Pulled for no insurance - court summons awaits. Help !!!
Discussion
So as the title says, yesterday morning (July 15th) I was pulled over by North Wales Police whilst driving my friends car. Reason was due to a non standard size / font front number plate and as the procedure goes I was found to not be covered third party on the vehicle which I thought I was. I admitted I was at fault and it was stupid of me to not carry out the correct due diligence and ensure the appropriate cover is in place, I also should have said no when offered the opportunity to drive my friends car.
So as well as being issued a fixed penalty notice for driving a car with an illegal front plate I am now awaiting a court summons with the option of 6 points and a £300 fine. I admitted to the officer (only 1 copper was present) that it was stupid of me to not check I was covered and put my clean driving record of 7 years at such risk. I said to him that I understand you have a job to do, I thought the best thing was to not argue any case and take it on the chin. The copper said my driving was perfectly fine, no speeding etc as I was followed for about 10 mins although not all was close distance and I was only stopped due to the front plate. I asked him what would happen, all he said was a court summons would land on my door mat but he didn't say how long it would take to be sent to me other than I would receive something in the post. I and my mate shook hands with him and we were on our way.
I have checked my insurance again and it does confirm I am not covered third party to drive another vehicle. Whilst browsing the net this does seem to be a common issue that people are not aware of and have been convicted of such offence. I've told my boss today as 6 points is the limit for our company car policy at work, my job is safe thank god. 3 months prior to this my boss was pulled for 126 in a 70 on the M6, And has still not received a court summons yet. Just a roadside ticket like myself. A quick internet search confirms that there are maybe Mr Loopholes who may be able to help me out and offer a service which hopefully could erase this.
I'm not expecting anything less than the points and fine but do I have any chance of being let off ?
So as well as being issued a fixed penalty notice for driving a car with an illegal front plate I am now awaiting a court summons with the option of 6 points and a £300 fine. I admitted to the officer (only 1 copper was present) that it was stupid of me to not check I was covered and put my clean driving record of 7 years at such risk. I said to him that I understand you have a job to do, I thought the best thing was to not argue any case and take it on the chin. The copper said my driving was perfectly fine, no speeding etc as I was followed for about 10 mins although not all was close distance and I was only stopped due to the front plate. I asked him what would happen, all he said was a court summons would land on my door mat but he didn't say how long it would take to be sent to me other than I would receive something in the post. I and my mate shook hands with him and we were on our way.
I have checked my insurance again and it does confirm I am not covered third party to drive another vehicle. Whilst browsing the net this does seem to be a common issue that people are not aware of and have been convicted of such offence. I've told my boss today as 6 points is the limit for our company car policy at work, my job is safe thank god. 3 months prior to this my boss was pulled for 126 in a 70 on the M6, And has still not received a court summons yet. Just a roadside ticket like myself. A quick internet search confirms that there are maybe Mr Loopholes who may be able to help me out and offer a service which hopefully could erase this.
I'm not expecting anything less than the points and fine but do I have any chance of being let off ?
It'll be interesting to see which way this goes.
I'm now a middle aged boring b
d who's actually quite pissed off by small number plates and people driving without insurance.
However I've never done either when young.
I guess I be pissed, but there's no place for illegal plates other than trying to ps off the law and I'm sorry to sound like a DM reader but the whole story paints a picture, which perhaps will count against being let off!!
So yes, nothing to add, but it's a forum so that's my 2 pence!
I'm now a middle aged boring b
d who's actually quite pissed off by small number plates and people driving without insurance.However I've never done either when young.
I guess I be pissed, but there's no place for illegal plates other than trying to p
s off the law and I'm sorry to sound like a DM reader but the whole story paints a picture, which perhaps will count against being let off!!So yes, nothing to add, but it's a forum so that's my 2 pence!
A fixed penalty is £300 with 6 points endorsed on your licence.
Court proceedings will only commence if you don't pay the fixed penalty / comply with the conditions of the same.
If court proceedings are brought then the fine is unlimited and if you are not disqualified from driving then 6-8 penalty points will be endorsed on your licence.
The institution of court proceedings is usually by Single Justice Procedure Notice. Alternatively, by Postal Requisition. In either case, proceedings must be commenced within 6 months of the offence.
You don't appear to have a defence and nothing you have said amounts to Special Reasons. You could challenge this case on a spurious basis, but if I were you then I wouldn't hold out much hope.
Court proceedings will only commence if you don't pay the fixed penalty / comply with the conditions of the same.
If court proceedings are brought then the fine is unlimited and if you are not disqualified from driving then 6-8 penalty points will be endorsed on your licence.
