. As a general rule, if you're caught travelling in excess of 45% . Sometimes a similar document called a 'postal requisition' arrives instead. Where a driver has obtained a policy of insurance by deception, the policy will be valid so far as liability under s.143 RTA 1988 is concerned until the insurers have taken steps to "avoid" it. However, if a Prosecutor is asked to sign a certificate, or to advise the police upon its format, the following example may be adopted. Motorists, who have been unable to produce their driving documents on demand, following a lawful request by a police officer, should produce them for inspection within the required statutory period at a police station of their choice. 56 Posts. Many road traffic offences are minor in nature. Section 6 applies to the following offences under RTA 1988: Section 37 of the Vehicles (Crime) Act 2001 amends the time limit in the Theft Act. When you're given a speeding ticket, you receive a Notice of Intended Prosecution (NIP) and a Section 172 notice. Some 'routine' prosecutions, for example under the Construction and Use Regulations and related provisions of the Road Traffic Act (RTA) 1988, may have special significance for the traffic commissioners when dealing with licensing applications from heavy goods vehicle operators. (b) the condition of the vehicle, All who deal with cases where document production is made should be alive to the current sophistication of fraudulently produced material. The offence under section 49 of the Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004. DPP v Hay [2005] EWHC Admin 1395 - Where a defendant is charged with driving otherwise than in accordance with a licence and driving without insurance, and the Crown have proved that the defendant was driving a vehicle on the road, the non-issue by the police of form HO/RT/1 (requesting production of the documents) is not fatal to the prosecution case. Notice of intended prosecution (NIP) - informs the registered keeper that the police want to prosecute the driver for an offence. Careless driving. by Graham Walker | Jan 29, 2013 | Careless Driving, Dangerous Driving | Scotland, Road Traffic Law Scotland, Speed Cameras Latest Advice, Speeding. A Notice of Intended Prosecution will be issued to the offender in the post automatically after you've been snapped by a speed camera. The Notice of intended prosecution or NIP can either be given verbally at the time of the incident or in writing (i.e. The defendant contributed to that failure by his or her own conduct. In Vehicle Inspectorate v Nuttall [1999] Crim LR 674, the House of Lords held that the Community rules placed a responsibility on employers to use tachograph records to prevent contraventions and to promote road safety. Motoring offences which may lead to a NIP being served include: Exceeding the speed limit. If you do not receive it within 14 days, any prosecution may be considered invalid. information online. The summons may also allege that you failed to produce one or more of these or other documents as required by law following a request by the police. Section 65 Public Passenger Vehicles Act 1981 - the forgery or alteration of a licence, certificate or operator's disc issued under the Act, likewise the use with intent to deceive of anything resembling such a document. The burden of establishing an exemption under the Community Drivers' Hours and Recording Equipment (Exemptions and Supplementary Provisions) Regulations 1986 rests on the defendant on a balance of probabilities - Gaunt and Another vNelson [1987] RTR 1. Any such notice should also warn defendants of the seriousness of producing or attempting to produce any forged or unlawful documentation with attempt to deceive. For certain offences, a NIP must be sent (unless the driver was stopped and warned at the time) and must be served on the registered keeper within 14 days. In such circumstances the prosecution need to decide which is the more appropriate charge. Current timestamp: 02/03/2023 01:38:55 . Section 170(3) places an obligation on the driver, if he does not give his name and address under subsection (2) above, to report the accident to a police constable or police station as soon as reasonably practicable and in any case within 24 hours. The Notice must be sent to the registered keeper to arrive within 14 days of the offence. A sample notice is attached at Annex A below. The offence under section 87(1) of the Environmental Protection Act 1990. But if an intent to deceive can be proved an either way offence under s.97AA TA1968 or s.99(5) TA 1988 should be preferred instead. You may get 6 penalty points on your licence and a 1000 fine . 0. Subsection (3) makes it an offence for the keeper to fail to comply. Contravening a traffic signal. For more information see Mutual Recognition of Driving Disqualification, elsewhere in the Legal Guidance. In deciding whether to rely on the extended time limit, the prosecutor should ensure that he/she is able to ascertain the date on which sufficient evidence to warrant proceedings came to the knowledge of a police officer investigating the incident, since this is a requirement of the procedure. Where a summons is issued for failure to produce, the defendant may attempt to produce his documents at court. This power to prohibit the driving of UK passenger and goods vehicles rectifies the previous anomaly whereby only the driving of foreign registered vehicles could be prohibited by virtue of the provisions of the Road Traffic (Foreign Vehicles) Act 1972. There are four categories: Thirdly, it must be established whether the vehicle concerned is a goods vehicle, or passenger vehicle as distinct provisions apply. If you do in fact have any documents that would cover your use of the vehicle on the road at the time you were asked to produce them, you must, as soon as possible, take immediate steps to produce them at the police station you originally selected when the police officer asked you to choose one (this police station will be called the nominated police station from now on). Ordinarily, the notice should indicate that production should be made to the police station originally nominated