Sophie RobinsonOn 22 July 2026, Richard Hammond — the 56-year-old former Top Gear co-host — was convicted of speeding twice within 20 days after being caught breaking the limit in two of his luxury cars. His Porsche Taycan Cross Turismo was recorded at 68mph in a 50mph zone on the A40 in Pencraig, Herefordshire, on 2 December 2025. Twenty days later, on 22 December, his Bentley Continental GT was clocked at 82mph in a 70mph zone on the A50 Rudhall Overbridge, also in Herefordshire. Hammond pleaded guilty through his legal representatives and was fined £999 at Kidderminster Magistrates' Court. The case, heard alongside 38 other defendants, has drawn widespread attention — not because a celebrity was caught speeding, but because it illustrates exactly the scenario in which ordinary drivers can find themselves facing far more serious consequences than they anticipated.
What the Court Heard
Both offences fall into what the Sentencing Council classifies as Band B speeding. Band B applies when a driver exceeds the limit by a margin that courts consider serious enough to refer to magistrates rather than resolve by fixed penalty notice. Hammond's Porsche was travelling 18mph above the 50mph limit; his Bentley was 12mph above the 70mph limit. Under Band B guidelines, magistrates calculate the fine at 100% of the offender's relevant weekly income — which explains why the total reached £999, a figure that would represent a typical monthly salary for many drivers but a fraction of Hammond's earnings.
Penalty points are assessed separately. For Band B offences, courts have discretion to impose between 4 and 6 points per offence, or to substitute a short disqualification of up to 28 days instead of points. In Hammond's case — with two Band B offences sentenced at the same hearing — the typical outcome would be 3 to 4 points per conviction added to the licence. Hammond's lawyers did not disclose whether a disqualification alternative was considered.
The fine amount matters less to most drivers than the points. It is the accumulation of penalty points over time that creates the most significant long-term risk.
How Penalty Points Stack Up Under UK Law
The UK's penalty points system is designed to be cumulative. Points from separate offences are added together, and any driver who accumulates 12 or more active points within a three-year rolling window faces automatic disqualification — regardless of how minor each individual offence appeared at the time.
The minimum ban under the "totting up" rule is six months. If a driver has already been disqualified for totting up once within the preceding three years, that minimum rises to 12 months. A second previous totting disqualification in the same period results in a minimum of two years. The points are "active" — counting toward the 12-point threshold — for the first three of the four years they remain on the licence. After four years, the point falls off entirely.
For Hammond, who has no prior speeding convictions on record, two Band B convictions likely add 6 to 8 points in total, keeping him well below the 12-point threshold. The case resolved relatively cleanly for him. But for tens of thousands of drivers who already carry points from previous offences — a 3-point mobile phone endorsement in 2024, a 6-point speeding conviction from 2023 — the same pattern of two offences in quick succession can push the total to 12 or beyond.
Speed awareness courses, which many drivers accept as an alternative to fixed penalty points for a first offence, do not appear on the licence and do not count toward the totting threshold. But they also cannot be offered twice for the same offence category within three years, meaning a driver who has already taken a course and is caught again has no choice but to take the points.
Expert View: Two Offences in 20 Days and the Decisions That Follow
Motoring solicitors consistently note that the point at which drivers most urgently need legal advice is not when they receive the first Notice of Intended Prosecution — it is when the second one arrives, and the driver realises they could be close to 12 points.
"Two offences in quick succession always prompt the question of how many points are already on the licence," explains one specialist in UK road traffic law. "If a driver is already on 6 or 9 points, a second conviction within weeks can trigger a ban they simply hadn't budgeted for. The problem is that most people only think about each offence in isolation, rather than calculating their running total."
In court, a solicitor's role when the evidence is clear — as it typically is with speed camera footage — is not to challenge the offence but to argue for the minimum points band and, where the driver is approaching the 12-point threshold, to mount an exceptional hardship defence. Under Section 35 of the Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988, courts retain discretion not to impose a totting ban if the driver can demonstrate that disqualification would cause disproportionate exceptional hardship — not merely inconvenience.
The distinction matters enormously. "I drive for work" is not, by itself, an exceptional hardship argument. Courts hear it in almost every totting case and routinely reject it. What courts have accepted are carefully documented cases in which a ban would remove the driver's ability to care for a dependent — a disabled child with multiple weekly medical appointments unreachable by public transport, for example, or an elderly parent in a rural area with no alternative transport. The case must be built with evidence, not assurances.
Also relevant: the means-tested nature of speeding fines. Magistrates are required to calculate fines based on the offender's relevant weekly income, but this calculation depends on accurate and documented disclosure. Drivers who appear unrepresented, or who submit income figures without professional guidance, sometimes receive fines set at assumed levels that are higher than warranted by their actual earnings. For a two-offence hearing like Hammond's, that difference can run into hundreds of pounds.
Concrete Case: The Driver Who Already Has 9 Points
Consider a 44-year-old self-employed builder who accrued 6 points in early 2024 — a 3-point mobile phone penalty from November 2023 and a 3-point endorsement for a 36mph-in-a-30 in March 2024. Both are still active. In autumn 2025, he is caught twice: 52mph in a 40mph zone in October (Band B, 4 points imposed, fine calculated at £380 on a declared weekly income of £760), and 74mph in a 60mph zone in December (Band B, 4 points, fine of £380).
His running total: 6 + 4 + 4 = 14 points. The 12-point threshold has been crossed. Under Section 35, he faces an automatic minimum six-month disqualification at the December hearing — which is also the point at which both sets of November and December penalties are sentenced together.
If he has no dependants who rely on him for transport to medical appointments or essential care, an exceptional hardship argument is unlikely to succeed. A six-month ban means he cannot drive his van to work sites. A sole-trader builder who cannot reach clients loses income immediately.
If, however, he can document that his 74-year-old father, who lives 11 miles from the nearest GP and has no access to public transport, depends on him for weekly hospital appointments — and if he can support this with a GP letter and evidence of the transport options available — a court may exercise its discretion to suspend the ban. The builder saves his livelihood. The difference between these two outcomes is often whether a solicitor helped him prepare the exceptional hardship bundle before the court date, not on the morning of it.
The GOV.UK penalty points and endorsements guidance sets out the precise point values for each offence and the totting thresholds — it is worth checking your current balance before deciding how to respond to a Notice of Intended Prosecution.
What to Do If You Are in a Similar Position
If you have received a second speeding notice within a short period, start by calculating your current points total, including offences from the past three years. If the total could reach or exceed 12 with the new penalties, a motoring solicitor consultation is not a luxury — it is the step that determines whether you keep your licence.
Road traffic law specialists on ExpertZoom can review your specific situation, assess whether the evidence is challengeable, advise on which penalty band applies, and prepare an exceptional hardship submission if you are approaching the totting threshold. Unlike a general solicitor, a motoring law specialist understands the specific Sentencing Council bands, the discretion available to magistrates, and the evidence standard for exceptional hardship arguments. As the tailgating crackdown in 2026 demonstrated, UK roads policing is increasingly enforcement-led — which means the gap between a minor offence and a driving ban is narrower than many drivers realise.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Consult a qualified motoring solicitor for advice specific to your circumstances.
