If you receive a driving ban, it can be an extremely frustrating experience, since you will have to rely on other modes of transportation until the ban expires. If you feel as though your ban was too harsh, however, you can file an appeal and potential have your ban lifted or reduced. Your chances of receiving a reduction are based on the offence that you committed and the circumstances surrounding it. Before filing an appeal, it is important that you are aware of the reasons for your driving ban, so that you can properly represent yourself during your appeal.

In the United Kingdom, there is a set of offences for which you will receive an instant driving ban. For example, if you are caught going in excess of 45% over the posted speed limit, it is quite possible that you could receive a driving ban. The length of this ban could vary between seven and 120 days, depending on how fast you were going and how many points it added onto your driving record. Other common reasons for driving bans include careless driving, driving without insurance, traffic light offences, not following the rules on your driver's license and failure to report an accident. These driving bans are discretionary, however, which means that you can have your bans reduced or eliminated through the appeals process. Other driving bans, such as dangerous driving, drunk driving and failure to provide a specimen are not able to be appealed, since they are much more serious.

The good news is that the court does take your circumstances into account when giving out driving bans. If you have received a driving ban, but know that your individual circumstances are responsible for the offence, there is a good chance that you can receive some leniency through the appeals process. The court will listen to your case, as long as you go through the legal appeals process and present your case in a timely manner. You can apply to have your driving ban completely overturned or reduced, depending on the situation. If you feel like you were wrongly convicted, you can ask for a reduction. If you feel as through your ban was too harsh, you can ask to have it reduced.

EYour original case was likely handled by the Magistrates' Court, so you will have to appeal through the Crown Court. You have 21-days from the time your license was suspended to file an appeal with the Crown Court, at which time the judge will review your case and some to a decision. When filing your appeal, make sure that the judge is aware of the circumstances surrounding your actions, as this can help your case. Some examples of these circumstances included aggravating factors that led to you driving in that manner. While an emergency is not always a valid reason, the judge might be more lenient if you explain the situation carefully.

Once you have made your case, the judge can either reverse your driving ban, uphold the decision or send your case back to the Magistrates' Court for another hearing. If you receive another hearing, it will give you a second chance to present your case to the court in hopes that the details of your ban are altered into something that you can handle.

It is a good idea to receive legal advice throughout this entire process, since it can make everything much easier. By hiring a lawyer that specialises in driving bans, you will have help in framing your arguments and proving that you did not deserve such a long one. Whilst having your licence suspended is never a positive, you can improve your situation by following the appeals process. Keep in mind that the courts do not have to accept your reasoning, but you can give yourself a better chance of being heard if you have legal representation and legitimate reasons for your transgressions.