Driver Identity Section 172 (S172) of the Road Traffic Act 1988. Section 170(2) RTA 1988 provides that the driver of the motor vehicle must stop and, if required to do so by any person having reasonable grounds for so requiring, give his name and address, the name and address of the owner of the vehicle and the identification marks of the vehicle. However, courts should be reluctant to disqualify offenders in their absence because of this potential problem. This offence may often overlap with other statutory offences, namely: When considering the proper charge the prosecutor should consider the appropriate venue for trial. It can be done by way of a summons served on the offender within 14 days of commission of the offence or by a notice of intended prosecution (NIP). Your appeal may mean that the police send a report to the procurator fiscal. This is not the case so far as the employers or persons in authority are concerned. 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. A. . Failure to provide the information will result in court proceedings for that failure. R. 16; and Olakunori v DPP [1998] C.O.D. 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. If you're caught speeding by a speed camera, you'll be sent a Notice of Intended Prosecution (NIP) and a Section 172 notice within 14 days of the alleged offence. Using a mobile phone whilst driving. Arrangements will then be made for the court to be informed about this. The effect is that the duty of the Director of Public Prosecutions to take over the conduct of all criminal proceedings instituted on behalf of a police force will not include a duty to take over specified proceedings. 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. For a detailed explanation of the consequences of prosecution and your options for defending a speeding charge, get in touch which our expert road traffic solicitors today. They are normally sent out when there is about 7 days of the original time limit remaining. The offence under section 49 of the Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004. The prosecution has a duty to assist the court by ensuring that correct and full information, both in law and fact, is given. So what exactly is a written NIP? Care should also be taken to ensure that sufficient charges are put to enable the gravity of the offence to be reflected in the sentencing process. 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. Should any defendant refuse to co-operate with the above procedure, not guilty pleas should be noted, and the case adjourned for trial or review. Sections 16, 17(4), 88(7) and 89(1) (speeding offences) Or aiding and abetting any of the above. Although a NIP must be received within 14 days of the alleged offence, this statutory time limit does not apply to a section 172 demand. Offences are either way, punishable by way of fine in the Magistrates' Court or by imprisonment (maximum two years) in the Crown Court. An example of this is where BAA has deployed a Segway Personal Transporter at Heathrow airport. The Court of Appeal allowed a Reference by the Attorney General (Attorney General's Reference No. Providing this information is a legal obligation under Section 172 of the Road Traffic Act (RTA). Recent cases have established that the three methods of identification of a person as described above were not exhaustive but merely examples. A useful starting point to determine what rules apply to a particular vehicle on a particular journey is to establish, firstly, whether the Transport Act 1968 applies to the vehicle under s.95(2) TA 1968. Failure to do so will entitle the prosecution not only to seek an adjournment but also to cross-examine the defendant on his failure to give such notice so that the court may consider whether that failure reflected upon his bona fides, see DPP v O'Connor [1992] RTR 66, an authority which is also helpful on the procedural requirements and the general approach to be adopted. Then in the first paragraph it lists the incident date as 04/12/22. Note that this offence requires an intention to deceive by misusing the seal in the manner stated in the section. In relation to the controversial right to silence argument, the ECHR verdict in (halloran and francis) enable the British Government to continue to force motorists to incriminate themselves using S172 of the Road Traffic Act, which is almost always the only evidence of the drivers identity in speed camera cases If you do not complete and return the NIP/S172 notice correctly within the 28 day time limit, you face a separate charge of failing to notify driver's details, which is a 6 penalty point offence with a fine of up to 1,000. However, if a Prosecutor is asked to sign a certificate, or to advise the police upon its format, the following example may be adopted. A - A S172 Notice is a legal document, and failure to respond is an offence which can result in prosecution through the courts where the penalty is 6 points on your driving licence and a fine. Your Enquiry Details: (required) For those that attend court without having driving documents checked at a police station, the case is highly likely be put off so that you can take the documents to the nominated police station and have them checked there. In deciding whether to rely on the extended time limit, the prosecutor should ensure that he/she is able to ascertain the date on which sufficient evidence to warrant proceedings came to the knowledge of a police officer investigating the incident, since this is a requirement of the procedure. When the evidence reveals a failure to comply with both subsections (2) and (3), proceedings should be brought for both offences. Summons Time Limit The notice of intended prosecution has to be sent to the registered keeper within 14 days, however if you were pulled over by the police for speeding they will have given your notice of intended prosecution at the roadside. It needs to be made clear that this is separate and distinct from a requirement to