My Mate Dave's been Done for Speeding ... and now he's a Worried Man

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I've seen this scenario many times on this forum - someone gets a ticket for anything from parking to dangerous driving & they seek advice here, which they get in abundance. Unfortunately no matter how well intentioned it is an awful lot of it is of the 'my mate down the pub' quality & completely incorrect.

Short of hiring your own solicitor (which you may v. well need to do) FightBack Forums is where you start with something like this. They'll tell you where you stand & what to do. I'm afraid posting anywhere else is just a waste of time & in Dave's case, where his license may be in peril, dangerous.
 
The nip has been served by the Policemen, you just have to wait I’m afraid, I can’t remember what the time limit is afterwards.
As noted in this and other posts, there is no requirement for a postal NIP as it was given at the roadside.

IF the officer is true to his word then Dave should receive an invitation to dispose of the case by way of a Fixed Penalty. If not, the authorities have 6 months from the date of the alleged offence to lay information at a Court for the case to be heard.
 
1) Markjay's suggestion of using pepipoo PePiPoo: Helping the motorist to get justice is a great one. I used them (after advice on here) and won my case, when many said "forget it you will lose". They are very, very good.

2) SL500AMG's suggestion may well be correct and goes with my thinking here. But it has a risk attached in sitting back and doing nothing. So I would revert to (1) and put this in, as a "possible" the pepipoo PePiPoo: Helping the motorist to get justice folks will keep you straight on what it may entail for both parties.

FYI: In my case (which is on here & pepipoo somewhere) I did not receive the paperwork in time and the magistrates claimedd that they never received my paperwork returns on time (despite me having paperwork in my favour) After around TWO YEARS when I had forgotten the the whole thing. It came back through the Aged Debt Team (or something like that). I elected (after great advice from pepipoo) to have my day in court. It was a good day for me and well worth my time and effort and Im glad I did it. Lasted a couple of hours and few shakes, but we won our case and costs.. So it can be done and is worth while doing it, should it come to that.

Now in your case, the above may lose you the "goodwill" with your policeman friend? But he needs to take some ownership here, does he not?

Im hoping that he has gone with SL500's thinking.

Good luck. PM if you need more I will dig up what I can.


OP. If it helps here is the pepipoo link to my case. If nothing else you will see that they give out very sound legal advice that stands up to the courts scrutiny. Be wary of accepting advice that says what you want to hear!! Lots mean well but are advising based on "a mate of a mate told me his uncle knew a guy" This is not usually good and can end in tears.

http://forums.pepipoo.com/index.php?showtopic=115514
 
Oh yes that’s correct 6 mnths, for Court papers to come through. I cough I mean Dave had a verbal Nip a few yes back..... touch wood an all that.. The pip site is a excellent resource , helped the Dave I know of no end :D
 
"Oroight Dave , got a new motah ?..."

No Alexi, I had to sell mine because I have been banned from driving...
 
The last time I received a fixed penalty, I was waiting and waiting for a letter to arrive, and when it didn't I checked the slip they handed to me at the time and it said that I wouldn't actually receive a letter and to log onto their website and pay the penalty. Luckily I did it in time... :wallbash:
 
It's strange that an FPN-E was not issued at the roadside.....

First time I've heard of one not being issued by the reporting officer as opposed to being sent via the post unless for a camera offence.

An FPN gives the recipient 28-days to either pay the fine or elect a court appearance and does not require a separate NIP. A summons would require an NIP; however, the officer can give this orally at the scene with the correct wording, unless something has changed.
 
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I've taken a look at the paper (carbon copy roadside notification issued, and it does actually say in small lettering half-way down 'Notice of Intended Prosecution'. It also says that the follow-up should normally be received within 28 days, and it hasn't been, but I dare say the police admin is as short of staff as the front line force these days, and as the cut-off date is I think six months, no doubt it will turn up sooner or later.

Dave is no longer a worried man; he'll pay the FPN when it arrives, and keep the speed down (relatively...)for three years thereafter.
 
It is also equally dangerous to rely upon advice from forums that purport to 'get you off' etc. There are a number of factors to take into account.

Firstly what speed was 'Dave' actually travelling at according to the recording device?
Has 'Dave' got any live points on his licence already?

Pleading not guilty will involve a trial and if you lose the trial the costs are £620 plus victim surchage of at least £30 plus a fine for the offence plus points.

The threshold for a ban is a guideline its not a tramline. It is in the magistrates discretion to not disqualify. Even if a disqualification is on the cards you can plead exceptional hardship but this is a card you can use only once! Examples; Dependent relative who needs you to drive them. Single parent with children needing transport, employer whose business might fail if banned etc.

The best bet is hope you have a lenient bench on the day you appear. show great remorse and sorrow for what happened etc. What I have seen is some solicitors go into court before their clients case and sit and observe the bench to get a feel for how they are dealing with other cases. ;)
 
It is also equally dangerous to rely upon advice from forums that purport to 'get you off' etc. There are a number of factors to take into account.

Have you been on the Forum Mentioned?
 
I've taken a look at the paper (carbon copy roadside notification issued, and it does actually say in small lettering half-way down 'Notice of Intended Prosecution'. It also says that the follow-up should normally be received within 28 days, and it hasn't been, but I dare say the police admin is as short of staff as the front line force these days, and as the cut-off date is I think six months, no doubt it will turn up sooner or later.

Dave is no longer a worried man; he'll pay the FPN when it arrives, and keep the speed down (relatively...)for three years thereafter.
Does this mean I should cancel the car transporter?
 
I've taken a look at the paper (carbon copy roadside notification issued)..

If you received a carbon copy at the roadside, then...

1. Unlikely the officer will have cancelled it now it's been recorded.

2. Unlikely the speed quoted on a FPN or NIP will be different to that showing on your carbon copy...

So, as you say, Dave should have nothing to worry about.
 
I think he's more of a giver than a receiver, if you know what I mean...
 
didnt David Beckham just last week get off a speeding fine because the notice didnt arrive in time. I thought I had read 2 weeks but could be wrong.
 
Time limit for information to be laid in front of the magistrates after a verbal NOIP at the roadside is 6 months - Section 127 Magistrates' Court Act 1980. Same applies to most summary offences, although there are some exemptions. A 3-week wait will end up being a much longer one, I've no doubt. The bobby will have lots of other offences on the go at any one time. He'll write up each one as he gets around to it, usually, but not necessarily, in chronological order. Then he'll submit the file through his supervisor, who'll perhaps sit on it for a bit longer.....then it'll go through whatever process-issuing department that Force operates, where it'll sit waiting to come to the top of the pile to be dealt with....then a brown envelope will be sent out. Back in the day, I had so many dealt-with-at-the-roadside speeders on the go at any one time that it could take 3 months before an offender got his/her paperwork.

Of course, the 'paperwork' in the job may nowadays be all-electronic, but the delays mentioned are still likely to apply!

Pete
 
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I thought that they had to send notification through within two weeks of the offence.
Speeding facts and myths revealed
IIRC , that's for a ticket issued without stopping you . If you are stopped and handed paperwork at the roadside , they have six months , from memory , to send you the NIP .
 

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