legal argument not just a case of presenting mitigation. As a result, we would always advice taking legal advice to ensure your matter qualifies for this type of argument and obtaining representation for your court hearing
In summary, new drivers within their first two years after passing their driving tests face stringent measures under the New Drivers Act. Accumulating 6 or more points during this period leads to automatic licence revocation meaning you will need to retake both the theory and practical exams before driving legally again.
While new drivers can opt for a short ban instead of points through court proceedings, this may bypass the act’s primary objective of safeguarding public safety by ensuring inexperienced drivers remain cautious.
Due to the intricate nature of the regulations governing new drivers, consulting a legal expert is advisable for a thorough understanding of driver rules, the potential consequences and available options.
At Caddick Davies Solicitors, we have a team of specialist motor defence lawyers who specialise in representing new drivers at risk of disqualification or penalty points. From the simplest to the most complex of cases, we are here to help.
We start every enquiry with an informal discussion to get a clear understanding of your circumstances and are here to answer any questions that you may have in confidence. We will talk you through the offence you have been charged with and we will advise on the options available to you.
Charged with a New Driver Offence?
Contact Caddick Davies today for expert advice or call us on 0333 443 2366
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