If such a course is adopted, the reasons should be made clear to the Magistrates' Court. An allegation of driving without insurance should never be withdrawn as a matter of convenience when pleas of guilty are tendered in respect of other offences. The time limit for a written warning is 14 days from the date of the offence. Proceedings cease to be specified if a magistrates' court begins to receive evidence in those proceedings other than evidence that is: Proceedings for an offence mentioned in the Schedule are not specified if the defendant is charged under s.37(7)(d) Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE 1984) or the defendant is less than 16 years old at the time when a summons or requisition is issued in respect of the offence - S.3(1A and B) Prosecution of Offences Act 1985. A mechanical defect of which the driver was unaware, may amount to a defence (see R v Spurge [1961] 2 All ER 688), as will the loss of control over the vehicle due to circumstances beyond the control of the driver (see Burns v Bidder [1966] 3 All ER 29). You can check whether . Where there is a conviction for careless driving the lesser offence of failing to conform should be preserved at least until the chance of a reversal of the careless driving conviction has passed. Notice of Intended Prosecution - What Happens Next? 2023 The duty to report means 'as soon as reasonably practicable': (Bulman v Bennett [1974] RTR 1). The following factors should be considered in prosecutions relating to drivers' hours, breaches or falsifications: Procedure where No Documents are Produced at a Police Station and Summonses for Apparent Offences are Issued, Defendants Attempting to Produce Documents at Court for the First Time, Notice To Persons Summonsed To Court For Either Not Having Or Failing To Produce To The Police Any Relevant Documents For The Use Of A Motor Vehicle On A Road Or Public Place, SCHEDULE 1 - OFFENCES PROCEEDINGS SPECIFIED BY ARTICLE 3(1). Even if you believe the S172 Notice does not relate to yourself, you MUST reply, this fulfils your legal obligation and allows the Police to further . A special reason is one which is special to the facts of a particular offence. If that has been served late it does not give the driver an excuse for not replying to the requirement to provide driver details. by serving the defendant with a summons within 14 days of the offence; or. Any person who aids and abets, counsels or procures the making of such a false record can be charged under s.8 Accessories and Abettors Act 1861. Posting the notice within 14 days will . Failure to provide the relevant information may result in prosecution and the punishment could be worse than for the speeding offence. It's often the case that this offence exceeds the penalty for the substantive offence such as speeding that can carry three points or more. Keep your fingers crossed. Additionally, the user would need a driving licence and motor insurance. Once the vehicle is identified and the registered keeper (your lease company) confirmed, a penalty notice will head into the mail. Further a motorist who fails to produce the documents may commit an offence by their non- production. Self-balancing Personal Transporters can be used on private property with the permission of the landowner. The offence under section 12 of the Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001. It was clear that in requiring the production of a document or the handing over of records Article 14(2) of Council Regulation 3821/85 and s.99 Transport Act 1968 should be interpreted so that it was within the officer's discretion whether he chose to inspect the charts at the operators' premises or take them away for further analysis. See also the decision in R v J F Alford Transport Ltd [1997] Crim LR 745 in which the Court of Appeal held that a secondary offender had to intend to do the acts which he knew to be capable of assisting or encouraging the commission of the crime, but that it was not necessary that he should have intended the crime to be committed. When deciding whether to restore a summary offence, the following points should be borne in mind: Nevertheless, there will be circumstances where the restoration of a summary offence, usually for excess alcohol, will be appropriate if, for example, each of the factors listed above are outweighed by factors which favour prosecution in a particular case. CPS and court staff are not trained in the detection of fraud. address the court, after the defence, on matters of law and should remind the court that there is a two stage process: first, to determine whether there are special reasons and, second, if there are special reasons, to consider whether to exercise the courts discretion not to endorse or disqualify (or to disqualify for a shorter period that the usual tariff of twelve months), Section 137 Highways Act 1980 (wilful obstruction of the highway), Regulation 103 Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986 - (causing or permitting a vehicle to stand on a road so as to cause an unnecessary obstruction), Section 22 RTA 1988 (leaving vehicles in a dangerous position), Offences under the Criminal Damage Act 1971. It was held that a tachograph chart that had been falsified came within section 9(1)(g) of the Act when a record was being made during a period when there wrongly purported to be a second driver who was driving, when in fact there was only one driver at the wheel. The legal loophole you can use to avoid paying a speeding fine The