Driving while Banned or not Qualified

If you are convicted of a serious offence and are banned from driving, then you are disqualified immediately. The Court that decided to ban you will take your driving licence and will send it to the DVLA along with detailed information regarding the length of your ban.

Insurance

It's up to you to tell your insurance company that you've been banned. If they don't know you've been banned, they might refuse to pay up for any claim that is made on your vehicle during the period of disqualification, even if it is someone else who is driving, or if your car is damaged while parked up.

When the Ban is Over

When your disqualification expires the DVLA will send your driving licence back to you. Details of your ban will be on your licence and unless you have been told that you need to take your driving test again, you are free to drive again straight away.

Legal Implications

If you received a driving ban after committing a number of smaller offences and having them 'totted up', or receive an instant disqualification for something like excess speeding, then you won't receive a criminal record. If you were banned following a serious arrestable offence, such as death by dangerous driving, drink driving etc, you will get a criminal record, and this will stay with you after your disqualification has been lifted.

During your ban you will not be allowed to drive any kind of vehicle – just because you were stopped driving a van does not mean you can then ride your motorbike – a ban covers all vehicle categories. Neither will you be able to hire or drive a car abroad, as the DVLA will keep your licence until your disqualification period has been completed

What Happens if I'm Caught Driving Without a Licence?

Now the police have access to the Automatic Vehicle Registration Recognition System it is ever more likely that banned drivers will be stopped. The cameras fitted to the patrol cars can scan the registration numbers of vehicles, then the DVLA database can tell them if it's insured, MOT'd, taxed and most importantly in this case - the registered owner of the vehicle. If there is any question on the legality of the car or the driver, then the police will stop the vehicle and do their regular checks.

If you are caught, driving while under a ban is an arrestable offence which is not something that the police will take lightly. You will be arrested immediately and taken back to the police station where you will be processed - including finger printing, DNA testing, being searched and photographed, then held in a cell and interviewed on tape.

You may or may not be bailed to go to Court, and if the police officer in charge of the station decides that you may commit another offence then he or she can decide to refuse you bail and keep you at the station until your court appearance.

Consequences

At this stage a prison sentence is likely - especially if the court feels that you have been disrespectful of the law by ignoring your original ban. If they decide to imprison you, this will take place immediately. Instead of a custodial sentence, the court can choose to issue you with a community service order, but in both cases you are likely to be fined and your disqualification period will probably be extended.

In your Defence

In most cases there isn't really much you can do if you are caught driving whilst banned. The Court will go ahead with their prosecution on the basis that as you were already disqualified from driving and understood the terms of the ban. Regardless of this you then made a conscious choice to drive and having done so deserve to face the full penalty as far as the law allows.

Driving Without a Licence

It's not just banned drivers who can fall foul of the law - new drivers can also be caught out too. In the UK it's a crime to drive on a public road if you don't have a driving licence.

To make sure that as a learner driver you don’t get caught out – remember that you need to have 'L' plates on your vehicle and be supervised by a person over 21 years old who has held a driving licence for 3 years . To drive on a public road without the following these guidelines is breaking the law and if caught doing so you will be punished and could risk losing your opportunity to get a full licence.