by the driver when the request for production was first made. It is no defence that the driver failed to see the sign. A taxi driver who had a licence to ply for hire in Rossendale and whose insurance covered him for the carriage of passengers for hire or reward under a public hire licence was not guilty of having no insurance in spite of plying for hire in Oldham, to which his licence did not extend. They cannot be licensed for use on a road and they do not come within the categories of vehicle covered by a driving licence. Motorists are required to produce their documents to a police officer on demand or at a nominated police station within 7 days. But usually charges under RTA 1988 and VERA 1994 should be preferred unless a defendant has committed a series of offences on a substantial scale for personal gain. Where a defendant raises exceptional hardship as a reason for not being disqualified under the repeated offence provisions of s.35 RTOA 1988 it is appropriate for the prosecutor to question the defendant. In either case, so long as it arrives at the relevant address within the time limit the . Rob Skinner of our Criminal Department considers the importance of time limits in relation to motoring offences. Section 97(1) TA 1968 which is summary only, prohibits the use of a vehicle to which the TA 1968 applies in which "recording equipment" as stipulated in the Community Recording Equipment Regulations 3821/85 has either not been fitted or has not been appropriately repaired. (h) the carrying on the vehicle of any particular means of identification other than any means of identification required to be carried by or under the Vehicle Excise and Registration Act 1994. Failure to provide the information will result in court proceedings for that failure. Subsection (4) provides a defence if the Keeper shows that he did not know who the driver was and could not have found out by using reasonable diligence. There will be occasions where although the offence under section 22A is made out, the charging of one of the less serious offences listed above will be more appropriate. Many factors must be taken into consideration before the court even begins to consider exercising that discretion. Very exceptionally, a prosecutor may feel it appropriate to verify documents, but: Sections 173 and 174 RTA 1988 and sections 44 and 45 Vehicle Excise and Registration Act 1994 (VERA 1994) create a number of offences concerning forgery, fraudulent actions and false statements in connection with various road traffic documents. Where a summons or requisition has been issued in respect of an offence mentioned in Parts 1 and 2 of the Schedule, proceedings for that offence cease to be specified when the summons or requisition is served on the accused unless the defendant is also served with a statement of facts and written statement/s. it arose because the name and address of the accused or the registered keeper could not with reasonable diligence be ascertained within the statutory time; or. Other cases on drivers' hours include Vehicle Inspectorate v Southern Coaches and Others [2000] RTR 165. When dealing with offences specifically relating to the use of forged documents contrary to s.173(1) RTA or s.44 VERA, the document concerned must be one of those listed within the relevant section. The phrase "any person" includes, but is not limited to, limited companies or, depending upon evidential criteria, officers of such a company. A NIP can be issued verbally to the driver at the time of the offence or in written form 14 days from the date of the offence. It is important to note, however, that only the registered keeper requires to receive such a warning within 14 days. If the document is not listed, proceedings under regulation 7 of the Road Vehicles (Registration and Licensing) Regulations 1971 for exhibiting on a vehicle anything which could be mistaken for a licence may be considered. Notice of Intended Prosecution (NIP) If you were not stopped by the Police and cautioned at the time of the offence, because for example your offence is one where the evidence has been obtained by camera, before any further action can be taken, the Police or Process Department, must serve a Notice of Intended Prosecution, commonly known as a . For this reason, it is best to seek legal advice before completing a Notice of Intended Prosecution. it was clear that in requiring the production of records the Community legislature took account of the need to ensure effective checking; while there was no express power to require the coach operator to hand over tachograph records to the Vehicle Inspectorate, the operator was nevertheless required to produce and hand over such records on demand if such a request was made to him; it was within the discretion of the authorised officer whether he chose to inspect the records at the operator's premises or take them away for more thorough and detailed analysis; the authorised officer should also permit the operator to take copies of any record he proposed to remove from the operator's premises. A. In DPP v Mansfield [1997] RTR 96 the constable who had arrested the defendant for the current offence, and who was present at court, had also arrested him for a previous offence for which the defendant had been disqualified in the constable's absence. Recent cases have established that the three methods of identification of a person as described above were not exhaustive but merely examples. The Notice of Intended Prosecution must specify the nature of the alleged offence and the time and place where it is alleged to have been committed. Your co-operation is therefore in your own interests. Section 99A TA 1968 gives police and vehicle examination officers the power to prohibit the driving of a UK registered passenger or goods vehicle. Because of the restrictive provisions of s.40 Criminal Justice Act 1988 it will frequently be the case that when the Crown Court trial for a driving offence has been concluded, there will still be outstanding connected summary offences. Then in the first paragraph it lists the incident date as 04/12/22. 