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Motoring Offence Solicitors

Court Summons for Speeding

May 14th, 2012 by admin

Have you received a court summons for speeding?  If so, you will need to seek expert legal advice in order to see what options are available to you.

A court summons for speeding can be issued for a number of reasons:

  • The alleged speed is too high to be dealt with by way of a fixed penalty
  • The motorist has 9 penalty points on his licence
  • The fixed penalty has not been paid
  • The motorist has failed to produce his documents at the police station

Once a motorist receives a court summons he/she should check to see whether it has been issued within the correct time limit.  A court summons must be issued within 6 months of the date of the alleged offence and could result in the offence being time-barred if issued after the 6 months.

Presuming the summons has been issued correctly, it will provide a date and time for when the motorist is told to attend court to enter a plea of guilty or not guilty.  This can be done by either attending court but can also be done via post depending on the severity of the offence.

If the motorist is accepting his/her guilt and pleading guilty, the matter can often be dealt with in one court hearing unless the court are considering a disqualification from driving when there may be two hearings.  In such circumstances, the motorist would usually have to attend court or have their solicitor attend on their behalf.  Having specialist legal representation in respect of any court hearing is advisable in order to ensure they get a fair hearing and are also aware of the options available.

If the motorist is pleading not guilty because they deny the charge, it is possible for three court hearings to be scheduled.  The first would be for the plea hearing, the second would be for a case management hearing and the third would be for the trial to take place.  As stated above, no motorist should attempt to represent themselves at trial alone or at least without obtaining legal advice beforehand.

This is why we strongly advise you contact one of our expert solicitors for legal advice and support regarding your court summons. We are able to offer you legal and moral support throughout your hearing. Some courts tend to be very pro-prosecution and may not be on the motorist’s side, even before hearing all of the evidence – so get in touch with the friendly Just Motor Law team by phone 08454851226 or click the banner below for online contact options!

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Drink Driving and Criminal Records

May 11th, 2012 by admin

A criminal record is a list of a person’s previously committed crimes. In order to be contained within the list, the person must have been found guilty of the crime or admitted to the police that they had committed the crime. This information is contained on a database held by the police and can only be accessed by the police themselves of by the Criminal Records Bureau. Criminal records cannot be accessed by members of the public.

Possible penalties for drink driving

Driving with excess alcohol is the correct term used for the more commonly known offence of drink driving. Drink driving is a criminal offence contrary to Section 5(1)(a) of the Road Traffic Act 1988 and carries a mandatory disqualification from driving for a minimum of 12 months to a maximum of 60 months. In addition to this disqualification, the offender will also be fined up to £5000, be given a community order or even be sent to prison for up to 26 weeks in more serious cases.

How a drink driving offence can affect your life

The offence will remain on an offender’s driving licence for 10 years and will result in the offender being given a criminal record. The Law governing criminal records is The Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and according to this legislation, a criminal record should not have to stay with a person for life. However, the record will never disappear from the police database and will always be available to the police but for the purposes of disclosing criminal convictions, a conviction will eventually become spent (so long as the sentence imposed is less than 2 ½ years imprisonment) and the previous conviction need not be disclosed. The time spent will depend on the level of sentence imposed by the court but the usual time for a driving disqualification for a drink driving conviction would be the length of the disqualification, although this can be extended if the disqualification is coupled with a fine, community order or term of imprisonment.

Drink driving will therefore attract a criminal record and could affect future employment prospects and insurance premiums as well as the safety of not only the drink driver but also the safety of other road users.

If you believe you have been wrongly accused of drink driving it’s vital that you contact a driving offence solicitor who can increase your chances of acquittal and reduce the likelihood of acquiring a criminal record.

Here at Just Motor Law we have extensive experience of defending driver’s licences and supporting drivers throughout the whole procedure. If you’ve been accused of a driving offence, get in touch with one of our friendly, understanding team who can help you to contest a drink driving offence. You can contact us by telephone on 08454851226 or use our online contact form.

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How Can a Driving Conviction Affect my Career?

