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Patch44
Hello, I'm hoping for some helpful advice on my case - I have no experience of offences like this so any further information is massively appreciated.

Yesterday I received a SJPN which details two charges: - Failure to give information relating to the identity of the driver when required and - Exceeding 50mph speed limit in contravention of a Local Traffic Order.
This SJPN is the first document I've received regarding either offence. I never received a NIP or any other information prior to this but here's the details of how this has happened:

The speeding offence was recorded as 58mph in a 50mph zone captured by manned equipment and was for a rental van that I was detailed as renting at the time in August 2020. I was moving house in this rental van so a couple of days after the offence, I changed my address on my driving licence. Then in October 2020 I received an email from the rental company informing me that they had received notice of a traffic violation and were passing on my details - the rental company still had my old address on their records so I told them my new address and they confirmed that they passed this on to the issuing agency for them to reissue the fine in my name & correct address. I then heard nothing more until yesterday when I received the SJPN hand delivered by the previous occupant of my new address... they had received it with an incorrect Royal Mail redirection sticker sending it onto their new address and opened it before realising it was not for them.

I was then a little confused as the posting date detailed on the SJPN was 11/02/21 and I was supposed to have 21 days to respond but the envelope was franked with the date 17/03/21. I rang the court service centre phone number and they told me it was initially sent on the 11/02/21 and my case due to be heard on 11/03/21 - this was then adjourned and postponed until 01/04/21 with the same SJPN being sent out again with my correct address (this is the one that got redirected but has eventually found its way to me). I'm not sure if any other documents were incorrectly redirected to their address too or if they were all sent to my old address.

The court advised I get the SJPN sent back as soon as possible but I'd appreciate some advise on what to do next. Do I have enough evidence to prove that I'm not guilty for the failure to give information and just take the points for the speeding offence? Also do I need to get a solicitor to help here or am I able to just proceed with providing the evidence myself? - after a free consultation with a solicitor they said they would just attend court with me if I was required to attend but the fee is pretty expensive.
Also I feel like its a long shot but is there anyway they I can get back to the initial NIP being reissued so I have options for a speed awareness course & fee rather than the points & fine?

It all feels pretty over complicated now, but thanks if anyone is willing to help or advise.
The Rookie
Right now the best advice is to plead NOT GUILTY to BOTH charges.

You then have a simple choice, right now they cannot convict you of speeding as they have insufficient evidence* you were driving, so the usual form here is that when this gets to a court hearing you offer to plead guilty to the speeding if the failing to furnish charge is dropped, this is simple and routine.

Or you could challenge the S172 charge on the basis that the request was never served on you as they appear to have been provided/have sent it to the wrong address but these carries an element of risk, not least as you would have to take the stand and give evidence and could then be asked who was driving!


*They won't realistically try, although obviously they have 'some evidence'.
southpaw82
QUOTE (The Rookie @ Mon, 22 Mar 2021 - 12:50) *
Or you could challenge the S172 charge on the basis that the request was never served on you as they appear to have been provided/have sent it to the wrong address but these carries an element of risk, not least as you would have to take the stand and give evidence and could then be asked who was driving!

Also risky on the basis that "served" doesn't mean "received". If the notice was served at the defendant's last known address (which it seems it was) then there's a good chance it will be considered served. In those circumstances, the defence under s 172(7)(b) could be run instead - not reasonably practicable to respond.

The OP stands a fair chance of turning up at court and agreeing with the prosecutor that he will plead guilty to the speeding if the s 172 charge is withdrawn. Once that is done, the OP can legitimately ask the court to impose a sentence identical to the fixed penalty that ought to have been offered. It's up to the court whether it agrees or not and, if it does, whether to impose a fine of £100 + costs + surcharge or to adjust the fine so that the fine + costs + surcharge = £100.
Irksome
Surely the OP would be best advised to defend the S172 on the above basis - it clearly wasn't reasonably praticable to give a response through no fault of the OP's? If the OP sent a solictor to represent them, the question of who was driving couldn't be answered?
andy_foster
If the OP is up for a fight, and the associated risks, defending the s. 172 on the basis that it was not reasonably practicable to provide the information seems quite appealing. However, unless he can get a statement (and/or witness) from the hire company admitting that they messed up by not providing the address they had been given, the OP would need to give evidence himself.

As they are separate charges, it would be improper to question him regarding the alleged speeding offence when he is giving evidence regarding the s. 172. However, *if* the prosecution had evidence that he was the only person insured to drive the van, that might well be sufficient at least for a finding that there is a case to answer.
Patch44
Thank you all for the information so far - it's certainly given me plenty to consider. I think I'm going to proceed with the lower risk option of accepting the speeding charge but pleading not guilty on the s172 with the information and evidence that I provided correct addresses at appropriate times.
Does anyone know if this is always guaranteed to go to court simply because of that not guilty plea? or can my evidence be considered before hand?
Also if I proceed with this, is the fine fixed? or dependant on the findings of the hearing?
Glacier2
You need to plead not guilty to both charges initially. If you plead now to speeding you have handed the prosecution an open goal and you are on the wrong end of 9 points.
NewJudge
Be careful how you approach this. The advice given by Rookie in post #2 is the way to go. You must plead Not Guilty to both charges. When your case is heard you then offer to plead guilty to speeding only if the S172 charge is dropped. You would normally have to attend court to do this but we have heard in some places at the moment the process is being dealt with by phone.

You can aske to be sentenced at the Fixed Penalty level (£100 and 3 points). The court has guidance which suggests this can be done:

"Where a penalty notice could not be offered or taken up for reasons unconnected with the offence itself, such as administrative difficulties outside the control of the offender, the starting point should be a fine equivalent to the amount of the penalty and no order of costs should be imposed. The offender should not be disadvantaged by the unavailability of the penalty notice in these circumstances."


Your situation came about because of an administrative difficulty outside your control.
Patch44
Okay that sounds like the best plan of action then. I'll proceed as you guys have advised. Thank you once again for your responses and info - I really appreciate it.
Is there anything else at all that anyone thinks I need to know or keep in mind? Any more tips or words of wisdom to take away?
The Rookie
Just to put you at ease, we see probably 2-3 cases a week similar to this, we know of NO case where the offer was put politely being declined (one person chose to be a complete 4r5e and paid the price).
Patch44
That does help to put me at ease at least a little. Thank you once again - this really is massively helpful. I'll update more once there's been progress/an outcome
Patch44
Just coming back to update on how this one panned out.

I proceeded as advised and returned SJPN with not guilty and some brief description explaining the issues. I was then given a court date to attend in a few months time.
A few weeks passed and another letter from the issuing police force arrived to inform me that my case had been discontinued... all charges dropped as it was not in the public interest to continue the case. What a relief!
I'm assuming they've been dropping low priority cases to deal with court backlogs.

Anyway, just wanted to say thank you again to all those who helped and advised. Your service is so valuable and massively appreciated!
The Rookie
Well that was a good result, legally it's not black and white which way it would go, but public interest seems reasonable.
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