Banned mechanic's bid to get his driving licence back early is rejected
A mechanic who applied to a court to get his driving licence back two years into a three-year ban has been denied his bid by magistrates.
Harinder Singh, aged 43,was banned in August 2021 for failing to provide a specimen of breath after crashing his BMW X6 into the central reservation of the M54 near Junction 5.
Singh, of Trelogan, Holywell, in Clwyd, described his village in North Wales as isolated and where public transport is restricted when he appeared before Telford Magistrates Court on Wednesday.
"It is very hard without a car and driving would help me find a job," he told magistrates.
The married father of two said he was a mobile mechanic who needed a lift to get to jobs.
Prosecutor Miss Sara Beddow said the crash on the M54 had been minor, with no injuries. But he had to be banned for 36 months because of a previous conviction for driving with excess alcohol in May 2018.
The court was told that Singh, who had admitted failure to provide a specimen, had wanted to give a blood sample instead of breath but that there was no medical reason for that to be done.
Singh, who represented himself in court, had also not attended a course which could have meant his ban concluding this December. He said he had been puzzled and nervous and did not know what the course was, and the provider had not written to him.
Presiding justice Carol Scott told Singh that his application had not been successful.
"We are not going to grant your application," she said on behalf of the bench of three magistrates.
"You will have to carry on serving the disqualification.
"It is unfortunate that you have not done the course. If you had have, the reduction would have meant finishing the disqualification this December.
"Your application has not been successful."