identify the driver of a vehicle under section 172 of the Road Traffic Act 1988. The fact that there may be a doubt as to how material was obtained does not automatically prevent admission of the evidence. Where a vehicle is required to be fitted with a tachograph, it is a defence to a charge of using (or causing or permitting the use of) the vehicle when a seal on the recording equipment was not intact, to show (among other things) that the breaking or removal of the seal could not have been avoided (s.97(4)(a) TA 1968]. if you get a ticket from a speed camera) and must be received within 14 days of the offence (or dispatched so that it would reach the driver within the 14 days within the ordinary course of the post). Your co-operation is therefore in your own interests. Notice of Intended Prosecution; Section 172 notice; They, or in the case of a company vehicle, the company secretary, must return the notice within 28 days telling the police who was . Courts should be aware of the opportunity to proceed in the defendant's absence thereafter if either a satisfactory production is made, or the defendant does not cooperate and fails to return. A. Section 127 MCA 1980 states that for all summary offences the information must be laid within six calendar months of the commission of the offence, except where any other Act expressly provides otherwise. I've received a Notice of Intended Prosecution Section 172 Notice. Driving Bans Explained. This should be done with the approval of the court and in order to assist in determining the question of disqualification. The Code for Crown Prosecutors is a public document, issued by the Director of Public Prosecutions that sets out the general principles Crown Prosecutors should follow when they make decisions on cases. A notice of intended prosecution can be given: Road Traffic Act 1988 (RTA 1988) offences to which s.1 RTOA 1988 applies include: Section 2 RTOA 1988 states that the prosecution does not have to comply with s.1 RTOA 1988 if, owing to the presence on a road of a vehicle in respect of which the offence was committed, an accident occurred at the time of the offence or immediately afterwards. We represent drivers throughout Scotland. In relation to s172, in general most police forces prosecute the company and not the Directors for failing to identify the driver as this leads to a conviction and fine without any effort. This protocol recognises that motorists are required to produce driving documents to police officers following a lawful demand and that the documents may be produced at a nominated police station. If such a course is adopted, the reasons should be made clear to the Magistrates' Court. . For this reason, it is best to seek legal advice before completing a Notice of Intended Prosecution. Additionally it may not be in the best interest of the court to prosecute Directors (solely to get points put on a licence). Age prohibitions on driving are set out in s.101 RTA 1988. There is a clear public interest in prosecuting offenders. The general time limit for injury litigation is three years, with multiple exceptions and special cases. (f) the horsepower or cylinder capacity or value of the vehicle, In DPP v Mansfield [1997] RTR 96 the constable who had arrested the defendant for the current offence, and who was present at court, had also arrested him for a previous offence for which the defendant had been disqualified in the constable's absence. Basically a Notice of Intended Prosecution has to be given to you verbally at the time of the alleged offence, or in writing within 14 days, but see below. 0. No notice of intended prosecution was served on the respondent within 14 days of the offence that had been committed over a year before police recovered the DVD footage. Under section 6(3) a certificate signed by or on behalf of the prosecutor, stating the date on which the necessary evidence came to his knowledge is conclusive evidence of that fact. As self-balancing scooters are mechanically propelled they require registration and a vehicle registration licence (tax disc). Even if you believe the S172 Notice does not relate to yourself, you MUST reply, this fulfils your legal obligation and allows the Police to further . It is important to note, however, that only the registered keeper requires to receive such a warning within 14 days. Subsection (4) provides a defence if the Keeper shows that he did not know who the driver was and could not have found out by using reasonable diligence. As a result, if an insurance policy contains a restriction (for example) that the driver must be aged over 21, that restriction may be void and a person aged under 21 who would otherwise have been covered to drive the vehicle may not be guilty of driving without insurance. Learn more here . . It will normally be accompanied with a requirement to provide the details of the driver of the vehicle. A Notice of Intended Prosecution puts a legal obligation on the registered keeper of the vehicle. What happens after a notice of intended prosecution? Under s.96(11)(b) TA 1968 liability also falls upon "any other person (being that driver's employer or a person to whose order the driver was subject) who caused or permitted the contravention". At its most basic level it is a vehicle which can be propelled by mechanical means. Liverlad67 Forumite. Certain exceptions do apply however where it can be shown that the keeper did not know and could not with reasonable diligence have ascertained who the driver of the vehicle was (S172.4). Copyright Roadtrafficlaw.com Solicitors Ltd (c), Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window), Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window), Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window). by serving the defendant with a summons within 14 days of the offence; or. A Notice of Intended Prosecution (also known as a section 1 warning) is a warning issued under section 1 of the Road Traffic (Offenders) Act 1988. Everyone knows that