expression 'on a road or other public place' is employed frequently in road traffic legislation. Time which he necessarily spends travelling (from a point to take over a vehicle subject to that Regulation) which is not the driver's home or the employer's operational centre; and. If the court subsequently considers that you should be disqualified from driving, it will let you know when you should attend court. This isn't straightforward and needs to be heavily evidenced. In the . We are regularly presented with the scenario when there is a degree of dubiety attached to . Hi Jo, I have received a NIP over 14 days later the offence (speeding), I wrote the following letter of appeal, Could you please check if it is correct? There has, however, been extensive case law on the subject and the main point that emerges is what is known as the reasonable man test as per the following cases: Personal transporters, such as the Segway Personal Transporter are powered by electricity and transport a passenger standing on a platform propelled on two or more wheels. If you have received a Notice of Intended Prosecution (NIP) then the police have evidence that you (or the person driving the vehicle at the time) were travelling in excess of the speed limit. What is the charge? The fact that there may be a doubt as to how material was obtained does not automatically prevent admission of the evidence. It is a matter for police investigation. On appeal, the court did not accept that a prosecution could not proceed because of a lack of warning of prosecution where police become aware of the offence after 14 days had passed. Generally the offence of driving while disqualified should not be withdrawn just because the defendant is pleading guilty to other offences. I've received a Notice of Intended Prosecution Section 172 Notice. The duty to determine whether any documents produced are valid does not pass to any other agency where a motorist fails to produce the required driving documents to a police officer on demand or at a nominated police station. The Codes of Practice under PACE apply to offences under this legislation as to any other. As self-balancing scooters are mechanically propelled they require registration and a vehicle registration licence (tax disc). Motoring Offences - The Importance of Time Limits Laying an information within the six months' time limit before deciding whether or not to prosecute may result in the proceedings being stayed as an abuse of process; see. This is not the case so far as the employers or persons in authority are concerned. Sometimes a similar document called a 'postal requisition' arrives instead. The following are the matters listed: (a) the age or physical or mental condition of persons driving the vehicle, Should any defendant refuse to co-operate with the above procedure, not guilty pleas should be noted, and the case adjourned for trial or review. Failure to produce your documents at the police station may well result in additional loss and inconvenience to you, and led to an application for additional prosecution costs for the extra work involved. There must be evidence upon which a Court can properly infer that an employer gave a positive mandate or some other sufficient act to "cause" the offence to occur. The prosecution argued that by plying for hire in Oldham, he was acting outside the terms of his insurance. The point must also be borne in mind if it is intended at a later date to add further charges. A circumstance peculiar to the offender, as distinguished from the offence, is not a special reason: see Whittall v Kirby [1946] 2 All ER 552. 14 July 2015 at 5:34PM. Once police have received written confirmation from the driver, it is the drivers' choice to either accept: This protocol recognises that motorists are required to produce driving documents to police officers following a lawful demand and that the documents may be produced at a nominated police station. I was driving a company vehicle Open or Close The registered keeper of a vehicle has a legal obligation under section 172 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 to provide the identity of the driver at the time of an alleged offence. Directions may also be given to remove the vehicle and, if applicable, any trailer to any place specified. This power to prohibit the driving of UK passenger and goods vehicles rectifies the previous anomaly whereby only the driving of foreign registered vehicles could be prohibited by virtue of the provisions of the Road Traffic (Foreign Vehicles) Act 1972. If the defence objects and the Court upholds the objection, the prosecution cannot be properly criticised for any resulting delay. Very exceptionally, a prosecutor may feel it appropriate to verify documents, but: Sections 173 and 174 RTA 1988 and sections 44 and 45 Vehicle Excise and Registration Act 1994 (VERA 1994) create a number of offences concerning forgery, fraudulent actions and false statements in connection with various road traffic documents. In the Gidden case the High Court had to decide whether a notice of intended prosecution should be regarded as having been properly served where the notice was sent by first class ordinary post on a date that would normally lead to it being delivered within the 14-day time limit but where the court was satisfied that it was in fact delivered . Many factors must be taken into consideration before the court even begins to consider exercising that discretion. A Notice of Intended Prosecution will be issued to