May 9th, 2012 by admin

Punishment for drink driving offences varies depending on how far over the limit you were proved to have been at the time of offence. A disqualification from driving, community penalty, fine or even imprisonment can be imposed on sentencing.

Drink driving and your career

Being found guilty of drink driving could have a significant impact on your chances of future employment. Every employer is entitled to carry out background checks on any candidate they wish to hire in order to establish whether the person in question has a criminal record that has not become spent. For some jobs it’s a legal requirement that the employer carries out background and can find out about your criminal convictions even when they would normally be considered spent.

If an organisation uncovers any convictions, they are allowed to use this as a legitimate reason as to why they don’t wish to take you on. However, you do not have to disclose any spent convictions to any prospective employer unless the role is one that is “exempt” under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act. If the role is an “exempt” one, then you are obliged to declare your convictions to a prospective employer even when they have become spent.

The exempt roles include:

• Those working with children and other vulnerable groups, such as teachers and social workers, Those working in professions associated with the justice system, such as solicitor, police, court clerk, probation officer, prison officer and traffic warden
• Doctors, dentists, chemists, nurses or Paramedics
• Accountants
• Veterinarians
• Managers of unit trusts
• Anyone applying to work as an officer of the Crown
• Employees of the RSPCA or SSPCA whose duties extend to the humane killing of animals
• Any employment or other work normally carried out in bail hostels or probation hostels
• Certain officials and employees from government and public authorities with access to sensitive or personal information or official databases about children or vulnerable adults
• Any office or employment concerned with providing health services which would normally enable access to recipients of those health services
• Officers and other persons who execute various court orders
• Anyone who as part of their occupation occupies premises where explosives are kept under a police certificate
• Contractors who carry out various kinds of work in tribunal and court buildings
• Certain company directorships, such as those for banks, building societies and insurance companies
• Certain civil service positions are excluded from the act, such as employment with the Civil Aviation Authority and the UK Atomic Energy Authority[1].
• Taxi drivers and other transport workers. This also includes Stewardesses, pilots and anyone working in the secure zone of an airport

Withholding information on any convictions you may have is not advised, as if they are discovered at a later date it is extremely likely that you will be fired and in some cases be charged with committing another offence such as deception. So it’s important to let your employer know once you have been offered the or at the stage when details of any previous convictions are requested.

If you already have a conviction

If an interviewer questions you about your criminal record, the best way to approach it is by being honest but also stating how you have learnt from the situation. Turn the incident into a positive experience by expressing how it has taught you discipline and the appreciation of authority. You could also use any experience you may have had during your incarceration to further your chances of seeming suitable for the job in question.

You could possibly let employers know about the Work Opportunity Tax Credit, which would financially benefit their company. Inform them that they could be eligible to receive a sum of money for employing people like yourself, who have previously found it difficult to find employment due to past criminal activities.
If you are worried about obtaining a job as you already have conviction, seek support from non-profit agencies that specialise in helping ex-offenders. Your local church or other charitable places could also provide advice on finding ex-offender friendly companies to increase your chances of employability.
Holding onto your driving licence

In many cases, a drink driving offence will cause you to lose your licence. This can really hinder your chances of getting hired and even rule out applying for employment opportunities in remote areas where public transport is minimal or non-existent. If you’re faced with the prospect of using your licence it’s highly recommended that you seek advice and support from a driving offence solicitor who can help you to keep hold of your licence and reduce the likelihood of having a criminal record.

Here at Just Motor Law we understand the possible effects a drink driving conviction can have on your career. We have specialist knowledge and extensive experience of helping those who believe they’re wrongly convicted of drink driving as well as helping drivers contest driving disqualifications. We can help you assemble a strong case using Special Reasons and Exceptional Hardship arguments in order to maintain possession of your driving licence, something which is incredibly important to the future of your career. You can contact us by telephone on 0845 4851226, use our online chat function or online contact form.

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Driving With No MOT

May 2nd, 2012 by admin

What is an MOT Certificate?

An MOT (Ministry of Transport now known as the Department of Transport) is a certificate issued by a mechanic, who confirms that the vehicle meets what is acceptable to the environment and to road safety standards required by UK legislation.  Every registered vehicle being used on public roads must hold an MOT certificate and must be renewed every 12 months, unless the vehicle is exempt.

