Know the law!

Motoring Offences

Traffic law can be one of the most complex areas of law: most offences are usually unique due to the nature of the offence and character of the offender. Bespoke advice about your personal situation is always advised.

As specialist traffic lawyers, we are always asked a lot of similar questions about key areas of motoring law, and we have detailed the main areas below to act as a guide:

Penalty Points

Since the 8th June 2015, endorsements on a licence are kept on a person’s electronic record, the paper licence has effectively become redundant. The photo card is the document you now expected to produce to the police, although the police will accept the paper licence if you do not have a photo card. You can check your online licence by going through the DVLA website. An employer can also check your online licence if you give them a code to do so, which can be obtained from the website.

Speeding

The court will send any person due before the court a summons telling them when the court hearing is. The court can deal with cases in people’s absence if they do not respond or attend.

If the courts are going to be considering disqualification then the person in question will need to attend court in person. The following table details the levels of speeding when court attendance is required:

All the above offences carry penalty points but a good solicitor putting forward the best mitigation possible can help you keep the imposed points to a minimum. If you already have points on your licence, then you might have to attend court, as they could consider disqualifying you due to the state of your licence.

Totting up points

If you are going to reach 12 points on your licence then the court will disqualify you for 6 months. However you can claim exceptional hardship which requires you to give evidence and supporting evidence. Hardship can be to you and others.

This procedure for doing this requires you to provide advanced arguments to the court and we always recommend that you employ a solicitor to argue this matter for you.

Fines

These are given out in accordance with guidelines set for the magistrates. They are based on a person’s weekly income. The fine is meant to ‘pinch’ but not destroy. Your solicitor can put forward a payment plan to pay over a longer period.

Failure to provide details

This offence comes about when a registered owner of a vehicle receives a notice of intended prosecution. They are required by law to complete it and assist the authorities in detecting who the driver of the vehicle was.

If you fail to complete the notice, the penalty is 6 points and a fine.

However, on a number of occasions at trial, we have been able to successfully argue that people have sent these notices back and the Ticket Department have not received it or lost it. We are happy to advise a person if they have a defence.

Drink driving

If you are caught drink-driving and the police procedures are correct, then you will be disqualified for a minimum period of 12 months. The length of the ban is at the magistrates’ discretion, taking into account their guidance.

You can be offered a course which reduces your ban by 25% and there are, on rare occasions, defences and special reasons which can prevent a disqualification.

A solicitor can help you to explain why this offence occurred and then look to explore any options regarding the prevention of a disqualification and work with you to limit the damage.

Finally

The cost to an individual of losing their licence is different for everyone. Employing a specialist solicitor to represent you; puts you in the best position to achieve the best result. At Hunt & Coombs we are able to offer a fixed fee for dealing with your case.

For further information on how we can help you please contact our Motoring Offences team or Andy Cave one of our Traffic Law Specialists, on 01733 882800.

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