'I estimate that the ban has cost the taxpayer £4,000 in benefits'
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n April three magistrates banned me from driving for six months. I had gone through a red light on the Al 1, two seconds after it had changed, when facing into a very bright afternoon sun. The magistrates had the option not to award three points and not to enforce a ban but they did both. I live 10 miles out in the sticks and buses only run at times suitable for shopping. There is little industry near my home so alternative work was out.
I set about seeing what benefits were
available. I have been a self-employed
owner-driver for more than 13 years and didn't expect much. I was entitled to 244 per week income support. My bus fare was paid by the DSS to go for an interview, At `LE that interview the DSS said it accepted my
position and advised me who else to ig contact for help. It turned out that I was -8entitled to legal aid, rent allowance, 1Community Charge tax relief, free r' prescriptions, free dental treatment and my 8 National Insurance stamp paid up until .5 April next year.
I I applied for an appeal against my ban, l met a solicitor who instructed a barrister specialising in appeals of this nature. Four months later appeared in court at Norwich where the justice and two magistrates took all of 10 seconds to conclude that I could do without my driving licence On the plus side, however, my appeal had cost the establishment over £1,000.
In addition, I estimate that my ban has cost the tax payer 24,000 in benefits and that figure can be more than doubled if you include revenue lost to the authorities. This includes up to £2,000 VAT and El ,350 to licence my truck. Then there is income tax, National Insurance contributions and duty on fuel. How many gallons of diesel would I have used in six months?
During my ban I have heard and read about similar cases. In one case a driver involved in a fatal head-on collision was fined 2400 and got six points on his licence; in another a driver involved in a collision was fined £25. A driver caught speeding at 135mph was banned for a month.
LGV drivers are especially vulnerable to losing their licences for several reasons. The first is the enormous mileages they clock up—i average about 80,000 a year. Trucks face more than double the number of offences attracting points than other vehicles. LGVs are the subject of much higher enforcement levels—we are the targets of the police, Department of Transport and Trading Standards Officers, In spite of all this we are still measured by the same system used for all other vehicles although most motorists average no more than 10,000 miles a year. It is time the system was changed Offences in LGVs should apply only to the heavy goods licence and when points offences total up to a ban the car licence should be kept. I have one offence in the past eight years relating to my car. I wonder how many other truck drivers Have been banned in similar circumstances to mine, how much has been lost in revenue and how much has been paid out in benefits.