What Happens if I Don’t have an MOT?

Failure to hold a valid MOT is an offence under Section 47 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 and can result in a fine of up to £1000.  The offence of driving without an MOT does not carry penalty points although most policies of insurance will become invalid without an MOT being in place, which could lead to an offence of driving without insurance which carries between 6 and 8 penalty points.

As stated above, an MOT must be renewed every 12 months and it is the registered keeper of the vehicle who is responsible for ensuring that this is done.  There is currently no reminder service available for MOT renewal as there is with the system of renewing a tax licence and MOT renewals are often missed by drivers.

In 2009 a survey was carried out by u.Switch.com in relation to how many of UK drivers do actually put their vehicles in for an MOT test and revealed that 4.7 million drivers actually miss their MOT renewal date.  A large proportion of these drivers said they missed the renewal date because they simply forgot, which suggests an MOT reminder service is required for UK motorists.   A text message reminder service is now available from Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) but there is a cost for using the service whereas the tax licence reminder service is free of charge.

Penalties of Driving without an MOT

Driving without an MOT can not only result in drivers being prosecuted but also put other road users at risk.  If no valid MOT is held for a particular vehicle, how does the driver of that vehicle know that the vehicle is road worthy?  The easiest way to combat risks of safety and to avoid not only financial penalties but also to protect ones driving licence, is to ensure that your vehicle does have a valid MOT.

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Driving Without Tax

April 30th, 2012 by admin

What the Law Says

In order to comply with UK legislation, all vehicles registered in the UK that are being used or kept on a public road must hold a valid tax licence (tax disc) and display this in the vehicle.   In cases where the vehicle is not being used or kept on a public road, a tax licence is not required although the registered keeper must apply for a Statutory Off Road Notification (SORN) in order to declare the vehicle off the road.

Tax licences are issued by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) and can be valid for either 6 or 12 months.  The cost in obtaining a tax licence varies depending on the type of vehicle being taxed.

How to Tax a Vehicle

The process in taxing a vehicle is a fairly straightforward process as the DVLA automatically alerts the registered keeper of a vehicle when a tax licence is ready for renewal.  As outlined above, the renewal date will vary depending on whether a 6 or 12 month licence has been purchased previously.  In order to be eligible to tax a vehicle, the vehicle must be insured and have a valid MOT as without both, a tax licence will not be issued.  There are three ways to tax a vehicle, at the Post Office, at a local DVLA office and online, this being the most efficient way.

Penalties for Driving without Taxing a Vehicle

Vehicles that do not hold a valid tax licence will result in the registered keeper of the vehicle being guilty of a motoring offence.  The DVLA are responsible for ensuring registered vehicles are correctly taxed and in doing this, they carry out regular checks of vehicles on the roads as well as their computer system in order to identify vehicles without tax.   Vehicles not displaying a valid tax licence can face an automatic penalty of £80 plus a fine of up to £1000.  In addition to this, the police and the DVLA have the power to clamp or impound the vehicle, which will then result in further release fee’s being payable.  In some extreme cases, vehicles can even be clamped!

An exemption to having a valid tax licence is available in cases where tax licences are applied for using the online service and not being received in the mail before the old tax licence expires.  If this happens to you, you should be exempt for having to display the tax licence for up to 5 days from the date the application was applied for.  It should be noted however that this exemption only applies to applications made prior to the expiry date of the tax licence.

Anybody finding themselves in the unfortunate position of being prosecuted for having no tax licence should seek legal advice, particularly in cases where a summons for court has been issued.  It may be that we can negotiate with the Crown Prosecution Service to avoid prosecution altogether.

The message is clear – taxing your vehicle is a necessity to driving on public roads in the UK.

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Driving Without a Licence

April 27th, 2012 by admin

Penalties for driving without a licence

‘Driving otherwise in accordance with a licence’ is the correct term for driving without a licence and is an offence contrary to Section 87(1) of the Road Traffic Act 1988.  The offence carries a penalty of 3 – 6 penalty points and a fine of up to £1000.

