Advice needed, Got 3 points and a £60 fine

[Mercedes cozy]

Hi All

Need some advice here.

Got a phone call from my brother last night telling me that the old bill pulled him over and they reckon the suspension on his golf VR6 is too hard and they issued him with 3 points and and £60 fine.

I have seen the car and the suspension is not hard and and the wheels and tyres dont scrape in anyway.

After they issued the fine they let him go and let him drive the car home.
They said we have video evidence that your suspension is hard.

My Question is where does my brother stand with this?
Can he appeal against this?
They are no mechanics or engineers so how can they say that its a hard suspension and they let him drive the car home.
My Brother is 21 and goes to college, can he get legal aid?

Your help and advice would be appreciated.

 

[carnut]

Has the car suspension been modified at all?

I would have thought that if the police felt thet the car was unroadworthy they would have called a VOSPA engineer and had the car checked...all a bit strange to me that they have issued a ticket based on their "opinion.

Others ( with a legal background) will hopefully post you asap to alleviate your brothers concern

 

[wemorgan]

I don't mean to sound rude here, but are you sure your brother has told you the whole story objectively?

 

[Mercedes cozy]

Has the car suspension been modified at all?

I would have thought that if the police felt thet the car was unroadworthy they would have called a VOSPA engineer and had the car checked...all a bit strange to me that they have issued a ticket based on their "opinion.

Others ( with a legal background) will hopefully post you asap to alleviate your brothers concern

Hi mate, thanks for you input. No other person or engineer was called. The car has something called coilover conversion kit that adjusts the ride height.
Its passed mot with them on and there is plenty of room between wheels and arches,

 

[Mercedes cozy]

I don't mean to sound rude here, but are you sure your brother has told you the whole story objectively?

Yes this is correct and he phoned me at the time the old bill pulled him over and I asked him why and how.

Never had this kind of greif before.

 

[Sp!ke]

I have to say that this all sounds rather odd.

I suspect there's a little more to this story than we are privy to.

If the vehicle was dangerous or unroadworthy then the police would normally not allow it to be driven home. If it was safe to drive but had some minor fault then normally they would issue a vehicle defect notice (or whatever it is called today) and you would have 7 days to rectify the fault and have the fault tested at an MOT station.

By coil overs, I assume you mean the clamps that bolt onto the vehicle springs to restrict travel and effectively lower the car? If so they can be taken on and off with ease at MOT time which might explain why the Police didn't go this route. (maybe he's been nabbed more than once for this issue?)

 

[crockers]

Surely a car is either road legal or its not. If the later I can't imagine the police would let him drive it. If he had had an accident afterwards they would be in deep do do. What exactly is written on the fixed penalty notice?

 

[d w124]

By coil overs, I assume you mean the clamps that bolt onto the vehicle springs to restrict travel and effectively lower the car? If so they can be taken on and off with ease at MOT time which might explain why the Police didn't go this route. (maybe he's been nabbed more than once for this issue?)

The coil overs is the shocks,so i don`t think peole would change them on mot time

 

[Empi5]

Absolutly non sense, in that case every single modified car in the UK is breaking the law and every single MOT tester is in cahoots with the members of the public.

Your Bro is telling porkie pies...................!

 

[Rory]

I'm not aware of such an offence as having suspension that is "too hard".

Are you sure he didn't get done for speeding, and they mentioed the suspension in conversation?

 

[Stratman]

What is the offence stated on the FPN?

 

[Apial]

Take it for an MOT. If it fails or passes, you have the answer.

 

[grober]

Can I dispute the Fixed Penalty Notice?

Yes. It is a "conditional" offer so if you do not wish to accept the Notice or the conditions, you have 28 days in which to reject it. Careful attention should be given to this process, as in some circumstances doing nothing amounts to acceptance, with the result that the punishment will be processed, which can lead to a licence being suspended and a fine enforced without any Court hearing.

Any person who wishes to reject the Notice is entitled to seek a Court hearing, but by doing so, the offer is withdrawn and thus the Court can impose a higher punishment upon conviction.

Fixed Penalty Notice | Motoring Offences

I am puzzled in that I didn't think offences under the "vehicle construction and use" legislation were covered by the fixed penalty scheme but who knows.

 

[Mercedes cozy]

Absolutly non sense, in that case every single modified car in the UK is breaking the law and every single MOT tester is in cahoots with the members of the public.

Your Bro is telling porkie pies...................!

No My brother is not telling pokie pies.

The offence was dangerous condition for the suspension and yet they let him drive the car home.

The rocked the car side to side and just said it was stiff suspension.

 

[flango]

OK Spike is bang on here there is something else we don't know.

There is no such offence as having too hard suspension, the Subaru rally car in my sig is road legal and you wont ever get harder suspension than that. Coilovers are fine will pass an MOT and are perfectly road legal. You need to post the exact offence stated on the FPN then we can help more.

If they were that concerned they should have impounded the car, if they suspected a suspension fault they should have given him a VRN (Vehicle Rectification Notice) to remedy the problem.

If the gave him a fixed penalty and sent him on his way then quite frankly they are taking the P*ss and I would see them in court to sort it.

However I suspect there is something more to this that your brother is not telling you.

With the true facts we are a knowledgeable bunch and can help

 

[evdok]

Who would want stiff lowered suspension on todays roads?

 

[Sp!ke]

The rocked the car side to side and just said it was stiff suspension.

This highly accurate means of testing suspension settings is also carried out by the very best F1 teams.

Either we are missing something of the story or this case wont get beyond that of the desk of the local CPS.

 

[harry_dhuga]

I have to say that this all sounds rather odd.

I suspect there's a little more to this story than we are privy to.

If the vehicle was dangerous or unroadworthy then the police would normally not allow it to be driven home. If it was safe to drive but had some minor fault then normally they would issue a vehicle defect notice (or whatever it is called today) and you would have 7 days to rectify the fault and have the fault tested at an MOT station.

By coil overs, I assume you mean the clamps that bolt onto the vehicle springs to restrict travel and effectively lower the car? If so they can be taken on and off with ease at MOT time which might explain why the Police didn't go this route. (maybe he's been nabbed more than once for this issue?)

I had coilovers on my M3 convertible and never had any problems with the police or Mot testers as had enough clearance to get over speed bumps etc.

Only real issue I can think of would be the car is lowered to the extent where the camber and the way the wheel sits in the arch is affected big time.

Coilovers are not clamps they are height adjutable shocks and have lowering springs - I had mine to the lowest setting as the cornering was out of this world..!!!

I'm very surprised that a ticket was issued for this and then been allowed to drive home.

 

[Gridlock]

I'd have told them stick their FPN up their ****... "unroadworthy"... They're just picking on what they see as a "modifed car" ie "dangerous driver" with whatever they think they can make stick, see this all the time with my VW brethren.

Get legal advice.

 

[martin_a]

I think it would be good to know what the offence code is on the FPN. If it is for something other than 'suspension' and that's what he was told it was for then he likely has a case. Worth checking Pepipoo too...

Having just had a tuned Subaru Wagon running near 300bhp and a Toyota Supra before that and a Mitsubishi FTO before that I have never heard of anyone being done for hard suspension!

m.