Motoring offence in another county - which court?

K.T.W

I've had a letter re: a speeding offence committed last month. Smart motorway and I was travelling at 70 when it changed to 40mph restrictions. I was slowing down from 70 when I went past the camera and was clocked at 54. I thought I was doing the preferable thing by braking gradually rather than sharply at that speed, as the roads were very wet, but lesson learnt and I hold my hands up. I'll be more careful in future.

Anyway, long story short but it's going to court. My problem is it was committed over 400 miles away from home and I've just started a new job that requires an intensive training period with a high cost to the company. The training only occurs twice a year. Do motoring offences have to be heard in courts local to where they were committed?

I suspect the answer is "no", but is there a possible way I could ask for the date to be set after my training, or for it to be heard in my home county, due to the circumstances with my job?

AdrianC

K.T.W wrote: »

Smart motorway and I was travelling at 70 when it changed to 40mph restrictions. I was slowing down from 70 when I went past the camera and was clocked at 54. I thought I was doing the preferable thing by braking gradually rather than sharply at that speed, as the roads were very wet

How far away is the signage visible...? That's how far you had to ease off...

Anyway, long story short but it's going to court.

That surprises me. 54 in 40 is only just outside an awareness course, and well within fixed penalty territory.

Unless - what state is your licence currently in...? Would three points take you to a totting-up ban?

My problem is it was committed over 400 miles away from home and I've just started a new job that requires an intensive training period with a high cost to the company. The training only occurs twice a year. Do motoring offences have to be heard in courts local to where they were committed?

I suspect the answer is "no", but is there a possible way I could ask for the date to be set after my training, or for it to be heard in my home county, due to the circumstances with my job?

Is there any real point in attending? Just write a letter to the court admitting your error, apologising profusely, promising to be good in future, and saying that you accept the judgement of the court. Which, let's face it, is all you'd be attending to do anyway.

TooManyPoints

If you really do want to attend court (and the reason why it's going there would be a help because, as above, it would not normally) then you can ask the court in which it is to be heard to remit the matter to your local court. There would be a complication if the offence was in Scotland and you want it heard in England (or vice versa) but probably not an insurmountable one.

TadleyBaggie

You will almost certainly receive a Single Justice Procedure Notice, if you plead guilty to this they will very likely just sentence you and inform you. Only if they are considering a ban will they send you a date for an actual court appearance. This will be at a court close to where the alleged offence occurred.

DoaM

TadleyBaggie wrote: »

You will almost certainly receive a Single Justice Procedure Notice

Assuming the offence took place in Scotland? (I suspect you've read Scotland in the above post and taken that as fact).

TadleyBaggie

The OP doesn't say where the offence took place, in England and Wales a SJPN would be the norm.

However what doesn't make sense to me, is why is it going to court? For 14 MPH over the limit (i.e. 54 in a 40) this should be fixed penalty or a course...?

Hasbeen

TadleyBaggie wrote: »

The OP doesn't say where the offence took place, in England and Wales a SJPN would be the norm.

However what doesn't make sense to me, is why is it going to court? For 14 MPH over the limit (i.e. 54 in a 40) this should be fixed penalty or a course...?

Op has stated county not country?

Agree 3 points and fine.

But what is already on ops licence?

AdrianC

Hasbeen wrote: »

But what is already on ops licence?

I suspect "...long story short but..." is as near to an answer as we're getting to that.

OP - if you really are looking at a totting ban, then the advice about whether to attend or not may well be very different. If you're thinking of an exceptional hardship argument, then remember that you really need to be showing exceptional hardship to others, not you. "But the training is costing my new employer a lot" is very unlikely to be anywhere near good enough, given that your employment will still be on a probation period anyway. Your employer will need to show that their business, and the employment of others, will suffer markedly from your ban.


https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1988/53/section/35

(1) ...the court must order him to be disqualified for not less than the minimum period unless the court is satisfied, having regard to all the circumstances, that there are grounds for mitigating the normal consequences of the conviction and thinks fit to order him to be disqualified for a shorter period or not to order him to be disqualified.
...
(4)No account is to be taken under subsection (1) above of any of the following circumstances—

(a)any circumstances that are alleged to make the offence or any of the offences not a serious one,

(b)hardship, other than exceptional hardship...

Johno100

I'm thinking that perhaps with the OP being 300 miles from home, they may not have responded to the Section 172 notice and that is why it is going to court. But then again the OP says the offence only happened last month so that seems a bit quick.

DoaM

TadleyBaggie wrote: »

The OP doesn't say where the offence took place, in England and Wales a SJPN would be the norm.

Apologies - I thought a SJPN was a Scottish thing.