Court hearing for driving without insurance

kingstreet

golfergti wrote: »

I went to see a solicitor today and have been advised the following.
Firstly there were 2 offences, I thought there was only the offence of driving the taxi as the cops gave me a producer. Now when I replied to to the first summons I only sent back my response regarding the private hire offence.
They also wanted details to show I was insured to drive a normal car. I assumed as they gave me a producer and I have subsequently been to the police station to show my valid insurance docs that was fine. The only reason they let me drive away was because they checked my cover note which clearly stated I was ok to drive a normal car.
So now what I have to do is when I goto to court is take the producer receipt and my certificate to show I was insured at the time which will mean I dont get points and dont get a fine.
Regarding driving the taxi I will get a fine of £155 plus the court fee.

It may be prudent to obtain a letter from your insurer confirming your cover was in force at the time you were pulled. I'm not suggesting the court won't accept what you've already got, but the police are certainly not relying on certificates these days, believing (wrongly) that MID is infallible and cover may have been cancelled as soon as a certificate arrived. I wouldn't want you getting a completely unjust IN10 due to lack of preparation.

raskazz

kingstreet wrote: »

It may be prudent to obtain a letter from your insurer confirming your cover was in force at the time you were pulled. I'm not suggesting the court won't accept what you've already got, but the police are certainly not relying on certificates these days, believing (wrongly) that MID is infallible and cover may have been cancelled as soon as a certificate arrived. I wouldn't want you getting a completely unjust IN10 due to lack of preparation.

Definitely. The insurer may well confirm cover from when the plates were removed (driving a "normal car") but if they do not confirm cover for the point when you were stopped driving a plated vehicle without a badge then you will get hit with an IN10 as well. I'm not sure why it would be "unjust" though - he was driving a vehicle which he did not hold a licence to drive.

kingstreet

raskazz wrote: »

Definitely. The insurer may well confirm cover from when the plates were removed (driving a "normal car") but if they do not confirm cover for the point when you were stopped driving a plated vehicle without a badge then you will get hit with an IN10 as well. I'm not sure why it would be "unjust" though - he was driving a vehicle which he did not hold a licence to drive.

I meant unjust from the point of view that he could produce the necessary evidence in court on the day but failed to do so because he thought his certificate would be enough.

I wasn't suggesting the possible conviction was unjust, on the information given. If he was driving without insurance it would certainly be warranted.

A better word would perhaps have been "unnecessary"?

I wouldn't want you getting a completely unnecessary IN10 due to lack of preparation.

golfergti

Thanks guys for your information, I will take my producer receipt and motor insurance certificate.

kingstreet

golfergti wrote: »

Thanks guys for your information, I will take my producer receipt and motor insurance certificate...

... and ask your insurer for a letter which confirms you were insured when you were stopped driving that vehicle at that time. As I mentioned, your certificate may not be accepted as evidence of cover if it the very certificate the Police were not willing to accept at the time. The HORT1 shows you produced the certificate. Does it indicate the Police checked the certificate was valid at the time?

kizkiz

The police will have a copyof the HORT/1 and insurance produced. The person producing gets nothing.
As for police believing the MID is infallible. lol
Not sure what the MID is (motor insurance database?), but personally i don't belive a certificate is real if handed to me and PNC shows no insurance. I speak to the insurance company and get it confirmed. (they are infallible )....If it's outside the working hours, i confirm the persons details and call their insurance company the next day.
You wouldn't believe the look on someones face when i turn up at their door at 6am and hand them 6 points for no insurance when they thought they had gotten away with it

kingstreet

kizkiz wrote: »

The police will have a copyof the HORT/1 and insurance produced. The person producing gets nothing.
As for police believing the MID is infallible. lol
Not sure what the MID is (motor insurance database?), but personally i don't belive a certificate is real if handed to me and PNC shows no insurance. I speak to the insurance company and get it confirmed. (they are infallible )....If it's outside the working hours, i confirm the persons details and call their insurance company the next day.
You wouldn't believe the look on someones face when i turn up at their door at 6am and hand them 6 points for no insurance when they thought they had gotten away with it

MID is the Motor Insurance Database and the Police rely on it, despite at any one time there are around 500,000 vehicles waiting to be added due to alterations and renewals. I can understand the reasons certificates are looked on with suspicion and applaud checking with insurers before invoking seizure.

I must admit to a sneaking admiration for the bold bit.

golfergti

The police accepted all my documents when I produced them at the police station, but I have been advised that when summons for in my case the taxi issue is processed they automatically generate a no insurance request though Ive already proved I had insurance. ( a bit unfair)

Incyder

what date is the court hearing, golfergti ?

raskazz

golfergti wrote: »

The police accepted all my documents when I produced them at the police station, but I have been advised that when summons for in my case the taxi issue is processed they automatically generate a no insurance request though Ive already proved I had insurance. ( a bit unfair)

No, all you have proved is that you had a Trader's policy. What you have not proved yet (apparently) is that the policy would cover you whilst driving a vehicle licensed for private hire. You need to speak to the insurer asap to check whether they will confirm indemnity - if the police contact them to check the validity of the policy and they decline to confirm indemnity then you WILL receive an IN10.