Circumstances amounting to driving without a licence can arise in many situations.  Some examples would be driving following a licence being revoked or refused on medical grounds, driving after making a false declaration about fitness when applying for a licence or driving when failure to notify the DVLA about a disability has been made.  Another more obvious example would be driving a vehicle when a driving licence has never been owned.

Driving without a licence loopholes

Any penalty points being added to a driving licence can result in serious financial and practical difficulties, which is why they should be avoided.  Driving without a licence can in some cases, result in a policy of insurance being invalid, which if convicted, would result in 6 – 8 penalty points being added to the driving licence.  This is not always the case even if the police say it is!

UK legislation states that it is for the driver to show that he/she had a valid driving licence and not for the police/CPS to prove they did not.  Anybody facing an allegation of driving without a licence should seek expert legal advice as it may be that the offence can be withdrawn following negotiations with the insurance company and the police/Crown Prosecution Service.

Either way, driving without a licence is not a position anybody should want to be in and should of course be avoided where possible.

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Speeding Ticket Fines

April 23rd, 2012 by admin

Speeding ticket fines are given to members of the public accused of exceeding the speed limit. The usual process is for a police officer to stop a motorist who they allege has been speeding and issue them with a Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN). The FPN is an offer to the motorist of paying a fine of £60 and having 3 penalty points added to their driving licence. Motorists have the option of accepting this FPN or if they dispute the alleged speeding, they can opt for the matter to be dealt with via the Magistrates Court and challenge the evidence of the police.

Speeding Penalties

If a case is forwarded to the Magistrates Court, a court summons would be issued to the motorist and must be done so within 6 months of the date of the alleged offence. If the summons is issued outside of this time limit, the court will not have jurisdiction to deal with the matter and the case would be withdrawn. It is therefore always important to ensure that any court summons has been issued within the correct timeframe.

As stated above, speeding tickets usually attract a fine of £60 if dealt with by way of a fixed penalty. However, all will depend on the level of speed alleged and the speed limit for that particular road as higher speeds cannot be dealt with via this system and will have to be referred to the Magistrates Court. The speeds listed below can be dealt with via the FPN system:

Speed Limit (mph) Alleged Speed (mph)
20 21 – 30
30 31 – 40
40 41 – 55
50 51 – 65
60 61 – 80
70 71 – 90

Speeds higher than what is listed in the above table should be referred to the Magistrates Court although in practice, some police authorities will allow for some cases to be dealt with by way of a FPN.

Speed Awareness Course

In cases where the motorist is eligible for a FPN, there may also be the opportunity for the motorist to be offered a Speed Awareness Course (SAW) instead of the FPN. The SAW is often more attractive for the majority of motorists because no penalty points are imposed on the driving licence but is not always available. Rules on offering the SAW are decided by each individual police force and will be available on their websites.

Speeding ticket fines are often daunting to motorists as for some people it may not just be a case of points being added to the driving licence. For example, if a motorist already has 9 penalty points on their licence, another 3 points would result in a disqualification from driving for a minimum of 6 months!

Anybody accused of speeding should seek legal advice in order to consider what options are available. It may simply be a case of “yes I was speeding” but are at risk of losing their driving licence or “no I was not speeding” and expert legal advice is required to see whether the offence could be challenged.

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Drink Driving Bans

April 2nd, 2012 by admin

Drink driving is a common driving offence which is considered to be serious and often carries severe penalties. These penalties may not be restricted to affecting your driving and can even cause you to lose your job or prevent you from persuing your chosen career path. Because of the severity of the offence it’s advisable that you contact a motoring offence solicitor to discuss your circumstances.

How Long Could I be Banned from Driving?

If you are convicted of drink driving, the Magistrates must disqualify you from driving for a minimum of 12 months. They cannot take into account the impact that a ban will have on you and those around you in their decision to impose a disqualification. The effect that the ban will have on you and your family will be treated as mitigation that the court can take into account when deciding on the level of your sentence.

