fixed penalty notice

[timf]

from the locost builders forum

Lord Dave said:

I was driving to my uncles house yesterday. where I keep my project car I was about 30 secs away from his road when i was pulled over by the police. I had noticed them behind me some time ago but thought nothing of it, I get pulled alot being 19 driving a mk2 fiesta with a huge dent in the door seems to be reasonable grounds for what ever they want these days specialy if i have my mates with me. so I step out of the car andstand by the road talking to the first pc I am very polite and aswer all his questions properly. Then the other pc decides to with out warning reach into my car and pop the bonnet, so I asked what he was doing and the pc talking to me said "he is just having a look around." So i said " should he not have told me first" and he replied "he has probably assumed i am telling you now but maybe he should of. " so any way 10mins later I have in my hand a fixed penalty notice for £60 and 3 points and a pg9 (do not drive car on road unless to prebooked mot test) prohibition notice. aparrently my rear wheel bearings are excessivly warn and could fail at any time the bushes on my anti roll bar are also excessivley warn and with out being given any warning i have to pay £60 to have it towed 30secs away. can they really do this it says i can have it delt with by a court they didnt give me a chance to put it right. I mean how often should i have to check these things I always keep my mot up to date. any suggestions of what might be done greatly apretiated. Its not really the money its the points that gets me if a have them ive only got 3 left because I havent had my licence for 2 years yet please help!

[Streetcop]

Unfortunately....Yes...

The guy was obviously a police vehicle examiner as only they can issue the PG9 (prohibition from driving/using) notice.

I personally would have asked YOU to open the bonnet for me..that way, handles don't come off in my hand..

The defects would render the vehicle dangerous and therefore the offence of 'Using a vehicle in a dangerous condition' would have been committed.

Sorry I couldn't give you good news mate.

Best now to plead your case along the lines of;
"I've got a current MOT, full driving licence, it's insured and taxed. I've never suspected anything was wrong with the vehicle and if I did suspect such, would have had the problems rectified before using the vehicle"
Time to be humble, I'm afraid...

Best of luck
Street

[andygo]

A few years ago (well lots of years ago actually) I bought an ex Glasgow Police MKII escort Panda car to use as a basis for a rally car.

I was amazed to find that both front anti roll bar bushes were not only worn, but to take up the play, had had bits of old inner tube forced into them to take up the play!

Wonder how you would haave got on with that with your friendly examiner?

[supraman2954]

timf said:

from the locost builders forum Lord Dave said: .....how often should i have to check these things I always keep my mot up to date....

Good point! My mum (bless her) wouldn't have a clue what to do if her battery connector fell off, how would she know if she had worn out bushes? I'm sure many are in the same position.

I believe the MOT certificate claims that your car is roadworthy for the instant when it's issued (disclaimer on the back), but it does say that you can question if you think yours was incorrectly awarded. Could Timf argue that the MOT station should have picked up and warned about the worn bushes? (I'm sure these don't go from mint condition to excessively worn in less than 12 months)

[Streetcop]

andygo said:

A few years ago (well lots of years ago actually) I bought an ex Glasgow Police MKII escort Panda car to use as a basis for a rally car. I was amazed to find that both front anti roll bar bushes were not only worn, but to take up the play, had had bits of old inner tube forced into them to take up the play! Wonder how you would haave got on with that with your friendly examiner?

Do as they say, not as they do.......

Street

[lord dave]

hi all thanks for the help. Now how do I deal with this do I write aletter to the police do I fill in the slip saying I want a court hear any ideas streetcop or any one else for that matter. Thanks in advance.

[MilnerR]

Got stopped and inspected a couple of years ago while driving a very very knackered looking polo. Rust, covered in dents moldy interior etc etc. I was there ages! The inspector was determined to find something unroadworthy about it. In his growing desperation chastised me for have a faulty number plate light To be fair to the chap my car looked like a death trap but all the bits that should moved did and all those that shouldn't move didn't. As far as your problem is concerned, put it down to bad look and take your medicine. Doesn't matter whether you were aware of the faults or not the faults were still present and you have a duty of care to keep your vehicle legal. life can be a bitch like that.

[Mr2Mike]

said:

aparrently my rear wheel bearings are excessivly warn and could fail at any time the bushes on my anti roll bar are also excessivley warn and with out being given any warning i have to pay £60 to have it towed 30secs away

What a crock of sht. I can only imagine you have pissed them off some stage or they were very bored, either way this is the kind of behaviour that does the police no favours at all.

The likelyhood of wheel bearings suddenly failing is simply miniscule unless they are literaly falling to pieces. I think the Fiesta uses tapered bearings in the rear hubs so they may just need tightening slightly.

What model is the Fiesta (e.g. Ghia, XR2)? The basic ones don't even have an anti-roll bar. Irrespective worn anti roll bar bushes are no going to cause sudden loss of control. Unless the rear wheels were literaly falling off, it sounds like a simple vehicle defect rectification notice would have been sufficient.

[Pigeon]

Presumably you put your handbrake on when you stopped? If so I don't see how anyone could form any kind of impression at all about the state of the rear wheel bearings.