Court letter for speeding offence

Wellingtonsmythe

I have just got a letter from the courts for a speeding offence that happened in September but I did not receive the NIP. Included in the letter from the courts was 

- the photos of the vehicle doing 36 in a 30 zone

- a copy the NIP they sent to the lease hire company (I don't own the vehicle, I lease it)

a copy of the NIP they sent to my address (but which I never received) 

- and a witness statement from the camera technician

I don't mind paying the speeding fine, but it seems unfair that I should get more fines, costs and points for not receiving a letter. 

There are 2 offences they are asking me to plea for, the first is for speeding and the second is for failing to give information relating to identification of the driver.

What should I do?

TonyMMM

Plead Not Guilty to both now - but when the case goes to court speak to the prosecutor before the case starts and offer to plead guilty to the speeding charge if the failing to nominate charge is dropped (it will be ....quite a common situation).

Car_54

TonyMMM's advice is correct, assuming the OP was actually driving.

He may not have received the NIP, but proving that negative would be next to impossible. Fortunately, getting it dropped in return for pleading guilty to speeding is routine.

What he must NOT do is plead guilty to speeding before he goes to court. If he does that he has nothing to bargain with and will end up with 9 points, two fines, and hideous insurance premiums for the next five years.

Manxman_in_exile

Mickey666 said:

Surely pleading guilty to the speeding charge is effectively the same identifying the driver . . . otherwise perjury must be involved, and you certainly DON'T want to go there!

But I agree about pleading not guilty to the 'failing to identify' charge, simply on the basis that no one can fail do do something they haven't been asked to do (in this case because the NIP was not received).  

I fear your thinking is as flawed on this as you are on VW dieselgate and the reasons why people buy insurance.

The police will be able to prove that a s172 request was sent to the OP, and the Interpretation Act then creates a rebuttable presumption that that request was delivered to the OP two working days later.  If the OP has not responded to this request, they will only be able to escape conviction for failing to identify the driver by proving that they never received the request - which is very difficult to establish in court otherwise everybody would say they never received it.  I'm sure many people have been convicted of failing to identify even though they've never received a request to do so and they have not been correctly advised.

As above - the OP should plead not guilty to both charges and in court on the day offer to plead guilty to the speeding if, and only if, the prosecution drops the failure to identify charge.  (Of course, the OP can only plead guilty to the speeding if they were in fact the driver on the day).

williamgriffin

Car_54 said:

TonyMMM's advice is correct, assuming the OP was actually driving.

He may not have received the NIP, but proving that negative would be next to impossible. Fortunately, getting it dropped in return for pleading guilty to speeding is routine.

What he must NOT do is plead guilty to speeding before he goes to court. If he does that he has nothing to bargain with and will end up with 9 points, two fines, and hideous insurance premiums for the next five years.

They would end up with six points for the most serious offence. 

Car_54

williamgriffin said:

Car_54 said:

TonyMMM's advice is correct, assuming the OP was actually driving.

He may not have received the NIP, but proving that negative would be next to impossible. Fortunately, getting it dropped in return for pleading guilty to speeding is routine.

What he must NOT do is plead guilty to speeding before he goes to court. If he does that he has nothing to bargain with and will end up with 9 points, two fines, and hideous insurance premiums for the next five years.

They would end up with six points for the most serious offence. 

Unfortunately not. That law applies to two (or more) offences committed on the same occasion.

In this case the speeding offence was in September. The failure to furnish offence was committed  28 days after the s172 notice was deemed to be served, i.e. several weeks later.

TooManyPoints

Is this "letter" a "Single Justice Procedure Notice"?

Wellingtonsmythe

Yes it is a single justice procedure notice

TooManyPoints

Then when you return it entering "Not Guilty" pleas to both offences (which is the correct advice) your matter will be listed for a hearing in the Magistrates' Court. You will be advised of the date and you must attend to offer the "deal" as outlined above.

EssexExile

Phone the court, they will advise.

TooManyPoints

Why does he need to phone the court?