PLEASE HELP WITH ADVICE - taken to court

Strider590

Ok, unfortunately having looked into this compensation claim business not long ago.... The claim will probably be for £1900, this way it's cheaper for the insurer to pay out than it is to go through full legal proceedings. The insurer will always take the cheapest option.

daveyjp

You have already started with your defence - dates, times, speed, traffic levels, where the child came from etc etc. Get all this down in writing and read through it to ensure all the left and rights are correct etc.

Add to this as you think of things then give it to the solicitor when you see them.

Hethmar idea is also good to take some photos at a similar time - they do speak 1,000 words - also try and take a photo of another car in the same position as yours just before the accident.

TonyMMM

BigTrouble wrote: »

The Summons letter says that my offence will be dealt with in the Magistrates Court and under the Road Traffic Act and Road Traffic Offenders Schedule. Are these a Criminal Court and criminal law?

Yes is it is being dealt with under the criminal law and in a criminal court .....that still doesn't make it a recordable offence.

Happychappy

reading your posts, it would appear you may have been overtaking a slow moving queue of traffic ? can you remember if any of the cars to your left were moving, albeit, very slowly ?

BigTrouble_2

Happychappy wrote: »

reading your posts, it would appear you may have been overtaking a slow moving queue of traffic ? can you remember if any of the cars to your left were moving, albeit, very slowly ?

I cannot be certain (it was 5 months ago) but I know for sure that if there was a continuous slow moving line of traffic on that road then I would never try to overtake it - I know this road very well and there is no point overtaking it, I would be stuck at the turn to the main road.

There could be one car moving very slowly (or taking off from its parking space) with a large gap between it and the moving traffic and I could try turning into that gap.

From what I remember the moving traffic was ahead of me and the cars to the left were stationary. They could be taking off at that moment but in any case I am certain I was in control. It was not the case of me not noticing someting.

The witness claims that she was driving and I was driving next to her, on the right side of the road, along the moving line of traffic. I cannot imagine myself doing it.

BigTrouble_2

LandyAndy wrote: »

Take a deep breath.

This isn't a serious offence, even if you are convicted.

No one was seriously hurt.

Be guided by your solicitor.

You don't come across as a nutter here and so you won't in court.

Mags are reasonably good at telling decent people from fools from knaves.

Chin up. Good luck.

Thank you. I appreciate the support.

I realise that the important thing is that nobody was killed, that I am not going to prison, that whatever fines will be imposed - I have money to pay them, however many points I will get on my licence - that's not the end of the world. And I will find money for increased insurance premiums and the whole thing will be forgotten eventually.

I just cannot even think of myself having a conviction. My family may be many things but none of us has ever been prosecuted in court, for whatever reason, never had a conviction.

I just cannot believe that I never intended to do anything wrong but here I am facing a charge like a criminal.

Happychappy

BigTrouble wrote: »

I cannot be certain (it was 5 months ago) but I know for sure that if there was a continuous slow moving line of traffic on that road then I would never try to overtake it - I know this road very well and there is no point overtaking it, I would be stuck at the turn to the main road.

There could be one car moving very slowly (or taking off from its parking space) with a large gap between it and the moving traffic and I could try turning into that gap.

From what I remember the moving traffic was ahead of me and the cars to the left were stationary. They could be taking off at that moment but in any case I am certain I was in control. It was not the case of me not noticing someting.

The witness claims that she was driving and I was driving next to her, on the right side of the road, along the moving line of traffic. I cannot imagine myself doing it.

Oh dear, the plot thickens, you have a witness saying she was driving and you were overtaking her, she can remember that after five months, but your memory is failing, and all you can give is a statement saying "I know I wouldn't do that" which is the reasonable person test which the prosecution has to prove,

You quite clearly are unable to say, "No, she is wrong I didn't do that" ummm sounds like time to have a good look in the mirror and remember what you did actually do, how you felt immediately after the collision and what you said during interview?

All the file is disclosable to you and your defence solicitor if you chose to have one, you have access to the whole of the prosecution case, witness statements, interview tapes, statement etc, so maybe time put your hands up to it and save yourself from humiliation and all the prosecution witnesses turning up and saying what they CAN REMEMBER, that is if all you are going to say is "I CAN'T REMEMBER ! But surely I wouldn't do that.......... did I" ?

You do though need to put things in context, this was a minor injury RTC, and not a full blooded assault, you didn't set out to have a collision, and EVERYBODY makes a mistake at some point, and this could be a simple error of judgment, so just remember, if you accept it was your mistake, it was purely that, a mistake

Best of luck

HC

BigTrouble_2

Happychappy, thanks for your post.

I understand what you are saying. Is it an offence to overtake a moving vehicle - if I did indeed look as though I was overtaking?

About witness statements: two of them (and the boy) say that the boy was running from the right. Well, either the three of them don't remember, or are lying, or I am insane, because at the time of collision - not 5 months on - I saw him running from my left, so I swerved to the right. It was in my statement there and then and I didn't need to make anything up at that point because I wasn't to know that 5 months on they would claim that he ran from the other side of the road. And teh boy did run in front of me - whereas he says he was "proceeding" and the witnesses say he was "crossing". If he wasn't running he would have stopped before my car because according to his statement my car was in the distance (and which is why he "proceeded").

And if I was indeed driving on the wrong side and he was running from the right then I would have swerved to the left and hit that lady's car driving next to me - which didn't happen.

How is that for reliable witness statements?

I am not having a go at your post, on the opposite, I do appreciate you putting things into perspective. I just want to be sure that if I am going to plead guilty then it would be because my case is hopeless.

spaceman5

BigTrouble wrote: »

Happychappy, thanks for your post.

I understand what you are saying. Is it an offence to overtake a moving vehicle - if I did indeed look as though I was overtaking?

About witness statements: two of them (and the boy) say that the boy was running from the right. Well, either the three of them don't remember, or are lying, or I am insane, because at the time of collision - not 5 months on - I saw him running from my left, so I swerved to the right. It was in my statement there and then and I didn't need to make anything up at that point because I wasn't to know that 5 months on they would claim that he ran from the other side of the road. And teh boy did run in front of me - whereas he says he was "proceeding" and the witnesses say he was "crossing". If he wasn't running he would have stopped before my car because according to his statement my car was in the distance (and which is why he "proceeded").

And if I was indeed driving on the wrong side and he was running from the right then I would have swerved to the left and hit that lady's car driving next to me - which didn't happen.

How is that for reliable witness statements?

I am not having a go at your post, on the opposite, I do appreciate you putting things into perspective. I just want to be sure that if I am going to plead guilty then it would be because my case is hopeless.

:eek:dont plead guilty, what did your solicitor say today?

BigTrouble_2

spaceman5 wrote: »

:eek:dont plead guilty, what did your solicitor say today?

He didn't have time to look at the paperwork (:mad: time is running out) but swore to do so first thing tomorrow morning and call me back. I also made an apointment with another solicitor for the afternoon.

So I'll know tomorrow where I stand.