the offender in the post automatically after you've been snapped by a speed camera. In either case, so long as it arrives at the relevant address within the time limit the notice is valid. Such alternative verdicts are permitted in relation to the summary offences of: Alternative verdicts under sections 4(1), 5(1)(a), 7(6), 4(2), 5(1)(b) or 29 RTA 1988 may be returned as appropriate, despite the fact that the six month time limit for those offences are likely to have lapsed. . A Notice of Intended Prosecution (NIP) / Requirement for Driver details (172) must be completed and returned within 28 days of the date on the form. This might, for example be a driving licence or certificate of insurance. However there is an exemption if the Police cannot reasonably obtain the keeper's details within that time, for example if the DVLA has no keeper details or they are incomplete. If you have been served a Notice of Intended Prosecution then you should contact our road traffic lawyers immediately. The Notice of Intended Prosecution time limit of 28 days can incur harsh penalties of a fine up to 1,000 and six penalty points on a driver's licence if not dealt with inside the 28 day time constraints. Find out about speeding limits and penalties, what to do if you receive a speeding ticket and driver awareness courses. National legislation must, wherever possible, be constructed to conform with community law. However, to establish this defence, it is not sufficient for the defendant merely to show that the breaking or removal of the seal could not have been avoided by himself; he must show that the breaking or removal of the seal could not have been avoided in itself (Vehicle Inspectorate v Sam Anderson (Newhouse) Ltd [2002] RTR 13). As far as alerting persons to any alleged offence, notice can be given by different means. Disobeying traffic signs. Self-balancing scooters such as Segways, mini Segways, Hoverboards and single wheel electric skateboards) may not be driven on a pavement in England and Wales. Notice of intended prosecution and offence | West Yorkshire Safety Notice of Intended Prosecution - A Guide - Roadtrafficlaw.com It is usually not appropriate to challenge the decision as it involves the exercise of discretion as the Administrative (Divisional) Court is unlikely to interfere if all relevant matters were properly considered. 1 of 2000 sub nom R v J T, Times LR 28 November 2000, [2001] 1 WLR 331, [2001] Crim LR 127), against a decision to acquit on the basis that the provision of a false tachograph record did not constitute forgery contrary to the Forgery and Counterfeiting Act 1981, section 1 and section 9. The offence under section 63B(8) of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984. Notice of Intended Prosecution (NIP) - Motor Lawyers If the procurator fiscal decides that the case against you should go ahead, you may have to appear in court. Where special reasons are put forward in cases of drink and driving, the court must consider the following factors, see Chatters v Burke [1986] 3 All ER 168: In DPP v Bristow [1998] RTR 100 the Divisional Court stated that the key question justices should ask themselves when assessing if such special reasons existed on which they might decide not to disqualify was this: what would a sober, reasonable and responsible friend of the defendant, present at the time, but himself a non-driver and thus unable to help, have advised in the circumstances, to drive or not to drive? For further commentary see (Wilkinson's 6.01). Failure to specify the date will lead to proceedings being terminated: see David Burwell v DPP [2009] EWHC 1069 (Admin). Where an officer took the records away with him, the rules of natural justice permitted an operator to take copies of the records before they were removed, save in circumstances where, for example, the operator became obstructive or for some other reason that made it impracticable. The NIP must be served on the registered keeper of the vehicle within 14 days of the offence otherwise the offence can't proceed to court. A statutory defence is provided by section 143(3) RTA in relation to a driver who unwittingly drives his employer's uninsured vehicle. Age prohibitions on driving are set out in s.101 RTA 1988. The prosecution has a duty to assist the court by ensuring that correct and full information, both in law and fact, is given. Section 127 MCA 1980 states that for all summary offences the information must be laid within six calendar months of the commission of the offence, except where any other Act expressly provides otherwise. A Notice of Intended Prosecution (also known as a section 1 warning) is a warning issued under section 1 of the Road Traffic (Offenders) Act 1988. The Notice of Intended Prosecution is a notification, usually by the police, that a prosecution is being considered against a person. The police should regularly update the CPS and court staff of any local or national criminal activity with regard to motoring documents and their use. The law states that unless a notice of intended prosecution is served within the time limit set out that the person concerned will not be convicted - it doesn't state that the process stops . Road Traffic - Summary Offences | The Crown Prosecution Service All who deal with cases where document production is made should be alive to the current sophistication of fraudulently produced material. Where the police refer a case involving a Self-balancing Personal Transporter to the CPS, the prosecutor should, as