Driving ban and emergencies

Single1

Hi all,

I was wondering if there are any circumstances where a person who has been banned from driving for 3 years would be able to drive without penalty. The reason I ask is that I am due to have a baby in the next 3 weeks and my partner is off the road. Obviously I have asked all of my family and friends to be on standby but on the off chance that no1 else is available would the authorities consider it an emergency and allow him to drive me? I really doubt it would come to this as I have a list of alternatives as long as my arm but I just wondered to be sure.

Thanks

MagicSean

Single1 wrote: »

Hi all,

I was wondering if there are any circumstances where a person who has been banned from driving for 3 years would be able to drive without penalty. The reason I ask is that I am due to have a baby in the next 3 weeks and my partner is off the road. Obviously I have asked all of my family and friends to be on standby but on the off chance that no1 else is available would the authorities consider it an emergency and allow him to drive me? I really doubt it would come to this as I have a list of alternatives as long as my arm but I just wondered to be sure.

Thanks

Can you not call an ambulance?

Sunnyisland

If your partner is banned from driving well then he cant drive ..period.

It would be up to a court to lift the ban, maybe you can go and ask,but i wouldent be to hopefull.

Single1

k_mac wrote: »

Can you not call an ambulance?

Of course and as I said it was literally a last last last resort. I live about an hour from the hospital so sometimes the closest ambulance may not be very close at all.

Single1

realies wrote: »

If your partner is banned from driving well then he cant drive ..period.

It would be up to a court to lift the ban, maybe you can go and ask,but i wouldent be to hopefull.

Yep I thought as much!!! I would not be hopefull at all and rightly so that they would not allow him... it is his own fault in the first place. Thanks for your response!

dermot_sheehan

Theoretically defence of necessity could apply.

In practice it would nearly never work.

MagicSean

gabhain7 wrote: »

Theoretically defence of necessity could apply.

In practice it would nearly never work.

That was my point about the ambulance. It would probably be the first question asked.

Single1

k_mac wrote: »

That was my point about the ambulance. It would probably be the first question asked.

Yes I agree. Ambulance was on my list aswell but recently I have heard that ambulance and hospital staff are not too pleased with the use of an ambulance in labor. I see the point as if there were an accident on the road and the ambulance was needed then I would say the accident should get priority. This would not be a problem in a large city but in a town far from a hospital the next ambulance could be 30 or more minutes away.
We know its not an option for him to drive and thats grand but I would be slow to call an ambulance unless everyone else was not available

source

I'm going to use a massive hypothetical situation in my reply to this question.

IF you were in labour, and there was (God Forbid) some difficulty in the labour, an ambulance was called but was going to take too long to get to you, thereby putting your life and your baby's life in danger then, and only then, yes I would say to drive.

If that was the case though, he would be best off putting a call into the local Garda station and explaining the situation and asking if there is any chance of an escort to the hospital before leaving the house.

If this was to happen, where his actions were taken to save lives then yes I believe he should drive. If however any accident happens or anybody is injured due to his driving then he would be in the world of sh1t.

Victor

Taxi!

Ask for one with leather seats. Just in case there is any leakage.

bigroad

Helicopter

sesna

Victor wrote: »

Taxi!

Ask for one with leather seats. Just in case there is any leakage.

Now I understand why the soilage charge is so high

Capt'n Midnight

you would need the hospital to confirm it was life threatening

there's an old saying 'if you can't do the time, don't do the crime'
don't drive unless you're both prepared to take the consequences of a longer ban or worse



options include getting the birth induced a little early so you can be there on time
or maybe staying closer to the hospital for a day or two - would this cost less than a taxi all the way in

Single1

Capt'n Midnight wrote: »

you would need the hospital to confirm it was life threatening

there's an old saying 'if you can't do the time, don't do the crime'
don't drive unless you're both prepared to take the consequences of a longer ban or worse



options include getting the birth induced a little early so you can be there on time
or maybe staying closer to the hospital for a day or two - would this cost less than a taxi all the way in

Yes I agree with that 100% as does he. He really would never get behind the wheel until his time is done but I guess it's cos I'm pregnant I'm just picking everything apart and worrying too much about what prob wont happen. We went over our list again last night and I have at least 8 people on high alert for the next few weeks so as mentioned already in another post unless its a life and death situation we are not even considering it.
We are not by any means well off but we have been putting funds aside for the baby so if a taxi is the only option we will do that of course. Hadn't thought of a taxi. I guess I just assumed they wouldn't take you if you were in labor.

Thank you again for all the replies.

Bosco boy

if it was me and I thought that my partner or childs life was in danger and there was no alternative then I would suffer the consequeces of getting caught and just drive and worry about it afterwards but alternatives must be exhausted. Lesser by far of two evils so to speak! Anyone knowing the full facts and dealing with you would have to be sympathic and reasonable.

Reloc8

Look, as has been more or less said, a driving ban is a driving ban.

Driving while disqualified is taken extremely seriously by the courts and often results in a jail sentence.

With that said, as with all things in life, this is a question of priorities. If you were in a genuine life and death situation or anything coming close, or something affecting the welfare of your pregnant partner and unborn child, and were disqualified from driving, many, many people would drive and hang the consequences.

You are probably safe to proceed on the basis that most people in that scenario would do the same thing, and would expect it to be viewed with more leniency than a gratuitous 'sod it I'm driving anyway' scenario. Most people does include judges.

What I'm saying is that it is reasonable to expect a person who drives in that scenario to be treated otherwise than with a jail sentence, but if caught there would almost certainly be a prosecution, and your mileage may vary in front of different judges.

Any whiff of there being a reasonable other option along the lines of a lift from a friend or family member, or indeed taxi/ambulance, and you would quite likely be buried.