speeding ticket 2 months after the offence

maximus999

Hi all,
I received a ticket from the police (NIP) 2 months after the company lease car which I drive was caught doing 35 in a 30.
The lease company received the NIP 8 days after the offence which lies within the 14 day notification period.

Can i contest why it has taken so long to send me this NIP and does anyone know the guide lines on time scales for lease cars.

I was the keeper at the time but myself and my partner use the car.

Many thanks

maninthestreet

The NIP was issued within the required 14 days - has the leasing company delyed sending it to you until now? There are no special considerations in relation to lease cars and NIPs, AFAIK.

Tilt

maximus999 wrote: »

Hi all,
I received a ticket from the police (NIP) 2 months after the company lease car which I drive was caught doing 35 in a 30.
The lease company received the NIP 8 days after the offence which lies within the 14 day notification period.

Can i contest why it has taken so long to send me this NIP and does anyone know the guide lines on time scales for lease cars.

I was the keeper at the time but myself and my partner use the car.

Many thanks

If you were the keeper at the time, how/why would they send the NIP to the lease company?

I think there is indeed an exemption to the 14 day rule in respect of lease/hire cars but if you indeed were the keeper and the NIP has arrived as you described, then you should have a defence.

kingstreet

The NIP has to be served on the Registered Keeper within fourteen days of the alleged offence. Second or subsequent NIPs can take as long as necessary, remembering that the offence must see an information laid before magistrates within six months of the alleged offence date.

The Registered Keeper and the "person keeping the vehicle" are not necessarily the same.

From the sound of it, the first NIP was served correctly and if in England, Wales or NI, a speed awareness course (SAC) should be offered in lieu of prosecution, provided the OP hasn't attended one in the last three years. There is a four month limit on being offered and attending a course, so the OP should not delay in sending back the completed, signed S172 driver details request (having taken a copy and obtained proof of posting, of course).

If in Scotland, there are no SACs, so a conditional offer of fixed penalty (£60/3 pts) should follow the return of the S172 form.

Chopper_Read

Tilt wrote: »

If you were the keeper at the time, how/why would they send the NIP to the lease company?

I think there is indeed an exemption to the 14 day rule in respect of lease/hire cars but if you indeed were the keeper and the NIP has arrived as you described, then you should have a defence.

You missed the important word out which is registered keeper.

maximus999

thanks guys.
I have had the photos emailed and there is no way of telling who was driving the car. If the picture was from last week i could jog my memory but it was taken on 27th november 2012 and can not remember.

Where do i go from here

Chopper_Read

What day of the week was it?
Where was it?
Did you have a reason to be there or else where?

I can't remember will only get you into more trouble so I suggest you put some effort in.

TadleyBaggie

35 in a 30 will most likely result in an offer of a speed awareness course or at worst 3 points and £60...goung down the route of not naming the driver will see you with 6 points and v large fine. Pretty good incentive to work out who was driving.

Aretnap

Does the time of day give any clues? Was it a time when one of you would probably have been using the car for work? How about the location? Is it on the way to Tesco? If so, look at your credit card statements and see who did the shopping that day? Check your Emails, work records and try to see who was doing what that day. What else would you do if there was a £1000 prize for naming the driver correctly instead of a £1000 fine for not naming the driver? You need to show that you've done at least that much in order to have any hope of running a successful reasonable diligence defence.

If you still can't work out who was driving you basically have two options

(1) Between you take your best guess at who was driving and name that person. They'll probably be offered a speed awareness course or at worst 3 points and £60.

(2) Reply offering the names of both possible drivers and explain why you are unable to determine which of you was driving at the time in question. This will almost certainly result in a summons for failure to provide driver details and you will have to persuade a court that you could not, with reasonable diligence, have identified the driver. This is not impossible, but is increasingly difficult as too many people have tried to get off speeding tickets in the past by saying that they can't remember who was driving. The fact that it's two months since the offence certainly helps your credibility, but it's not a guarantee of success. If you cannot convince the magistrates that you were genuinely unable to identify the driver, the penalty is 6 points, a fine of several hundred pounds, and an MS90 code on your driving licence which will make getting insurance difficult and expensive for the next 5 years - much more so than a minor speeding offence. Insurance companies see the code, and wonder what you did that was so terrible that 6 points and £500 seemed like a better option than owning up to it.

It's not very fair, but given the disparity in the penalties the pragmatic choice is often to take your best guess.

spacey2012

Whos name and address is on the registration certificate.

maximus999

Hi all,
it is a lease car which the company provide and the only two people who drive is myself and my partner. the road is not far from our house and her work, on the day in question, tuesday, she was at work and so was I, I travel around for my job but on this day I was working at her place of work also as we work for the same company.
We both have dinner hours separate and she sometimes uses my car on her dinner as well as me. She is insured on the work insurance as she lives at the same address and works as an employee for the company.

I just feel that how could I say who was driving when I simply dont know, and I know that may not cut the slack but for god sake over 2 months ago. I think they need to be a bit faster on asking who was the driver, the lease company replied straight back to them and it has took them roughly 6-7 weeks to get in touch with me.

Is this worth fighting for?

If it was clear it was me i would pay the fine and take the points or go on the course.

I have been driving for 13 years and never once been pulled over or had any speeding ticket which itself speaks volumes.