accused was a businessman who required to travel throughout
Scotland. The accused ran a printing company and the business
was dependant upon the sales that he was able to generate. The
business was specialised and, accordingly, the accused could not
simply employ someone to fulfil his role. Additionally, the hours
involved were such that it was not possible to obtain the services of
a hired driver. As such, the business would collapse if the accused
lost the right to drive, leading to his six full-time employees losing
their jobs. In these circumstances, the High Court held that the
loss of the accused's licence would have 'catastrophic' effects and a
finding of exceptional hardship was made.
that are essential if a finding of exceptional hardship is to be made
in such circumstances, namely:
of fulfilling the accused's business obligations. This could be
because the job involves extensive travel or because the nature
of the work requires transport (for example, an electrician or
builder needs his van to transport his work materials, visit
builders merchants etc).
employ someone else to fulfil this role. This may be because
the work is specialised or because the business could not cope
with the extra costs involved.