How can this be dealt with?
Prosecutions concerning people who are involved in traffic law are usually commenced by postal requisition.
It’s a registered keeper of a motor vehicle’s responsibility to keep the DVLA updated as to their address.
Sometimes individuals fail to update their contact details, post goes astray, people are working away from home or the vehicle is on lease so third parties are involved. This can all result in individuals not knowing they have a Court proceeding for a traffic offence.
When proceedings are initiated by the Court and the individual involved does not attend, the Court can proceed in an individual’s absence. Court proceedings in an individual’s absence usually results in them being convicted as they are not there to defend themselves. Likewise, the Court will then impose penalties that the individual has no knowledge of. This can be disqualification from driving and large fines.
Individuals can be disqualified from driving in their absence or have penalty points endorsed on their licence, which they are unaware of. Clearly, there are significant consequences for this happening as most individuals rely on their driving licences for their jobs. Other consequences can be that individuals have penalty points on their licence that they have not declared to their insurance company. This could mean that if they have an accident, there will be a question as to whether or not they are insured.
How do you deal with a conviction in your absence?
If you have been convicted in your absence and you had no knowledge of the proceedings, you can make a formal Statutory Declaration which confirms that you did not know about the proceedings and that you wish the penalty that is imposed to be removed from your records.
Once this Statutory Declaration is made and accepted, the individual will return to the position that they were in prior to being convicted of a criminal offence. There is certain criteria that has to be met when making this declaration, in particular, it has to be made within 21 days of an individual finding out about those Court proceedings. Once that declaration is made, it needs to be lodged in the appropriate manner at the Court and the Court will consider whether to accept that declaration.
The Statutory Declaration also has to be sworn by the individual confirming that the information that they put in that declaration is correct. Any false information put on that declaration can result in a person being prosecuted for perjury or perverting the course of justice.
Making a false declaration, can carry a prison sentence. It is therefore important that any declaration is drafted correctly.
At Hunt & Coombs our motoring lawyers can assist you to draft this declaration and advise you as to how to have it sworn.
This can be done as a matter of urgency in order to return you to the position that you were in before the Court’s imposition of a penalty, which can often be to have a disqualification set aside.
Once the Court have put you back into the position where you are able to face the proceedings, we will be able to advise you on whether or not you should plead guilty or not guilty and subsequently then represent your interests, either by way of putting forward a defence or by mitigating your position to achieve the best penalty possible. Often that is again in relation to trying to avoid any disqualification.
How we can help
For further information or if you wish to be advised in respect of these matters please contact our motoring team on 01733 882800 or email [email protected].
Andy Cave LLB, Partner
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