speeding is illegal but according to a recent study, a driver is caught speeding every 75 seconds in the UK, with the average driver going almost 10mph over the limit. It is no defence for a person disqualified in their absence to claim that they did not know that they had been disqualified. The statutory time limit for commencing proceedings is 6 months after the date of the alleged offence. The time limit for a written warning is 14 days from the date of the offence. It is also subject to the general requirement that any prosecution must be brought within three years of the offence taking place. Service of a notice at the last known address of the accused will suffice for good service. Where a person is convicted of an offence involving obligatory disqualification the court must order him to be disqualified for such period not less than twelve months as the court thinks fit unless the court for special reasons thinks fit to order him to be disqualified for a shorter period, or not to order him to be disqualified. A person is guilty of an offence if, while disqualified for holding or obtaining a licence, he obtains a licence, or drives a motor vehicle on a road s.103 RTA 1988. A NIP, or Notice of Intended Prosecution, is used to notify you that you may be prosecuted for a road traffic offence that has been committed. If you have received a Notice of Intended Prosecution (NIP) then the police have evidence that you (or the person driving the vehicle at the time) were travelling in excess of the speed limit. For many offenders their prosecution will be their only experience of criminal law enforcement. The police will then be able to check your documents and note the fact that you have produced them. 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. Police across England and Wales will send out many . The use of traffic signs is regulated by Part V of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984. When notice is given, prosecutors should carefully consider: The courts finding and sentence will be in accordance with sections 34 and 44 RTOA 1988. Legal aid Scotland may be able to help in your case, one of our lawyers will . Zholia Alemi forged N, The CPS Areas, CPS Direct, Central Casework Divisions and Proceeds of Crime, Information for prosecuting advocates including Advocate Panels, Annual reports, business plans and strategies, Code for Crown Prosecutors - Public Interest Considerations, Restoration of Summary Offences after Trial on Indictment, Self-balancing Personal Transporters - Segway etc, Driving/Obtaining a Driving Licence Whilst Disqualified, Charging Practice - Forgery and False Information, etc, Offences in Contravention of the Regulations - s.96, Falsification of Driver's Hours and Records - s.99(5), Power to Prohibit the Driving of UK Vehicles - Section 99A, Tachograph Cases and Public Interest Criteria, Annex A: National Protocol for the Production and Inspection of Driving Documents, Annex B: Specified Proceedings (Offences), Road Traffic - Drug and Drink Driving Offences, The prosecution of traffic offences is vital to the enforcement and promotion of road safety and the protection of the public, and. Case Study: Speeding . The issue can be raised at any relevant stage of the proceedings or be decided as a preliminary point. Such a challenge should usually be considered only if the law was wrongly applied or the decision can be shown to be Wednesbury unreasonable. A notice of intended prosecution can be served for a range of driving offences, ranging from speeding to careless driving. The above cases expanded upon the methods of proof outlined in R v Derwentside Justices ex parte Heaviside in particular allowing the prosecution to rely on similarity of name, date of birth and address. If the company did have such a system but it didnt work on a particular occasion that might suffice as a defence. Should a defendant attempt to produce documents at court for the first time following a previous request for their production at a police station and it can be shown that the defendant was notified that production should initially have been made at the nominated police station, local arrangements should be agreed for the most effective method for the documents' validation by the police before the court proceeds to deal with any outstanding summonses. In interview, the defendant conceded that he could be the rider. A circumstance peculiar to the offender, as distinguished from the offence, is not a special reason: see Whittall v Kirby [1946] 2 All ER 552. Call us on 0161 834 9494 to discuss your case. An allegation of driving without insurance should never be withdrawn as a matter of convenience when pleas of guilty are tendered in respect of other offences. Dangerous driving. Section 1 RTOA 1988 provides that a defendant cannot be convicted of certain road traffic offences set out in schedule 1 RTOA 1988 unless he or she has been warned that the question of prosecution would be taken into consideration. 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. The failure to stop is usually viewed as the more serious of the two. Customer: On page 1 of the Notice of Intended Prosecution it states Notice Issue Date: 23/02/2023. received in proceedings held in the absence of the accused - s.11(1) MCA 1980 proof in absence; read out before the court under s.12(7) MCA 1980 (non-appearance of accused: plea of guilty); or. For example, such a situation may arise where the outstanding summary offence is a drink/drive allegation where the accused is liable to a three-year disqualification following a previous conviction. Much will depend on the nature of the error and any explanation given by the defendant. Records of all production of driving documents should be kept at police stations as a national standard to safeguard the needs of victims who may have a potential claim for personal injury or financial loss. It showed that the bike had been ridden at very high speed in traffic and the rider had done wheelies.