Speeding but then moved to Australia

nomadic_pixie

Please help! I have recently immigrated to Australia with work. 4 days prior to me leaving the UK I was caught by a mobile van at 93mph on the motorway, I was driving my brothers car. He has received a notice of intended prosicution asking him to provide details of the driver but it doesn't indicate whether they will require me to go to court or if it will just be penalty points and a fine. Does anyone know what is likely to happen and can I manage this outside of the UK??? I am panicing that I am going to have to fly back!

Also, the date of offence was the 29th July and the letter of intended prosicution is dated the 18th Aug, surely they have to issue this within 14 days??

ANy help would be fab! I am not disputing the fine, I just want to know what I should do for the best!

Thanks.

missile

If it were me, I would ask my Bro to respond confirming that I was the driver and give my new address in Australia. Possibly that will be the end of the matter.

You may get a letter, NIP maybe an offer of a fixed penalty and fine. I would plead guilty and pay the fine. Even if it goes to court, it is unlikely you would be required to attend. You can plead guilty by letter or arrange a solicitor to appear on your behalf.

Altarf

Driving his brother's car and gets done for speeding, just before he emigrates to Australia.

It may be perfectly true, but to the police it may look very convenient. So I hope that the OP can prove that they were driving, and that they were legal to drive his brother's car (insured, etc), otherwise his brother may well be investigated for perverting the course of justice.

Money_saving_Martyn

Altarf wrote: »

Driving his brother's car and gets done for speeding, just before he emigrates to Australia.

It may be perfectly true, but to the police it may look very convenient. So I hope that the OP can prove that they were driving, and that they were legal to drive his brother's car (insured, etc), otherwise his brother may well be investigated for perverting the course of justice.

I read somewhere that the registered keeper has prove the other person that was driving is insured to drive - Otherwise s/he gave someone permission to drive his/her car without insurance which I think they call "permitting" and you can be prosecuted for. I'm not sure there is a concret way of proving who was actually driving as the photos are normally taken from behind - one of the problems with UK fixed speed cameras.

If you're a named driver on your brother's policy, fine. If you can prove you had other insurance valid on that vehicle, fine. If you had no valid insurance to be driving you could both be done for something, unless you lied to your brother about having insurance maybe.....

Did you have insurance to be driving?

Points/fine/court? Depends what the speed limit was where you were caught. If you were doing 93mph in a 30limit I think you will be extradited from Aus and hanged, but if it was on a motorway there are more options.

Coveredinbees!!!!

Don't know people still got transported to Australia for minor offences :eek:

Altarf

Money_saving_Martyn wrote: »

I read somewhere that the registered keeper has prove the other person that was driving is insured to drive - Otherwise s/he gave someone permission to drive his/her car without insurance which I think they call "permitting" and you can be prosecuted for.

Correct, and the penalty is 6-8 points with up to a £5,000 fine, and an increase in insurance premiums afterwards.

This is the police response to all those people trying to be clever and putting down on the form that it was Mr X who was driving, who was visiting from somewhere overseas. (Not saying that this applies to the OP)

Now the police don't have to bother tracing Mr X to find out whether they were driving or not, simply check whether Mr X was insured. If not, then the owner of the car is bang to rights, and it is based on the information they themselves provided. The end result being probably a bigger penalty than if they had admitted the speeding offence.

mchale

NIP has to arrive at registered keepers address within 14 days of the offence for it to be enforceable, tell them to pi** off and catch real criminals

cyclonebri1

Altarf wrote: »

Driving his brother's car and gets done for speeding, just before he emigrates to Australia.

It may be perfectly true, but to the police it may look very convenient. So I hope that the OP can prove that they were driving, and that they were legal to drive his brother's car (insured, etc), otherwise his brother may well be investigated for perverting the course of justice.

It does sound very much much like the old standard of "the driver was Mr X, he now lives Zambutziland"

If this is genuine :A, you will not have to come back over, take the fine or whatever they throw, (even the most petty minded magistrate would not demand your appearance). Use it as an acceptance certificate to Oz, they'll be proud of you :D

rev_henry

mchale wrote: »

NIP has to arrive at registered keepers address within 14 days of the offence for it to be enforceable, tell them to pi** off and catch real criminals

The rest of you all seem to have missed this vital point.

Paradigm

mchale wrote: »

NIP has to arrive at registered keepers address within 14 days of the offence for it to be enforceable, tell them to pi** off and catch real criminals

The request for the info regarding the driver will still have to be filled in & sent. Failure to do so is totally different from the speeding charge.

If the dates posted are correct then I would attach a letter stating that the NIP was issued out of time... or words to that effect.

Failure to identify the driver is 6 points & hefty fine so I hope he was insured!

Lum

If the brother fills in that "out of time" NIP, then the process will carry on as normal and proceedings will begin against the OP, this will be in the form of a second NIP and then a Conditional Offer*.

As the OP presumably still has a UK licence then the Conditional Offer will be the usual £60 and 3 points and they will need the licence sending to a court in the UK to endorse. If the OP has exchanged their UK licence for an Australian licence then the process is similar except the OP will have to apply for a "UK counterpart" and have the points placed on this. Sometimes this counterpart is referred to as a "ghost" licence, which is apt given that if you return to the UK then it will come back to haunt you. It's also theoretically possible to get 12 points on this ghost licence and be banned from driving in the UK while still holding a clean Australian licence.

As for the 14 day issue, it's not totally clear cut given the information provided.

1) Is the brother the registered keeper of the car? (ie. it's not leased or anything)
2) Has he recently bought the car?
3) Did he buy the car ages ago but the DVLA have cocked something up?

It's possible that the camera partnership will have gotten the previous keeper's (or lease company's) details from the DVLA, sent a NIP to them within the 14 day limit, they nominated the brother and now the brother has a NIP. The 14 day limit only applies to the "1st NIP".


*Some camera partnerships combine the NIP and CO onto a single document, so that you can incriminate yourself and pay the fine in a single reply. Others ask you to incriminate yourself first, then send you a separate CO.