This is a summary offence. . It is not possible for you to have your driving documents checked at court. The Vehicle Excise and Registration Act 1994 (VERA) requires a mechanically propelled vehicle used or kept on a public road to be registered and licensed. There is no direct binding authority on the definition of a 'false chart', but it is suggested that the following elements should be present: See also the decision of the Court of Appeal in R v Bishirgian, Howeson and Hardy [1936] 1 All ER 586 at page 591 and R v Osman, Mills and Chalker 09/01/93 (unreported, but copy of judgement held at HQ Library). We can help. Offences against traffic signs and police signals are dealt with in Sections 35, 36, 37 and 163 of the Road Traffic Act 1988. Each case must be considered on its own facts to determine whether or not s148 applies. It was clear that in requiring the production of a document or the handing over of records Article 14(2) of Council Regulation 3821/85 and s.99 Transport Act 1968 should be interpreted so that it was within the officer's discretion whether he chose to inspect the charts at the operators' premises or take them away for further analysis. 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. 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. These offences are triable either way and punishable with a maximum of two years' imprisonment on indictment. What is the charge? Learn more here . It will normally be accompanied with a requirement to provide the details of the driver of the vehicle. 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. The time limit for service . . Further exceptions to the six-month time limit appear in provisions in other Acts identical in effect to section 6 RTOA 1988. On appeal, the court did not accept that a prosecution could not proceed because of a lack of warning of prosecution where police become aware of the offence after 14 days had passed. Offences are either way, punishable by way of fine in the Magistrates' Court or by imprisonment (maximum two years) in the Crown Court. In Vehicle Inspectorate v Blakes Chilled Distribution Ltd [2002] 166 JP Jo.118, the Administrative Court held that the intent necessary to prove vicarious liability was established where it could be proved that an employer had failed to take reasonable steps to prevent contraventions by drivers, provided that such failure was not due to honest mistake or accident. Where the police refer a case involving a Self-balancing Personal Transporter to the CPS, the prosecutor should, as is usual, consider the facts of the case, having regard to the licensing considerations set out above, and apply the two stages of the full code test in the Code for Crown Prosecutors when deciding whether or not a prosecution should proceed. The Registered Keeper (RK) of the vehicle will receive a Notice of Intended Prosecution (NIP) within 14 days of the offence. Where there is a conviction for careless driving the lesser offence of failing to conform should be preserved at least until the chance of a reversal of the careless driving conviction has passed. The following factors should be considered in prosecutions relating to drivers' hours, breaches or falsifications: Procedure where No Documents are Produced at a Police Station and Summonses for Apparent Offences are Issued, Defendants Attempting to Produce Documents at Court for the First Time, Notice To Persons Summonsed To Court For Either Not Having Or Failing To Produce To The Police Any Relevant Documents For The Use Of A Motor Vehicle On A Road Or Public Place, SCHEDULE 1 - OFFENCES PROCEEDINGS SPECIFIED BY ARTICLE 3(1). A. Such a warning need not be specific but must refer to one or more of the offences to which s.1 RTOA 1988 applies. It was held that a tachograph chart that had been falsified came within section 9(1)(g) of the Act when a record was being made during a period when there wrongly purported to be a second driver who was driving, when in fact there was only one driver at the wheel. Despite the fact that offences involving falsification of charts have been both investigated and prosecuted as forgeries under the 1981 Act for many years, a combination of this decision and the Osman case demonstrates beyond doubt that false charts can constitute false instruments under that Act. Failure to provide the information will result in court proceedings for that failure. Know your possible technical defences to protect your licence. The words 'uses', 'causes' and 'permits' are deemed to have the same meaning for the purposes of the TA as they have for the purposes of the Road Traffic Acts. The police must serve the notice on either the driver or the registered keeper. Furthermore, considerable time will have elapsed since the alleged commission of the offences. The onus of establishing special reasons lies on the defence, and the standard is that of the balance of probabilities. It may then be possible for your case to be dealt with in your absence, but only if you have been offered this opportunity in the other documents that are with the summons and you return the necessary documents to the court in time with the required details. If the vehicle is a company car, the police will send the first notice to . There may, from time to time, be cases that