However, in some cases, the court can find that there are “special reasons” in law not to ban you from driving. Examples are when your drink has been laced, you were driving a very short distance in circumstances where you would not pose a danger to anyone else or when you were driving in a true emergency situation.

How Long will the Driving Ban Remain on my License?

The driving ban will remain endorsed on your licence for 11 years and you will have to notify your insurance company of this and it is likely to have a significant impact on your insurance premiums. The Rehabilitation of Offender Act sets certain time limits, dependant on the sentence you receive, for when your drink driving conviction will be considered “spent” i.e. when you know longer have to disclose it for example to a potential employer.

For adults, if you are fined then the period is 5 years, if imprisoned up to 6 months the period is 7 years and other periods will apply dependent upon the community based sentence you receive. However, depending on the type of job you do, you may have to disclose your drink driving ban even after it would normally be spent e.g. if you are a lawyer, a doctor, a dentist, a nurse, a chemist, a teacher or an accountant.

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Driving Fines

March 31st, 2012 by admin

Motoring offences all carry the potential for the imposition of a fine and when a fine is imposed, the Magistrates must also impose a “victim surcharge” of £15 as well as assessing whether you should pay a contribution to the prosecution costs.

How is the Driving Fine Calculated?

The overriding approach that a court will take in determining any fine is to look first at the seriousness of the offence and then at your own personal financial circumstances. The idea is that a fine will have the same level of impact on all drivers who have committed the same type of offence, regardless of their differing levels of income.

The Magistrates are provided with guidelines that set out the maximum level of fines for each offence and these can range from £200 to £5000. They then evaluate the seriousness of that particular offence to decide the appropriate starting point for the fine. This leaves a band to work within and is based on a percentage of your weekly income that will increase dependant on how serious this particular offence is. The Magistrates will then consider the aggravating and mitigating features of the case, your own personal mitigation, any reduction appropriate for a guilty plea and of course any unusual outgoings that you may have and taking all these factors into account, fix the amount of the fine.

What’s the Time Limit on the Payment of the Fine?

Usually, the courts are willing to accept a reasonable offer of instalment payments but expect that the fine will be paid within a year. If your financial situation changes, you can come back to the court to discuss a change of instalment levels. If you fail to pay your fine then it can be passed to the bailiffs and ultimately you could face a term of imprisonment for non payment.

If you have been given a driving fine you may be worried about the financial costs, or maybe you feel the fine is unjust? Here at Just Motor Law we’re here to help with such circumstances and have extensive experience of helping those charged with motoring offences. If your alleged offence could also incur points on your license then the situation can be even more worrying, give one of our friendly team a call to discuss exceptional hardship which could help to prevent you totting those points up and retain a clear license.

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Failure to report an accident

March 28th, 2012 by admin

If you have been involved in an accident as a driver where someone else has been hurt, damage has been caused to a vehicle or property next to the road or to an animal then you are required by law to stop.

 

If someone who has reasonable grounds to do so requests you to, (such as the other driver), you must provide your name and address, the registration number of the vehicle and the name and address of the owner of the vehicle.

Possible Penalties of Failing to Report an Accident

If you do not stop and exchange details or there is no one present to provide details to then you must report the matter at a police station or to a police officer as soon as reasonably practicable and in any event no later than 24 hours after the incident. The offences of failing to stop and failing to report carry the possibility of up to a 6 months prison sentence and between 5 and 10 points or a discretionary disqualification from driving. So if you bump an empty parked car, do not simply drive off and hope for the best. Go straight to the police station and if you do not go straight away then you must have an acceptable reason for not doing so.

If you were Unaware the Accident Occurred…

You cannot be found guilty of these offences if the courts are satisfied that you were wholly unaware that the accident had taken place. The court will however assess if you had simply turned a blind eye to factors that should have made it obvious that there had been an accident such as a jolt or audible crash.

If you have been charged with failing to report an accident you may be concerned about how the possible penalties of the offence could affect your life; this is where Just Motor Law are here to help. We provide you with impartial legal advice tailored to your circumstances and defend your right to drive. If you have any questions related to failing to report an accident give one of our qualified solicitors a call on 0845 485 1232 or fill in our contact form.

 

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