’TOTTING UP’ BANS: LTDA warns of surge in taxi drivers facing six-month bans amid 20mph limit rise
- Perry Richardson
- 1 minute ago
- 3 min read
Taxi drivers are increasingly facing potential six-month disqualifications as 20mph speed limits expand across London and other urban areas, according to the Licensed Taxi Drviers’ Association (LTDA).
Steve McNamara, General Secretary of the LTDA, said in TAXI Magazine that the number of members reaching 12 penalty points on their licence has risen sharply since lower speed limits were introduced on more roads.
“The truth is that it’s so easy to let the cab creep up to 24mph on many roads, especially major roads and dual carriageways where the limit was previously 30, or even 40mph,” McNamara said. He added that it is now “incredibly common for cabbies to have three, six or even nine points on their licence, with the number of members who now tot up to 12 points is massively on the increase”.
Under current UK rules, drivers who accumulate 12 or more penalty points within a three-year period face a mandatory minimum six-month disqualification under the ‘totting up’ process, unless they can demonstrate exceptional hardship.
Legal team handling two to three ‘totting up’ cases a week as speeding points mount among professional drivers
McNamara said the LTDA’s legal services team has seen a marked change in case volumes. “Prior to the introduction of the 20mph limit, we used to get a handful of these each year, now we are dealing with two or three every single week,” he said. Many of the cases involve members with nine points who receive a Single Justice Procedure Notice and a court letter inviting them to attend for disqualification.
The association’s lawyers first take detailed instructions and assess whether an Exceptional Hardship argument can be made. Such arguments require drivers to demonstrate that a ban would cause suffering beyond what is normally expected, particularly for innocent third parties who rely on them.
“Exceptional Hardship is when a driving disqualification would cause suffering beyond what is considered reasonable and is particularly relevant to how it would impact on innocent parties,” McNamara explained. He described the threshold as “an incredibly high bar to reach” with generally low success rates in courts across the country, but said LTDA members are “much more likely to get a reduced disqualification period or no disqualification at all” due to the expertise of its legal team.
He also outlined a case in which a member, initially unsuccessful after representing himself at court, was disqualified for six months following a failed Exceptional Hardship appeal. The driver later approached the LTDA for support. Although the association is typically reluctant to fund appeals in cases it did not originally run, McNamara said the legal team believed the case could succeed and lodged an appeal.
The appeal allowed the member to continue driving pending the hearing. McNamara said he was later informed by email that the outcome had been positive, describing it as “a great result all round”.
The increase in speeding-related disqualifications presents operational risks for the capital’s licensed taxi fleet, where each suspension removes a vehicle and experienced driver from service. For owner-drivers, a six-month ban can also have significant financial consequences, affecting vehicle finance commitments and household income.
The LTDA’s comments are likely to add to ongoing debate within the trade over the enforcement impact of widespread 20mph limits, particularly for professional drivers operating long shifts on roads previously subject to higher limits.
