SECOND D&D offence - penalty and other Qs...

[Mad Dave]

Hi Chaps,

A young lad I know has stupidly been caught drinking and driving for the second time.

The first time he (apparently - pub convo is rarely 100% accurate!) was hammered, driving an unroadworthy car for which he had no license, leaning out of the window and flicking the V's at the Police. I had personally stopped him from driving whilst drunk on several occasions so I can believe this to an extent.

He received either a 1 or 2 year ban and upon re-acquiring his license he had to pay nearly £1500 TPO on a 125cc bike! Anyway, he got his license back a few months ago and last weekend was driving home when he was stopped 'randomly' (presumably Police keep a record of VRNs owned by those convicted of offences?). Anyway, he was marginally over the limit and the Officers at the scene said "You've got to come to the station pal, but we'll leave your bike here on the pavement as it's likely you'll be released as soon as we've taken a blood test". He failed the blood test by a whisker and was kept in overnight. When he got back to his bike in the morning, there it was - gone. Apparently the Police didn't even put the steering lock on. It's been found but the recovery firm want a few hundred pounds storage - chappy wants the Police to foot the bill as it's their fault it was left by the side of the road in the first place. Plus, the lad in question knows someone who works at the recovery firm and he tells him the fingerprinting etc was done 3 days before the Police rang my mate and let him know it was done - he of course has to pay for these extra days storage.

Obviously this chappy is a bloody mug for getting himself into this situation - he's a nice kiddie (19yo) but easily led and completely lacking in common sense. A real shame, as I say, he's not a bad lad at heart. On this occasion though, he was only a touch over, and says he only had a pint of weak lager. Anyway, over's over and he took the risk - you pay's your money and you take's your chance.

So, what penalty is he looking at, and what hope does he have of the Police re-imbursing him for the recovery of the bike?

Thanks

Dave

[g_attrill]

Ignoring the D&D for the moment, recovery charges are a scam. It has been mentioned on here before that it is possible that you can escape them by claiming that you have no contract with the recovery company. Since they have it in their possession he would need to pay it under protest and then sue them for the costs. Whether he will get anywhere is another question, although many people would be interested to see the outcome.

As for the DD - I believe repeat offenders get a 3yr ban unless there is a very good reason. I think I read here that most forces don't prosecute for "just over" anyway, so it is likely to be just over the just over figure, which of course isn't just over and is definately more than a pint of weak lager!

Frankly anybody who drives within 24 hours of drinking when they have a previous DD conviction is absolutely crazy.

Gareth

[jacobyte]

Sorry to hear about that - I hope he matures with age.

Sadly, Hell will freeze over long before the Police stump up for the recovery and storage costs. They cannot reimburse victims of circumstance.

[Mad Dave]

Hi chaps,

Maybe you're right about the 'just over'. Regardless, I do not condone drinking and driving and the guy is a pillock for this. You are right about maturity though, he's not the most mature of guys. Beneath all of this though, he really is a decent guy - honest, hardworking, etc etc.

re Storage charges - apparently the Police are not supposed to leave bikes by the side of the road due to how easily stolen they are. I'm hoping one of our resident BIBs may be able to answer this for me.

Anyway, thanks guys,

Dave

[gone]

Mad Dave said:

Hi chaps, Beneath all of this though, he really is a decent guy - honest, hardworking, etc etc.

Everyone has a sob story and is a nice bloke underneath (mostly )

Mad Dave said:

re Storage charges - apparently the Police are not supposed to leave bikes by the side of the road due to how easily stolen they are. I'm hoping one of our resident BIBs may be able to answer this for me. Anyway, thanks guys, Dave

Police are under no obligation to recover vehicles when drivers are arrested for DD. That includes motorcycles.

Police are obliged to make them as secure as they can before they leave them. They will (should) also not leave them in a position which is either dangerous to others or causes obstruction.

If the vehicle is subject to a criminal offence (damage/theft) whilst it is left there, the police are not liable. However they will investigate the incident!

Your friend will not get much hope of recovering the cost of the storage or recovery. If the bike is worth little, he is better off signing a disclaimer from the garage which will result in no bill. The bike then becomes the property of the garage. It would appear that he will not be needing one for a while anyway!

Sounds as though he needs some severe education! I fear he may shortly get it!

[Mad Dave]

gone said:

Mad Dave said: Hi chaps, Beneath all of this though, he really is a decent guy - honest, hardworking, etc etc. Everyone has a sob story and is a nice bloke underneath (mostly ) Mad Dave said: re Storage charges - apparently the Police are not supposed to leave bikes by the side of the road due to how easily stolen they are. I'm hoping one of our resident BIBs may be able to answer this for me. Anyway, thanks guys, Dave Police are under no obligation to recover vehicles when drivers are arrested for DD. That includes motorcycles. Police are obliged to make them as secure as they can before they leave them. They will (should) also not leave them in a position which is either dangerous to others or causes obstruction. If the vehicle is subject to a criminal offence (damage/theft) whilst it is left there, the police are not liable. However they will investigate the incident! Your friend will not get much hope of recovering the cost of the storage or recovery. If the bike is worth little, he is better off signing a disclaimer from the garage which will result in no bill. The bike then becomes the property of the garage. It would appear that he will not be needing one for a while anyway! Sounds as though he needs some severe education! I fear he may shortly get it!

Hi Gone.

Im sure you're right about the sob stories, what I meant was that he's not a thieving scrote, car thief, murderer, etc etc. He's not the sort to bash an old lady over the head for her pension cheque. He's a hard working mechanic who also works evenings in a pub to pay the rent, and a nice chap to boot. He is a very daft young man though, and one who deserves everything he gets, that I will not deny.

Thanks for the info though, it is much appreciated. I had feared that all of our resident BiBs may have fled this place after all the hassle ive seen you all receive over the last few months, but i'm pleased to see you're still here.

Kind regards

Dave

[gone]

Mad Dave said:

Thanks for the info though, it is much appreciated. I had feared that all of our resident BiBs may have fled this place after all the hassle ive seen you all receive over the last few months, but i'm pleased to see you're still here. Kind regards Dave

My pleasure. I have broad shulders. I have been around a long time in blue serge. A few disgruntled speed merchants will not stop me having my half penneth !

I am sure your mate is a lovely bloke. Thank god he has been captured before he was involved in a disaster!

[Mad Dave]

Thanks Gone.

[autismuk]

gone said:

Your friend will not get much hope of recovering the cost of the storage or recovery. If the bike is worth little, he is better off signing a disclaimer from the garage which will result in no bill. The bike then becomes the property of the garage. It would appear that he will not be needing one for a while anyway! Sounds as though he needs some severe education! I fear he may shortly get it!

Sounds like he was a bit of a prat.

However, there are several cases of people being charged large sums to recover their own cars which have been stolen, and similar scams, which I believe are down to contracts signed between the Police and the Recovery teams.

[busa_rush]

Sounds like he needs a chance to grow up before he drives again, maybe he'll learn to either tell the truth or count his units properly too. Better still - don't drink and drive at all.