102 Petty France, The Notice of Intended Prosecution (NIP) will ask the registered keeper of the vehicle to name the driver or rider at the time of the alleged offence; they'll be the same person or a family member in most cases, but sometimes it won't be so straightforward, and it'll be an unknown 'friend of a friend'. The Code for Crown Prosecutors is a public document, issued by the Director of Public Prosecutions that sets out the general principles Crown Prosecutors should follow when they make decisions on cases. 'How did 13 women's testimonies secure the fate of se, A bogus doctor has been jailed today for forgery and fraud costing the taxpayer over 1m. It was held that the court could not go behind the prosecutor's certificate save where the certificate was inaccurate on its face or in cases of fraud. Where a person is convicted of an offence involving obligatory disqualification the court must order him to be disqualified for such period not less than twelve months as the court thinks fit unless the court for special reasons thinks fit to order him to be disqualified for a shorter period, or not to order him to be disqualified. Notice of intended prosecution. Summons Time Limit The notice of intended prosecution has to be sent to the registered keeper within 14 days, however if you were pulled over by the police for speeding they will have given your notice of intended prosecution at the roadside. There are no time limits on subsequent NIPs but there is an overall time limit of six months for a prosecution to begin. Disobeying traffic signs. A person is guilty of an offence if, while disqualified for holding or obtaining a licence, he obtains a licence, or drives a motor vehicle on a road s.103 RTA 1988. These are referred to as disqualification of persons under age. See also Restoration of Summary Offences after Trial on Indictment, below in this section. If you're caught speeding by a speed camera, you'll be sent a Notice of Intended Prosecution (NIP) and a Section 172 notice within 14 days of the alleged offence. note part 19 of the Criminal Procedure Rules (Expert Evidence) and secure expert evidence where the defence expert's statement is incorrect, inconclusive or misleading. A NIP is intended to warn you that you are going to be prosecuted for a driving offence. The same considerations will thus apply. This is an onerous test to pass as it is generally fairly easy for a company to have a system in place which identifies the driver of a company vehicle at any given time, for example a log book kept in the vehicle which allows any drivers to enter the details of his or her journey. Failing to provide drivers identity carries 6 penalty points on your licence and up to 1000 fine. The prosecution argued that by plying for hire in Oldham, he was acting outside the terms of his insurance. It will often be appropriate to prosecute for both this offence and for careless driving as a result of the same incident of driving. Such alternative verdicts are permitted in relation to the summary offences of: Alternative verdicts under sections 4(1), 5(1)(a), 7(6), 4(2), 5(1)(b) or 29 RTA 1988 may be returned as appropriate, despite the fact that the six month time limit for those offences are likely to have lapsed. A notice of intended prosecution issued by post must identify the time, date, place and nature of the offence. So long as the information is laid within six months, the issue and service of the summons and the subsequent determination may all occur outside that period. Below is a brief summary of their obligations, time limits, potential loopholes to avoid prosecution and common myths. The onus is on the body issuing the Notice of Intended Prosecution (NIP) to ensure the Notice is served within 14 days. This may involve having the case stood down (or adjourned) while this production is made. The production of driving documents at police stations will be enhanced if all agencies co-operate and fairly and firmly abide by the terms and spirit of this protocol. Management Personal Responsibility. This will be sent to the registered keeper within 14 days of the offence. The Notice of Intended Prosecution time limit of 28 days can incur harsh penalties of a fine up to 1,000 and six penalty points on a driver's licence if not dealt with inside the 28 day time constraints. The definition of "served . This means that where an insurance policy purports to impose a restriction based on any of the matters listed above, that restriction is of no effect and the policy should be read as if the words containing the restriction had been struck out. App. Mere passive acquiescence is not enough - see Redhead Freight Ltd v Shulman [1989] RTR 1. If that has been served late it does not give the driver an excuse for not replying to the requirement to provide driver details. This protocol recognises that motorists are required to produce driving documents to police officers following a lawful demand and that the documents may be produced at a nominated police station. A NIP can also be issued to limited companies and the requirement of disclosure is is also obligatory. The police must serve the notice on either the driver or the registered keeper. The offence under section 1(1) of the Criminal Damage Act 1971, but only if it is the prosecutor's case that (a) the offence was not committed by destroying or damaging property by fire; and (b) the value involved, within the meaning of Schedule 2 to the Magistrates Courts Act 1980, does not exceed 5,000. However, to establish this defence, it is not sufficient for the defendant merely to show that the breaking or removal of the seal could not have been avoided by himself; he must show that the breaking or removal of the seal could not have been avoided in itself (Vehicle Inspectorate v Sam Anderson (Newhouse) Ltd [2002] RTR 13). The driver must be given notice in writing specifying the reason for the prohibition and its duration. We represent drivers throughout Scotland. For example, such a situation may arise where the outstanding summary offence is a drink/drive allegation where the accused is liable to a three-year disqualification following a previous conviction.
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