failure to display a tax disc... in theory!

lewiesbird

My partner got a note on his window from a police officer saying that they'd seen his car without a tax disc. Basically, it IS TAXED but the disc had fallen into the footwell and my partner hadn't realised.
Is there any comeback from this? Does anyone know if it'll just be a fixed penalty or go further than that?
We could do with finding out as need the money for our new flat, not a flippin' fine!
Thanks :-)

give_them_FA

What did the note consist of? Was it an official form or just an informal note? The officer can of course confirm immediately that the vehicle was taxed; so hopefully it was just a word of advice to display the disc?

Stephen_Leak

It's not in theory, it's in practice. The tax disc was in the footwell, not on display at the bottom nearside of the windscreen, where it was supposed to be. The offence is "failure to display".

It might just as well been "on display in the bottom of a locked filing cabinet stuck in a disused lavatory with a sign on the door saying "Beware of the Leopard".

However, it does sound like another example of good, old-fashioned "coppering". You got lucky.

esmerobbo

Looks like the PC used a bit of common sense and just advised you to make sure its displayed in future!

HO87

If the officer concerned had intended to do anything about it officially he'd have simply completed a CLE 2/6 a small official report to the DVLA that a vehicle has been seen on a road whilst failing to display a tax disc. It would have taken as long to complete (probably less) as the note took to write so I'd take this as being a simple piece of "...a word to wise sir/madam."

Despite there being a view that this is old-fashioned coppering there are plenty of young officers out there who are fully equipped and willing to exercise their discretion. Unfortunately, a greater preponderance of younger people who think they know their rights sometimes gets in the way of that discretion and talk themselves into a ticket or worse. It would thus be wrong to assume that the reported decreasing use of discretion by officers is as a result of there being a one-way street in terms of attitude.

The exercise of discretion usually entails being "given advice" and there many people out there who simply can't or won't take a boll*cking when its due or know when to shut up - to the detriment of themselves, their pockets and those around them occasionally.

Trebor16

Years ago before the internet came along the only way you knew what was going on was if you were stopped personally or knew people who had been stopped so the range of anecdotes was limited. Now with the internet we have a wide range of stories available of "bloody copper reported me, why didn't he use discretion" or "he gave me a warning" "or "why aren't they out catching muggers and rapists?" or other variations of the same theme. We have no way of saying whether or not discretion is used any more or less than it was before the internet.

HO87

Trebor16 wrote: »

Years ago before the internet came along the only way you knew what was going on was if you were stopped personally or knew people who had been stopped so the range of anecdotes was limited. Now with the internet we have a wide range of stories available of "bloody copper reported me, why didn't he use discretion" or "he gave me a warning" "or "why aren't they out catching muggers and rapists?" or other variations of the same theme. We have no way of saying whether or not discretion is used any more or less than it was before the internet.

Sadly, Trebor, there are. There have been a string of academic studies - incorporating statistics - that go back over 30 years (to my certain knowledge - the earliest I am aware of was written in 1980). There are plenty to be chosen from as discretion has been regarded as probably the single-most unquantifiable aspects of law enforcement.