Speeding business boss Tristan Hulbert escapes driving ban

Tristan Hulbert, 34, of York Road, Flaxby, runs a small company that supplies specialist chairs to the care sector, Harrogate magistrates heard.

He was convicted of speeding in a Tesla car on the A1(M) northbound near Kirk Deighton on May 25 last year and because of the penalty points already on his driving licence should have been banned for at least six months, the court was told.

They decided he would suffer exceptional hardship if he were banned and allowed him to keep his licence. They put three penalty points on his licence, fined him £333 and ordered him to pay a £133 statutory surcharge.

Harrogate magistrates heard that if he was banned, the company, which had been going through difficult times, would lose a third of its income.  Hulbert was one of three people who could do bespoke measurements and meet with occupational therapists on site and would be unable to do so if he couldn’t drive.

The company employed 16 staff in West Yorkshire, Lincolnshire and the Scottish borders and Hulbert drove between 35,000 and 40,000 miles a year..

They also heard he had family reasons for needing to drive.