Are you seeking advice and assistance with a driving matter?


TAHMINA & Co also specialise in Driving Offences and have years of experience defending the complete range of motoring offences.


TAHMINA & Co are able to provide legal advice and representation in respect of any motoring related offence including:


  • Careless Driving

  • Dangerous Driving

  • Death by Careless Driving

  • Death by Dangerous Driving

  • Driving whilst Disqualified

  • Drink Driving

  • Driving Whilst Unfit

  • Driving with No Insurance

  • Driving Without Due Care and Attention

  • Drug Driving

  • Failure to Provide a Specimen

  • Failure to Provide Driver Details/Furnish Information

  • Mobile Phone Offences



Special Reasons


Special Reasons are those which the Magistrates can take into consideration when sentencing you for a driving offence. These are not a defence, however they can be used to reduce the obligatory driving disqualification or penalty points given.


Examples of special reasons could be; medical emergencies, shortness of distance driven or your drink being laced, though if you are relying upon one of these reasons this must be supported with evidence.



Totting Up


A driver becomes a ‘totter’ if;


  • They have 12 or more penalty points on their current licence, including with the sentence for the current offence; and


  • If the points have been given over a period of 3 years, namely from the date of the first offence to the date of the most recent offence.


The court must order a driving ban for no less than 6 months or more. Prior to considering whether a ban should be imposed, the Court will give the Defendant the opportunity to raise an exceptional hardship argument in order to persuade the Court that a ban should not be imposed.



Exceptional Hardship


If you find that a guilty verdict and imposition of points could take you over the total of 12 penalty points in 3 years and that losing your licence could be detrimental to either yourself or an other, an argument of 'exceptional hardship' can be put to the court on your behalf. Though, extensive evidence must be provided to the court if this is relevant.



Examples of exceptional hardship could include;


  • Loss of a job that is beneficial to the health and safety of the public, e.g police, ambulance service and fire brigade;


  • Restricted mobility for drivers with severe health problems; and


  • Inability to provide a senior role to employees thus affecting their job.



Our Fees


We will charge a fixed fee between £600.00 plus VAT and £1500.00 plus VAT depending on the location of the court hearing your case.

Services included in this fee:

  • Attending upon you to take your instructions and preparation for your first appearance which will include our advice on your plea and sentence. This will be up to 1 hour and 30 minutes

  • Attendance and representation at a single hearing at the Magistrates’ Court

 

Services that are not included in the fixed fee:

  • Instructing expert witnesses

  • Obtaining witness statements

  • Advice/assistance and representation in relation to Special Reasons hearings or pre-trial reviews or any future hearings that are required

  • Advice/assistance in relation to appeals

  • Disbursements incurred such as;

    • Mileage. This will be at a rate of 0.45p per mile (exclusive of VAT) – calculated from the office

    • Parking fees (inclusive of VAT)

    • Train or other forms of travel are also inclusive of VAT *This is dependent upon the distance of the court from our office.

 

Who will be responsible for your matter:


Tahmina Majid is a Solicitor and Director who has developed a first-class reputation for providing excellent advice and high-quality advocacy.  When Tahmina is not available to attend court, a barrister will be instructed. We only use barristers that have extensive experience involving a wide range of motoring offences and are well trusted to carry out the required level of expertise of TAHMINA & Co Solicitors.

 

Time Estimates:

This is not an exact science and it depends on how complex your case is and also when the courts have listed your case.


  • For you first court appearance - if this is a Guilty plea and no further hearings are required the matter will be concluded on the day and the cost will be as detailed in the fixed fee.

  • If your matter is adjourned for a Pre-sentence Report for a sentencing hearing on another date this could be adjourned for a further 3 weeks.

  • If the matter is adjourned for a Special Reasons hearing this is dependent on the complexities of the case and the court listings availability and will usually take up to 4 months to resolve.

At this stage we do not expect to do any further work out of the fixed price quoted.

If you do require further advice and assistance outside of the fixed fee quoted we will discuss our rates with you and agree with you how the additional work will be charged.