The Impact Of Driving Offences On Your Work And Personal Life

Driving offences range from speeding, driving without insurance or tax, driving without a valid MOT certificate, driving under the influence of alcohol and driving under the influence of drugs (to name but a few). The penalty for these offences varies depending on the severity of the offence - and your previous record of offending - and can cost you either penalty points on your licence, your licence being taken away for either a specified period or permanently, and/or a prison sentence. However, all this sounds bad enough but delve a bit deeper and what are the actual impacts on your work and personal life on a day to day basis? The impact may be much more far reaching than you would imagine and this article seeks to consider these impacts.

Impact on your working life and career

If you work in a role such as an office job, i.e. a ‘non-driving job’, the impact you are most likely to notice is that of inconvenience. For example, most people drive to and from work but if you have had your license taken away as a result of a driving offence you will suddenly find yourself being reliant on other people for lifts (which can be inconvenient for both you and them) or relying on public transport to get to and from work (which, as we all know, can often be unreliable and expensive). You may find that your reputation with your employer is impacted if you have committed a driving offence and some employers even insist on their employees having a ‘clean’ driving licence as a condition of their employment. The consequences of committing a driving offence will, however, be even more severe if you are employed in a driving role. If you lose your license you will lose your job (and therefore your income) and you may have to spend time and money retraining for a completely different role.

Impact on your personal life

If you lose your license as a result of a driving offence (or repeat driving offences) you will also create a huge impact on your personal and family life. Relationships may be harmed if one person becomes the sole driver in the family and is responsible for shopping, ferrying children around and getting to social events. If you have any elderly or sick relatives that were previously reliant on you for transporting them to hospital appointments etc, then alternative arrangements will have to be made. If you are charged with a very serious driving offence such as drink driving you may end up being sent to prison. The impact on your family will be catastrophic as you leave your spouse alone to perhaps bring up your family and earn enough money to support them.

The impact of committing a driving offence can be much more far reaching than people may think and in severe circumstances could even result in loss of a job or loss of a relationship. Dynamics alter greatly when you can no longer drive, something most of us take for granted, and the impact on both our working and family life can be significant.

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