call for exceptional treatment and departure from the normal procedures. Find out about speeding limits and penalties, what to do if you receive a speeding ticket and driver awareness courses. In R v Mooney [1997] Crim LR 137) the defendant pleaded guilty but then successfully argued that there was no evidence to prove the previous disqualification; on appeal it was held that the court should have taken into account the admission of previous disqualification implicit in his guilty plea. Additionally, the user would need a driving licence and motor insurance. The following are the matters listed: (a) the age or physical or mental condition of persons driving the vehicle, Acts which breach these sections will often also amount to offences of a more serious nature which carry greater penalties. This should be done with the approval of the court and in order to assist in determining the question of disqualification. The purpose of a notice of intended prosecution (NIP) is to inform a potential defendant that they may be prosecuted for an offence they have committed, whilst the incident is still fresh in their memory. The offences under section 12(3) and 14(3) of the Drugs Act 2005. Where no production is made at the nominated police station, the police may issue proceedings that allege either or both allegations that the motorist drove/used a motor vehicle without the proper documentation or that he or she failed to produce them as required by law. In West Yorkshire Probation Board v Boulter [2005] EWHC 2342 (Admin); R v Burns [2006] 2 Cr. Prejudice to a defendant by the delay and the lack of early notification of the impending prosecution can be addressed by abuse of process proceedings and s. 78 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act. This penalty notice is called a Notice of Intended Prosecution (NIP). Please note, if the notice is sent to you by post, it should contain the following details: The details of the driving offence (e.g. The offence under section 49 of the Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004. However, the Divisional Court held that the purported restriction fell within s.148(2)(e) and was therefore void. (g) the carrying on the vehicle of any particular apparatus, or News. In. For more information see Mutual Recognition of Driving Disqualification, elsewhere in the Legal Guidance. 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). See also the Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions 1994 (SI 1994/1519). The driver must be given notice in writing specifying the reason for the prohibition and its duration. 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. Liability for these offences falls upon the "Driver" (for the Domestic Rules) or the 'Offender' (for the European Community Rules). What happens after a notice of intended prosecution? The expression 'traffic sign' is defined in section 64 of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 and the colour, size and type of signs are prescribed by the Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions 2002. 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'. All agencies should be alive to these cases in the interests of justice and respond as required, but no actions should be taken or departure from the standard procedure made where this might prejudice the future interest of any victim. 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. In cases prosecuted on indictment under sections 1, 2, 3A and 22A RTA 1988 it will be usual for related summary offences to be adjourned sine die, or for there to be a lengthy period of remand, in order to await the outcome of the trial at the Crown Court. In Skills Motor Coaches Ltd, Farmer, Burley and Denman (Case C-297/99), the European Court of Justice held that time spent on activities having a bearing on driving, such as time spent reaching the pick-up point for a tachograph vehicle, would affect his state of tiredness and must be regarded as forming part of 'all other periods of work' within Article 15 of Regulation No. Assessment of the role played by each person in the company/operator in the case of large scale prosecutions; Whether there has been systematic flouting of the law resulting in widespread falsification of records endorsed by management. In Cantabria Coach Holdings Ltd v Vehicle Inspectorate [2000] RTR 286 the court took account of the need to ensure effective checking. 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. For pelican/zebra crossings and puffin pedestrian crossings see the Zebra, Pelican and Puffin Pedestrian Crossings Regulations and General Directions 1997 (SI 1997/2400). Once the vehicle is identified and the registered keeper (your lease company) confirmed, a penalty notice will head into the mail. The statute of limitations for injuries to children only starts at the eighteenth birthday. Our specialist lawyers have years of experience having dealt with 100s of cases with a high success rate. This will be sent to the registered keeper within 14 days of the offence. It is important to remember, however, that the alternative verdict can only be returned where the jury or magistrates have found the defendant 'not guilty' of the substantive charge.
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