Court hearing for driving without insurance

mikey72

You are a student with trade insurance?
You said you are going to start selling and buying cars, you do realise that if you have trade insurance for too long before you start, you risk it being cancelled, as many insurers now see it as a cheap way for students to get insurance without ever actually being in the trade, and take exception to it.

alistair.long

Some issues.
Firstly you say you are a student with trade insurance, most trade insurance are full time trade, and not part time.

Secondly, your council may have stopped you for driving a taxi vehicle, as a taxi vehicle without its plates is still a taxi vehicle, this is a council problem.
I don't know why you pleaded guilty as you had insurance and you were buying the car and so had traders insurance to cover you.

Check the following with a solicitor as Im not 100% sure.
If you have pleaded guilty for some reason and I take it you will be going to court for sentencing, if not sentencing and council want your case heard then you will have to attend, and you can argue the costs.

If I was you I should get advise from a solicitor to see what the case is involving and to see if you can win with your insurance certificate, most small firms will give you advise over the counter. I would personally see if you can change your plea, and fight it, its only £150 but if you have gone guilty to no insurance you may get 6 points and a fine + victim surcharge (what ever that is)

raskazz

alistair.long wrote: »

Secondly, your council may have stopped you for driving a taxi vehicle, as a taxi vehicle without its plates is still a taxi vehicle, this is a council problem.
I don't know why you pleaded guilty as you had insurance and you were buying the car and so had traders insurance to cover you.

From the OP's earlier reply:

golfergti wrote:

yes it was a joint thing, They took the plates and then car was a normal car so I was able to drive home,yes it was a joint thing, They took the plates and then car was a normal car so I was able to drive home

I read this as the police/council took the plates off after he was stopped. Hence when he was stopped the vehicle was plated. You cannot legally drive a plated vehicle in England if you do not have a taxi badge (Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976 s.46(1)(b)), so no insurer would cover this.

I think the OP should seek legal advice as I see no defence.

Sally_A

Raskazz is spot on the mark, this hit the fan in around 1997. Only a person with a taxi licence can drive a taxi, you cannot make a taxi a normal car by removing the plates/radio/top light - it is logged as a taxi.

I got involved as many of my motor trade clients would work on taxis, but legally they are not allowed to test drive them unless they hold a taxi badge, a trade plate will not override a plated vehicle. I have letters from insurers Allianz, AXA and NIG confirming they will indemnify a motor trader in the event of an accident, but on the proviso they still understand that they can be done for no licence and therefore no official insurance. Aviva (Norwich Union) would never put this in writing for us.

I think government, based in London and thought everything was a black cab, without taking into account the average taxi drive who would come off shift and his wife would go to the supermarket in the vehicle, even though insurers would give cover to taxi driver + non badge holding wife. If my memory serves me right this has been sorted out for Public Hire vehicles, but not private hire vehicles. Glenda Jackson was supposedly sorting this out in 1998 ....Ho Hum!!

golfergti

The insurance company were advised the trade was part time.
THe council started court proceeding because I was a drove a taxi. and when I received a court summons.
The court summons gave me 2 options
1).to go court and challenge but If I lose then I have to pay court costs on top of the £150 they already asking for
2).plead guilty accept the charge which would mean the case doesnt need to go court.
What I dont understand is why would they now change and ask me to go court to review and check insurance when they originially said there would be no need if I plead guilty.
Obviously by pleading guilty it means I agree there was no taxi insurance and Im not a taxi driver therefore no need to go court.

kingstreet

In the normal course of being summonsed to a magistrates' court for a motoring offence, if you are requested to attend it is because the magistrates are considering disqualification.

You cannot be banned unless you attend in person, or a solicitor attends on your behalf.

You would be better off over here for advice on motoring offences;-

http://forums.pepipoo.com/index.php?showforum=5

Incyder

Looks like you will be going to court then. Don't worry about court fees if you lose, it may be around £50 ontop of any fine.

I doubt you will get a ban for this, you said you had a clean licence. Get legal advice.

Incyder

Sally_A wrote: »

Only a person with a taxi licence can drive a taxi, you cannot make a taxi a normal car by removing the plates/radio/top light - it is logged as a taxi.

Then very strange that the council/police would remove the plates and let him drive away, if it is still a taxi he cannot be insured to drive it and the council would know he has no taxi licence.

raskazz

Incyder wrote: »

Then very strange that the council/police would remove the plates and let him drive away, if it is still a taxi he cannot be insured to drive it and the council would know he has no taxi licence.

Not really. The point Sally A was making is that an individual cannot just unilaterally remove the plates from a licensed vehicle and then treat it as a normal car. However, where the council's licensing authority have removed the plates then the car is no longer licensed and so can be driven normally. This wouldn't have happened if it wasn't a joint police/council operation.

Incyder

Right, ok, as long as they were able to remove it from a database there and then, yes I see.

Its not often a council does anything immediately so thats why I assumed there would be a delay and it would be logged as a taxi until the next working day at best.