NIP for speeding 7 weeks after speeding!

Mathew

Hi,
A colleague (and it honestly is a colleague) a speeding ticket today (50 in a 40mph), offence date being the 3rd of May. It has gone via the transport manager, however, it was only received in the last few days. The NIP is dated 23rd of June.
I understood that this type of offence needed to be served to reg keeper of the car within 14 days, the date on the letter indicated that it was not even posted until recently well in excess of the 14 days.
Yes I know he should not have been speeding and he accepts that it was him, however, having spoke to him about I'm curious more than anything.
The NIP appears to be issued from a traffic unit in the Met Policing area
Any advice greatly appreciated.

fergies_army

The obligation is upon the prosecution to have issued and despatched the Notice in order that it arrives with the registered keeper of the vehicle within 14 days of the offence.


The 14 day rule relates only to the period of time in which the Police/Process Unit must serve the original Notice. The Police do not have to prove that the Notice reached its intended recipient within 14 days, merely that in the normal course of events, it should have arrived/been received.

If the NIP has been "issued" 14 days after the date of offence it can be rejected.

Mathew

Thanks for you help

I'll suggest he sends it back with a covering letter saying thanks but no thanks.

bargepole

Mathew wrote: »

... I'll suggest he sends it back with a covering letter saying thanks but no thanks.

Not quite as simple as that ... the original NIP must be served on the registered keeper within 14 days of the offence. The registered keeper for a company car may well have been a lease company. The RK must send it back, nominating a driver (or, possibly in this case, your company's transport manager), who must then confirm who the actual driver was.

So the NIP to your friend may well have been sent after two or three original notices. In any case, he is legally obliged under section 172 of the RTA to confirm he was driving. IF the original NIP was not served on the registered keeper (and he needs to confirm who that is) within 14 days of the alleged offence, he should send a covering letter stating this, and asking them to confirm that no further action will be taken.

Coblcris

bargepole is correct. pay heed.

1984ReturnsForReal_2

As bargepole says.

They need to write to the reg keeper within 14 days.

Not the driver.

sarahg1969

Firstly, is the company the RK? And, if so, did they receive an original NIP within 14 days? It's possible that the one they have received is a reminder (often not marked as such).

Secondly, is the NIP addressed to the company or to your friend? If it's addressed to the company and has just been handed to him, then he should either give it back, so that someone from the company can complete or return it, or (if he's not bothered about upsetting his bosses and keeping his job), he can ignore it. I would recommend the former, personally.

However, we really need to establish who is the RK of the vehicle.

Coblcris

1984ReturnsForReal wrote: »

As bargepole says.

They need to write to the reg keeper within 14 days.

Not the driver.

He did not, bargepole said correctly that the Registered Keeper had to be served in 14 days not 'written to'. There is a huge difference.

There are some well known exceptions to the 14 day rule, as you can readily imagine dates of change of ownership may be a factor and the law allows for that.

However 'write to' is entirely spurious.

Mathew

Thanks for the advice,

The NIP is addressed to the transport manager who is the reg keeper of the car, he immediately identifed the driver and gave him the NIP.

There is no mention of a reminder on the NIP and it would appear that this is the first one recieved. It is dated the 23rd of June as previously mentioned with the offence being the 3rd of May. It was not received by the transport manager until the 25th of June

From all the advice would appear that this should be challenged?

bargepole

Mathew wrote: »

Thanks for the advice,

The NIP is addressed to the transport manager who is the reg keeper of the car, he immediately identifed the driver and gave him the NIP.

There is no mention of a reminder on the NIP and it would appear that this is the first one recieved. It is dated the 23rd of June as previously mentioned with the offence being the 3rd of May. It was not received by the transport manager until the 25th of June

From all the advice would appear that this should be challenged?

Uh oh, this gets worse. He should not have given the NIP to the driver, he should have sent back the form nominating the driver, so that the driver gets a NIP in his own name. There are very clear instructions on the paperwork regarding this.

Your mate should take the NIP back to the transport manager, tell him that it's his responsibility to complete it, and suggest a covering letter as above.

Spartacus_Mills

Mathew wrote: »

Thanks for the advice,

The NIP is addressed to the transport manager who is the reg keeper of the car, he immediately identifed the driver and gave him the NIP.

There is no mention of a reminder on the NIP and it would appear that this is the first one recieved. It is dated the 23rd of June as previously mentioned with the offence being the 3rd of May. It was not received by the transport manager until the 25th of June

From all the advice would appear that this should be challenged?

Join www.pepipoo.com and complete the NIP wizard.

You are getting excellent advice here from the usual suspects as well.