Advice for 18 year old.

feelingblue

I don't know where else to turn and hope someone can offer me some advice. Bit of a longer story so please bear with me.

Bit of background - My 18 (just) year old son is a really great kid - he has worked hard since he was about 14. On his own, he has worked hard to purchase a moped so he can get to work at Macs while he is at college. He is coming to the end of his course and is looking for an apprenticeship. Important to note we live in a rural area where buses to the nearest town have been completely shelved, the second nearest town 2 a day. We have to have our own transport for any job. He has never been in trouble and is a really genuine good lad.

Sadly he is also a teen and thus 'forgot' about his MOT renewal. His MOT ran out at midnight but he got an appointment the following day. His moped failed, he rang his dad who told him to bring it to his house (we divorced) and he would fix what he could to save him money. Appointment was at 9.30, son was starting work at 11 and Dad lives about 15 miles away from test centre...then was going to take son to work. My son, was terrified that he would be late for work and stupidly put his foot down! There is a particular area here where the locals know that a mobile camera is'hidden' (not an excuse - just a rant!!).

Anyway, he was caught doing 52 in 30 and quite rightly deserves to be taught a lesson with fine and points. He was gutted but realises that he should have pulled over, checked the time and rang work if he was going to be late. Lesson learnt.

However, this morning he received a letter to say due to the speed he was travelling he has lost the right to a fixed penalty and must attend court - date to follow. He burst into tears. It seems so unfair especially as he is trying hard at college to embark on a career and although he made a serious mistake a fine and points would have taught him a valuable lesson.

Anyway, questions:-

There is no way we can afford a solicitor...can I represent him and what would it involve?

Can I write to the court in the first instance as taking time of work/college is not helping anyone?

What can we expect - I have never been in a court before and no-one I know has any experience of what happens.

I hope that someone with experience/advice can help....I feel so gutted for my son....especially as he has been on the receiving end from anti-social behaviour in the past and apart from a 'courtesy' visit from the police nothing was actually done!! (Sorry - another rant!!).

Thanking you in advance xx

PeacefulWaters

He doesn't need a solicitor or representation. It might be a worthwhile investment to try and avoid getting 6 points which may be a ban at that age (depending on when he got his licence). One of the links below suggests saving your money for an appeal though.

Get to court on time. Be respectful and polite. Plead guilty. Say you're really sorry. Explain that you've never been naughty before and don't intend to do it again. State that the vehicle is important for getting to and from work. Apologise for taking up the court's time.

4-6 points and a week's wages for the fine. Fingers crossed it won't be 6 points which may trigger a ban. Hopefully a 25% discount from the standard fine for pleading guilty.

Get saving to pay that fine.

The big risk is getting 6 points.

https://www.gov.uk/penalty-points-endorsements/new-drivers

http://www.pepipoo.com/Magistrates_guidelines.htm

On the solicitor question:

http://www.pepipoo.com/In_court.htm

There's little point in getting a solicitor to act for you, particularly if you're confident to speak for yourself. The reason being that, as we've said, under the law police officers can do and say almost anything and their evidence will be "preferred" by the Magistrates, so we recommend that you save your money for your appeal.

pogofish

52mph on a moped....?

BeenThroughItAll

pogofish wrote: »

52mph on a moped....?

That was my thought...


If he's not passed a full motorcycle test, on a CBT only his bike should be restricted to 45km/h. If he's derestricted it to reach 52mph (around 80km/h) then he's been riding outside the terms of his licence, and potentially that could invalidate his insurance.


Potentially more to this than just a fine and a few points if that's the case.

Wh05apk

pogofish wrote: »

52mph on a moped....?

That's what I was thinking, I hope it is not a moped that has been de-restricted from a 30mph top speed, if so I hope the insurer etc is aware?

Aretnap

He can plead guilty by post in the first instance, but if the court is considering a ban he'll be required to attend in person.

52 in a 30 will mean a fine of around a week's wages (reduced by a third for a guilty plea), and either 6 points or a short ban. In theory the magistrates could choose to impose fewer than 6 points, but the guidelines say 6 and it's very rare for them to step outside them.

Contrary to popular belief, 6 points would not trigger a ban. Rather it will lead to his licence being revoked by the DVLA and he will have to reapply for a new provisional licence. If he only rides a moped of small engined motorbike this won't necessarily be a great hardship as he can do CBT again as soon as he can book it, stick an L-plate on the back and get back to riding very quickly. If he hasn't passed his test yet then it will have no effect at all, although it does mean that when he does pass his test he'll go back to a provisional if he gets any points at all in the next two years.

