But that's the beauty of the FPN system, especially if you have no lawyer friends - we know it's not a valid offense, but people have still been stopped and issued FPNs for both 'too hard' suspension and 'debadging' their vehicles.
ASBOs are a whole new world of hurt, section 59 above makes my blood boil - what right does the state have to deprive anyone of property with no recourse for such vague and ill-defined reasons as "may cause distress"!?!
Theres a lot of misunderstanding about sectoin 59 usually on the side of the Police.
Firstly under section 59 it states
Where an officer has reasonable grounds for believing that a motor vehicle is being used in a manner which contravenes Road Traffic Act Section 3 (Careless Driving)
OR Section 34 (Driving elsewhere than on a road)
AND also the manner of use of the vehicle is causing or has been causing or is likely to cause, alarm distress or annoyance to members of the public, Section 59 can be used to:-
initially give a written warning (valid for twelve months)
(commonly called a Section 59 Notice)
and on a
subsequent occasion to seize the vehicle.
(it will probably end up in the crusher, or may be ransomed back to the owner)
A
constable in uniform has the power to order the person driving to stop the vehicle, to seize and remove the vehicle, to enter any premises on which the officer has reasonable grounds for believing the motor vehicle to be and to use reasonable force.
Seizure can made only if a warning has been given, or believed to have been given, or if a warning is clearly being ignored.
Enforcement
The powers cannot be exercised unless the driver is
BOTH using the vehicle anti-socially
AND is committing either the section 3 or the section 34 offence. Someone driving in a way that might be considered anti-social but not committing either of these offences is not liable to having his vehicle seized, nor is someone committing a different motoring offence.
Note that the officer at the time of the warning only has to have ‘reasonable grounds’ for believing that one of the offences has been committed, e.g. a believable report. It may transpire later that this is or was not the case, hence the guidelines below.
The warning is given to both the driver and the vehicle. This means that if either are subsequently stopped then a seizure may take place even if another driver is in the original vehicle, or the original driver is another vehicle….. be warned! The warning may be verbal, with paperwork to follow, or forms filled in on the spot. In either case the constable must make it clear what is happening.
What to do at the scene
Firstly remain calm and polite. Getting hot under the collar may only lead to further offences
Establish what offence you have committed for the officer to initiate a Section 59 Warning or Seizure. It may be prudent to carry a print of the above legislation to discuss with the officer – many officers give out warnings because they have had a report of nuisance vehicles but do not understand the legislation in its entirety.
Ask if the officer intends to prosecute for the offence committed (some forces have a local policy to prosecute). Remember s.59 only applies if you may have
already committed an offence, which could be prosecuted for anyway.
Ask the officer for his force number/collar number, name, station and name of his area Commander.
Ask for a copy of any paperwork you are asked to sign.
Do not be argumentative! But do
know your onions
If you have received a Section 59 warning and are unsure why, or feel that it was unjust or issued inappropriately then you need to establish your position.
Write to the Area Commander at the police station/area that the warning was issued and establish exactly what offence you committed (ie. Section 3 or 34) and what action is being taken. If you know they are prosecuting you then ask for Disclosure (this may be best done through a solicitor). Disclosure will be a pack of documents outlining the Prosecution case and should include witness statements, the officers statement, video copies and such like. This will give you a picture of the case against you in order to fight your corner.
Often at this stage a correctly worded letter or defence statement may negate any summons or court appearance if the warning was issued incorrectly or inappropriately. Keep to the facts and do not rant and rave about your thoughts on the local constabulary….
Just a few pointers in case it happens to anyone as its more common than you think and in most cases if challenged correctly the case will be dropped.
)
)
