If NIP received whilst abroad
Discussion
I'm about to go abroad for 2 months, but think I MIGHT have been caught by new average speed cameras in the town.
No-one has access to my house while I'm away so any NIP will sit on the mat for two months, unopened.
Does anyone know if it's possible to find out before leaving if I have been caught so I can inform the authority of the situation and avoid it getting more messy!
No-one has access to my house while I'm away so any NIP will sit on the mat for two months, unopened.
Does anyone know if it's possible to find out before leaving if I have been caught so I can inform the authority of the situation and avoid it getting more messy!

Show your return ticket dates when you're back if you get one, 2 months is quite a while to leave *everything* unattended though, shirley there's someone who could nip in (haha, geddit) and rifle through your post in a fortnight to see if there's anything there with Police writing on the envelope
If you're 'going abroad' where you dont need to take your own clothes and have some issued to you, there is a decent reason for not replying back to the NIP, failing that I'm sure anyone reasonable would understand that if you werent in the country you werent able to open your post, so I'd guess that if you do get one, you might have some mitigating circumstances and have some proof (passport, tickets, nice tan etc)
If you went to court for failing to provide the drivers details of an offense due to an unanswered NIP simply being out the country isn't a defence that has worked for others.
People have tried this defence before and it wasn't successful.
Since you're out the country for 2 months previous court cases would dictate you should have some sort of mail forwarding system in place.
People have tried this defence before and it wasn't successful.
Since you're out the country for 2 months previous court cases would dictate you should have some sort of mail forwarding system in place.
It's only a suspicion that I might have been caught - I don't know for a fact. If I have, there's a slim chance a NIP could arrive before I leave (5 days time).
If not, it sounds like I'll just have to take my chances and sort it out when I return. I'll have proof from my passport, tickets etc. If it's not good enough, then I'll have to take the punishment I guess.
What I was mainly wondering though, is there any way to find out before I leave, and some way to inform the authorities beforehand if I have been caught?
Maybe I should just ask my local Police what to do!
If not, it sounds like I'll just have to take my chances and sort it out when I return. I'll have proof from my passport, tickets etc. If it's not good enough, then I'll have to take the punishment I guess.
What I was mainly wondering though, is there any way to find out before I leave, and some way to inform the authorities beforehand if I have been caught?
Maybe I should just ask my local Police what to do!

Edited by sorrel on Tuesday 14th July 16:04
The Spruce goose said:
redirect your mail, easy.
This - just put a re-direct on to a friend or relative:http://www.postoffice.co.uk/redirection
Costs 30 quid.
Just a quick follow up - I called my local Police who gave me the number for the "cameras, tickets and collisions unit" who will let me know if I've been caught in the road I think I have and explain the procedure. They're closed now, but I'll call in the morning.
Should've thought of that first I guess, but thanks anyway for the advice guys.
Should've thought of that first I guess, but thanks anyway for the advice guys.
Retroman said:
If you went to court for failing to provide the drivers details of an offense due to an unanswered NIP simply being out the country isn't a defence that has worked for others.
People have tried this defence before and it wasn't successful.
Do you have a link?People have tried this defence before and it wasn't successful.
Retroman said:
Since you're out the country for 2 months previous court cases would dictate you should have some sort of mail forwarding system in place.
When I had this in place after a permanent change, a worryingly large amount still got delivered to my old address. Fortunately the incumbent was kind enough to let me know and send it on. The items that did get correctly redirected by RM took anything from an extra 2 to 10 days to arrive. Even with a 100% success rate by RM, I dread to think how long it would be to a non-UK address. Anything that has a fixed time scale for a response could mean much, or even all, of it could be eroded. sorrel said:
... I'll just have to take my chances and sort it out when I return. I'll have proof from my passport, tickets etc. If it's not good enough, then I'll have to take the punishment I guess.
...
As long as you engage ASAP after your return and finding the envelopes on your doormat, it will be good enough....
Edited by sorrel on Tuesday 14th July 16:04
Admittedly you're hoping to short-circuit this in the morning, but if the worst comes to the worst then the situation - prosecution for the original offence rather than "failure to furnish" - is easily sortable upon your return.
Post on PePiPoo, if you're concerned about the above; they will confirm this in more detail.
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