A ban on the other hand would mean that he couldn't drive or ride at all for the duration of a ban, even as a learner. However it would likely only be for a short period (a couple of weeks perhaps) and he could resume riding on a full licence as soon as it ends (assuming he already has a full licence). Some people might actually find this preferable to having his licence revoked and reverting to learner status indefinitely (especially if he's passed his car test).

It's likely that it won't come to court for several months, so he has time to think about how he'd cope with either outcome.

52mph on a moped sounds wrong to me as well, though it's unlikely that it will be picked up on as the process is fairly automated. However he should certainly double check that his licence and insurance cover whatever it is that he's riding, and that his insurers are aware of any modifications, or it could come back to bite him in future.

Trebor16

Aretnap wrote: »

Contrary to popular belief, 6 points would not trigger a ban. Rather it will lead to his licence being revoked by the DVLA and he will have to reapply for a new provisional licence.

If the OP's son only has a provisional licence it won't be revoked as that only applies to a person when they have gained their first full licence.

Mark_Mark

feelingblue wrote: »

I don't know where else to turn and hope someone can offer me some advice. Bit of a longer story so please bear with me.

Bit of background - My 18 (just) year old son is a really great kid - he has worked hard since he was about 14. On his own, he has worked hard to purchase a moped so he can get to work at Macs while he is at college. He is coming to the end of his course and is looking for an apprenticeship. Important to note we live in a rural area where buses to the nearest town have been completely shelved, the second nearest town 2 a day. We have to have our own transport for any job. He has never been in trouble and is a really genuine good lad.

Sadly he is also a teen and thus 'forgot' about his MOT renewal. His MOT ran out at midnight but he got an appointment the following day. His moped failed, he rang his dad who told him to bring it to his house (we divorced) and he would fix what he could to save him money. Appointment was at 9.30, son was starting work at 11 and Dad lives about 15 miles away from test centre...then was going to take son to work. My son, was terrified that he would be late for work and stupidly put his foot down! There is a particular area here where the locals know that a mobile camera is'hidden' (not an excuse - just a rant!!).

Anyway, he was caught doing 52 in 30 and quite rightly deserves to be taught a lesson with fine and points. He was gutted but realises that he should have pulled over, checked the time and rang work if he was going to be late. Lesson learnt.

However, this morning he received a letter to say due to the speed he was travelling he has lost the right to a fixed penalty and must attend court - date to follow. He burst into tears. It seems so unfair especially as he is trying hard at college to embark on a career and although he made a serious mistake a fine and points would have taught him a valuable lesson.

Anyway, questions:-

There is no way we can afford a solicitor...can I represent him and what would it involve?

Can I write to the court in the first instance as taking time of work/college is not helping anyone?

What can we expect - I have never been in a court before and no-one I know has any experience of what happens.

I hope that someone with experience/advice can help....I feel so gutted for my son....especially as he has been on the receiving end from anti-social behaviour in the past and apart from a 'courtesy' visit from the police nothing was actually done!! (Sorry - another rant!!).

Thanking you in advance xx

And that is all he'll get.

motorguy

feelingblue wrote: »

Can I write to the court in the first instance as taking time of work/college is not helping anyone?

It doesnt really work like that as otherwise everyone could get off with everything just by dropping a note to the court saying taking time off work / college isnt really helping anyone.

Its not a pleasant experience going to court, but then hitting a car or pedestrian at 53mph in a 30mph limit wouldnt have been a pleasant experience either.

I would follow the advice given above, and be supportive, but hes going to have to "feel the pain" as it were.

On the plus side, it hopefully will make him slow down and think twice in future.

No consolation i'm sure, but my son at age 18 was of the impression he didnt need to be told how to drive, or to have his particularly bad habit of braking "in" a corner, not before, in his car. Couldnt be told - until he ended up in a womans front garden going through an S bend. Fortunately noone was hurt. But it did make him realise he needed to slow down and take heed.

PeacefulWaters

motorguy wrote: »

Its not a pleasant experience going to court, but then hitting a car or pedestrian at 53mph in a 30mph limit wouldnt have been a pleasant experience either.

I suspect it's no fun being hit at 53mph in a 70mph limit either.

Trebor16

pogofish wrote: »

52mph on a moped....?

It might be a 125 scooter but so many people refer to them as mopeds.