is usual, consider the facts of the case, having regard to the licensing considerations set out above, and apply the two stages of the full code test in the Code for Crown Prosecutors when deciding whether or not a prosecution should proceed. A. Magistrates & Crown Court Trials. The offences under sections 55 and 56 of the British Transport Commission Act 1949. They are normally sent out when there is about 7 days of the original time limit remaining. received in proceedings held in the absence of the accused - s.11(1) MCA 1980 proof in absence; read out before the court under s.12(7) MCA 1980 (non-appearance of accused: plea of guilty); or. Prosecutors who are dealing with a prosecution for no insurance where the case is based on the driver not meeting some condition of the insurance must be vigilant to check that the exclusion relied upon to make out the offence is not one of those avoided by s.148(2). Bail should be considered for the period of any adjournment and the defendant encouraged to produce the relevant documents in the meantime. My Notice of Intended Prosecution was issued to me after the A Notice of Intended Prosecution puts a legal obligation on the registered keeper of the vehicle. Whether a motorist has valid driving documents to cover his use of a motor vehicle on a road is a matter for police investigation. In such circumstances the prosecution need to decide which is the more appropriate charge. You could be disqualified from driving if you build up 12 or more penalty points within a period of 3 . In essence the Notice of Intended Prosecution is a document that specifies the nature of the offence and the time and place it is alleged to have been committed. A sample notice is attached at Annex A below. But where a disqualified person has had his driving licence returned in error by the DVLA, the prosecution should take that fact into account in deciding whether or not to proceed. The Prosecution of Offences Act 1985 (Specified Proceedings) Order 1999 specifies proceedings for the offences set out in the Schedule (see Annex B) for the purposes of s.3 Prosecution of Offences Act 1985 if those proceedings are commenced by the prosecution so as to give an opportunity of pleading guilty by post under s.12 Magistrates' Courts Act 1980 (MCA 1980). This should be done with the approval of the court and in order to assist in determining the question of disqualification. The police must send the notice so that it can be expected to arrive within 14 days of the alleged offence. Recent cases have established that the three methods of identification of a person as described above were not exhaustive but merely examples. Even when you weren't the driver at the time, you must provide the police with the driver's details. Driver Identity Section 172 (S172) of the Road Traffic Act 1988. Such a warning is normally known as a "notice of intended prosecution", or NIP. by Graham Walker | Jan 29, 2013 | Careless Driving, Dangerous Driving | Scotland, Road Traffic Law Scotland, Speed Cameras Latest Advice, Speeding. Where a summons or requisition has been issued in respect of an offence mentioned in Parts 1 and 2 of the Schedule, proceedings for that offence cease to be specified when the summons or requisition is served on the accused unless the defendant is also served with a statement of facts and written statement/s. See also Shire Traction Co Ltd v Vehicle Inspectorate [2001] RTR 518. third party insurance. For a detailed explanation of the consequences of prosecution and your options for defending a speeding charge, get in touch which our expert road traffic solicitors today. An analogy can be drawn from the case of DPP v Hay where it was held that once the prosecution has proved that the defendant drove the motor vehicle on a road, it is then for the defendant to show that he held a driving licence and that there was in force an appropriate policy of insurance, since these are matters that are peculiarly within his knowledge. Assessment of the role played by each person in the company/operator in the case of large scale prosecutions; Whether there has been systematic flouting of the law resulting in widespread falsification of records endorsed by management. Motoring Offences and the Importance of Time Limits. In Vehicle Inspectorate v Blakes Chilled Distribution Ltd [2002] 166 JP Jo.118, the Administrative Court held that the intent necessary to prove vicarious liability was established where it could be proved that an employer had failed to take reasonable steps to prevent contraventions by drivers, provided that such failure was not due to honest mistake or accident. If the document is not listed, proceedings under regulation 7 of the Road Vehicles (Registration and Licensing) Regulations 1971 for exhibiting on a vehicle anything which could be mistaken for a licence may be considered. We can help. If you were exceeding the speed limit by a great deal, you could receive a ban. You'll need to return this within 28 days, to tell the police who was driving . These include: Failing to comply with a traffic sign. As far as management responsibility is concerned subsection (5) of the act says that where a director or senior manager of the company caused or connived with the failure to identify the driver, that person is also guilty. The failure to stop is usually viewed as the more serious of the two. Section 1 RTOA 1988 provides that a defendant cannot be convicted of certain road traffic offences set out in schedule 1 RTOA 1988 unless he or