Scandal of drivers licence but are still

M.E.N. INVESTIGATION REVEALS 492 MOTORISTS ON OUR ROADS EVEN THOUGH THEY’VE HIT THRESHOLD TO BE BANNED

AN M.E.N. investigation has revealed that there are 492 drivers on the roads of Greater Manchester with 12 points on their licence.

Usually, drivers face a minimum of a six-month driving ban if they rack up a dozen points or more within three years.

We quizzed the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency following the case last month when a speeding driver with 25 points on his licence was jailed for killing a dad and injuring seven others in Crumpsall, Manchester.

Ivan Girga, 27, had more than double the points required for a mandatory disqualification when his VW Golf ploughed into a car carrying 42-year-old Ghusanfar Illyas.

The M.E.N. asked the Ministry of Justice how a man so dangerous behind the wheel could carry on driving.

It said it was a combination of human error and process issues were to blame for Girga’s driving licence not being revoked.

He should have been banned from driving under the ‘totting up’ scheme, following convictions of driving with no licence or insurance.

Across Britain, thousands of drivers are allowed to continue driving, despite some exceeding more than 20 or 30 points on their licence.

One man in West Yorkshire, has a staggering 78 points on his licence, but legally, he is still free to drive.

So why is this allowed to happen?

Lawyer Nick Freeman said it was because the current law has been abused.

The Manchesterbased celebrity solicitor earned the nickname Mr Loophole by defending bigname celebrities, often using technicalities and highlighting procedural errors.

Anyone who racks up 12 points on their licence must receive a mandatory disqualification, unless they can prove a case of exceptional hardship. To be exceptional, the hardship must be something out of the ordinary, such as losing a job or not being able to care for a person in critical need.

If exceptional hardship is proved, it is for a bench of magistrates to decide whether or not to disqualify that driver.

According to Mr Freeman, right, this is why many people are allowed to continue driving even after racking up more than 12 points.

But he said a law that was created to give people

‘one final chance’ had been abused by those who know how to play the system, allowing drivers to get off the hook for multiple offences. He added: “The purpose of the legislation was to give people one more chance, but that seems to have been abused. “The idea behind exceptional hardship is that a person should argue for one offence, but instead people are pulling multiple offences together and arguing exceptional

‘Exceptional hardship’ defence is being abused, allowing drivers to get off the hook for multiple offences

Nick Freeman