The institution of court proceedings is usually by Single Justice Procedure Notice. Alternatively, by Postal Requisition. In either case, proceedings must be commenced within 6 months of the offence.
You don't appear to have a defence and nothing you have said amounts to Special Reasons. You could challenge this case on a spurious basis, but if I were you then I wouldn't hold out much hope.
KungFuPanda said:
You’ll know if you have DOC cover or not as our certificate of insurance will say so.
People should also note that although your certificate MAY allow you to drive other cars with third party cover only, it will probably not cover you for driving another car TO SECURE THE RELEASE OF A CAR THAT WAS SEIZED BY/ON BEHALF OF A PUBLIC OR GOVERNMENT AUTHORITY.Pica-Pica said:
OP. As a point of interest, how did the officer check if you had your own insurance that, in your instance, did NOT cover you to drive other cars?
He asked if I was insured on another vehicle, so gave him the reg of my car and it came back insured, taxed etc ... with clean record. He then asked his colleague on the phone to confirm if I was eligible to drive another car third party, which I am not. Pica-Pica said:
KungFuPanda said:
You’ll know if you have DOC cover or not as our certificate of insurance will say so.
People should also note that although your certificate MAY allow you to drive other cars with third party cover only, it will probably not cover you for driving another car TO SECURE THE RELEASE OF A CAR THAT WAS SEIZED BY/ON BEHALF OF A PUBLIC OR GOVERNMENT AUTHORITY.Pica-Pica said:
KungFuPanda said:
You’ll know if you have DOC cover or not as our certificate of insurance will say so.
People should also note that although your certificate MAY allow you to drive other cars with third party cover only, it will probably not cover you for driving another car TO SECURE THE RELEASE OF A CAR THAT WAS SEIZED BY/ON BEHALF OF A PUBLIC OR GOVERNMENT AUTHORITY.No need to state the obvious. What is and isn’t allowed will all be stated on the certificate.
The whole 'driving other cars' entitlement is a complete dog's dinner.
It should be made clear to the proposer at renewal/inception whether DOC is covered, yet twice now I have had that cover lost at renewal when a broker has offered me a renewal with a different underwriter. They always rattle off all the BS crap that reminds me of the joke speed talking on the Simpsons as they take the piss out of the stupid small print, let you know what your excess is and all manner of other academic arse-covering garbage, yet omit to tell you that the DOC you had on your last policy you now don't have. As actually driving uninsured would likely be considered as the most important thing to avoid, then why the hell would the 'new' lack of DOC not be mentioned? Idiots.
It should be made clear to the proposer at renewal/inception whether DOC is covered, yet twice now I have had that cover lost at renewal when a broker has offered me a renewal with a different underwriter. They always rattle off all the BS crap that reminds me of the joke speed talking on the Simpsons as they take the piss out of the stupid small print, let you know what your excess is and all manner of other academic arse-covering garbage, yet omit to tell you that the DOC you had on your last policy you now don't have. As actually driving uninsured would likely be considered as the most important thing to avoid, then why the hell would the 'new' lack of DOC not be mentioned? Idiots.
KungFuPanda said:
If it’s so important, why don’t you ask your broker if it’s included at renewal?
Oh come on, get real.They spend several minutes subjecting you to the BS mandatory spiel that is of zero interest to anybody, yet fail to mention the differences between your previous policy and the new one.
Yet you are trying to lay the blame for that on me.
cmaguire said:
Pica-Pica said:
KungFuPanda said:
You’ll know if you have DOC cover or not as our certificate of insurance will say so.
People should also note that although your certificate MAY allow you to drive other cars with third party cover only, it will probably not cover you for driving another car TO SECURE THE RELEASE OF A CAR THAT WAS SEIZED BY/ON BEHALF OF A PUBLIC OR GOVERNMENT AUTHORITY.That is, if someone was collecting a friend’s car from being impounded, they may not be covered, EVEN THOUGH they have third party cover to drive any other car.
There, not too hard was it? (Perhaps it was).
I'm not expecting anything less than the points and fine but do I have any chance of being let off ?
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I'm afraid that 'No Insurance' is an absolute offence so you will not be 'let off'. Your best bet is to be as humble as you can, plead guilty at the earliest opportunity and hope for a lenient penalty.
cmaguire said:
KungFuPanda said:
If it’s so important, why don’t you ask your broker if it’s included at renewal?
Oh come on, get real.They spend several minutes subjecting you to the BS mandatory spiel that is of zero interest to anybody, yet fail to mention the differences between your previous policy and the new one.
Yet you are trying to lay the blame for that on me.
Or just look over it when the paperwork comes through the post. You've got 14 days to cancel.
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