she has been warned that the question of prosecution would be taken into consideration. driving after making a false declaration as to physical fitness (section 92(10)); failing to notify Secretary of State of onset or deterioration of disability (section 94(3)); driving after refusal of licence under section 92 or 93 (section 94A); failure to surrender licence following revocation (section 99); obtaining driving licence, or driving, whilst disqualified (section 103(1)); using an uninsured motor vehicle (section 143); making a false statement to obtain a driving licence or certificate of insurance (section 174); section 244 RTA 1960 (re offences under section 235 RTA 1960 and section 99(5) Transport Act 1968); section 47(2) VERA 1994 (re offences under sections 29, 34, 35A, 37 or regulations made under the Act); section 73 Public Passenger Vehicles Act 1982 (re offences under sections 65 or 66 of the Act). Under s.148 RTA 1988 Insurance companies cannot validly restrict an insurance policy by reference to any of the matters listed in s.148(2). This can be communicated verbally to you at the scene of the alleged crime, or it can be posted or served to you. These offences are directed at either the driver or the employer. In Cantabria Coach Holdings Ltd v Vehicle Inspectorate [2000] RTR 286 the court took account of the need to ensure effective checking. received for the purposes of considering whether there are grounds for mitigating the normal consequences of a conviction under s.35(1) Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988 (RTOA 1988) (disqualification for repeated offences). The effect is that the duty of the Director of Public Prosecutions to take over the conduct of all criminal proceedings instituted on behalf of a police force will not include a duty to take over specified proceedings. In Skills Motor Coaches Ltd, Farmer, Burley and Denman (Case C-297/99), the European Court of Justice held that time spent on activities having a bearing on driving, such as time spent reaching the pick-up point for a tachograph vehicle, would affect his state of tiredness and must be regarded as forming part of 'all other periods of work' within Article 15 of Regulation No. . The issue of the defendant's conduct and any increased costs involved should be carefully considered and noted, and a departure made from the locally agreed standard costs application, where there has been an increase in prosecution costs. It is important to note, however, that only the registered keeper requires to receive such a warning within 14 days. If the vehicle is a company car, the police will send the first notice to . Alternatively, you could receive a 100 fixed penalty ticket and 3 points or if the matter goes to court you could receive a maximum fine of 1000 (2500 if on a motorway) and 3 to 6 penalty points. Each case must be considered on its own facts to determine whether or not s148 applies. I Have Received A Notice of Intended Prosecution - Forrest Williams They cannot be licensed for use on a road and they do not come within the categories of vehicle covered by a driving licence. Questions | West Yorkshire Police A challenge to justices on their decision not to disqualify because of special reasons should normally be by way of case stated rather than judicial review. The driver will then receive a notice of intended prosecution in his/her own name. Should a defendant attempt to produce documents at court for the first time following a previous request for their production at a police station and it can be shown that the defendant was notified that production should initially have been made at the nominated police station, local arrangements should be agreed for the most effective method for the documents' validation by the police before the court proceeds to deal with any outstanding summonses. See also Restoration of Summary Offences after Trial on Indictment, below in this section. When it applies, proceedings must be brought within six months from the date on which sufficient evidence came to the knowledge of the prosecutor to warrant proceedings but, in any event, they must not be brought more than three years after the commission of the offence. The court ruled that under Article 15 of EEC Regulation No: 3821/85 of 1985 a driver's obligation to record all other periods of work extends to: Sections 96 and 97(1) TA1968 create absolute offences for the driver. Motorists are required to produce their documents to a police officer on demand or at a nominated police station within 7 days. Notice of Intended Prosecution lawyers. Every effort should be explored to avoid unnecessary adjournments, though this may be unavoidable where there is no convenient nearby police station or the circumstances are such that an adjournment is unavoidable. A. Totting Up Penalty Points. . by sending a notice within 14 days of the possibility of prosecution and specifying the nature of the alleged offence and the time and place where it is alleged to have been committed to the driver, registered keeper of the vehicle or rider of the cycle. You must respond to a Notice of Intended Prosecution within 28 days of receiving it. Notice in writing to that effect must be given to the driver of the vehicle. If you do not complete and return the NIP/S172 notice correctly within the 28 day time limit, you face a separate charge of failing to notify driver's details, which is a 6 penalty point offence with a fine of up to 1,000.
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