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“The one thing that unites all human beings, regardless of age, gender, religion, economic status, or ethnic background, is that, deep down inside, we all believe that we are above-average drivers!”
Most of us spend our whole lives without ever having to encounter the police or the criminal courts. Unfortunately, however, statistics show that we are much more likely, at some point in our lives, to find ourselves on the receiving end of a notice from the police or a court summons for a road traffic offence.
With the increasing use of technology by the police, it is now more common to be accused of a road traffic offence than it has been in the past. That trend is unlikely to change in the future.
Whilst motoring law is one of the most common areas of law involving the criminal courts, it is often the most complicated and can, of course, have a massive impact on those involved.
At hpjv solicitors, we understand how valuable your driving licence is to you and our role is to ensure that a proactive defence is put forward for you with a view to ensuring that you achieve the best realistic outcome in the circumstances of the offence alleged against you.
We can support you with all aspects of motoring and driving offences, including:
- Speeding offences
- Drink driving offences
- Drug driving offences
- Surpassing 12 penalty points (totting up)
- Careless driving and dangerous driving
- Causing serious injury by careless and dangerous driving
- Death by dangerous or careless driving
- Failing to identify a driver
- Driving while disqualified
- Driving without insurance
- Using a mobile while driving
- Appealing a driving conviction
We regularly work with corporate and business clients in relation to alleged offences committed by their employees in company vehicles. This includes offences in relation to tachographs, vehicle overloading and more.
Get in touch with our motoring offences in Cardiff, Newport and Chepstow
If you have been served with a Notice of Intended Prosecution (NIP), or are under investigation for a serious motoring offence, our driving offence solicitors can help.
For a free, no obligation chat with our motoring offence solicitors in Cardiff, Newport and Chepstow, please get in touch today by giving us a call or filling in our online enquiry form.
Our expertise with motoring offences
Speeding offences
Being accused of speeding, either by a speed camera or by the police, could lead to a court hearing. If convicted, you can expect to receive a fine, points on your licence and/or a driving ban. In many cases, this is a punishment which could have very serious consequences.
However, such punishments may not be as severe with the correct type of legal representation. We are highly experienced in navigating the various avenues for defending speeding allegations, helping to mitigate or reduce penalties or having penalties overturned altogether.
Drink driving offences
The severity of drink driving penalties can vary significantly depending on a variety of circumstances. In the worst-case scenario, you could receive a lengthy prison sentence, such as if you have caused a death while under the influence of alcohol.
Our team will construct a tailored representation to any allegations of drink driving you may be facing, including exploring various options such as applying for drink-driving rehabilitation schemes (DDRS) to reduce any potential penalties.
Drug driving offences
Though they are perhaps not as well documented as drink driving offences, drug driving offences are equally serious.
Our motoring offence solicitors will ensure that you have the strongest representation against any drug driving allegations, including where you have been prescribed a specific controlled drug that may have been supplied for medical or dental purposes.
Careless driving and dangerous driving
Careless driving will involve any examples of someone’s standard of driving falling below what is expected of a competent driver. This could include actions such as missing a red light, incorrectly using a lane or driving unnecessarily slowly.
Dangerous driving involves actions that fall far below what is expected of a competent driver. Being charged with dangerous driving could be the result of ignoring road signs, erratic driving, driving a vehicle with a known fault and overtaking dangerously.
There are now more serious offences of causing serious injury by careless and dangerous driving. These offences can lead to a lengthy prison sentences and period of disqualification from driving, which highlights the need for expert criminal defence.
Death or injury caused by driving
Causing death by careless or dangerous driving is an incredibly serious offence. Convictions are likely to be coupled with lengthy prison sentences.
We can carefully review your case and build a solid case that takes into account a range of factors. Whether it is to argue that fault lies with another road user, that your actions did not amount to careless or dangerous driving, or that your driving did not cause the accident leading to the death, we will piece together the strongest possible defence.
Failing to identify a driver
It may be a criminal offence if a person does not identify/nominate a driver when requested by the police or another authorised person. The registered keeper of the vehicle is responsible for disclosing details which identify a driver who is alleged to have committed a motoring offence.
Depending on the type of allegation means that a notice of intended prosecution has to be sent to the registered keeper. There are strict time limits for the sending, receiving and completing these notices. To give you the best chance of successfully defending these types of allegations, ensure that you instruct a solicitor early in the investigation.
The potential penalties for simply failing to identify a driver can have a major impact on your life, including the potential revocation of your license if you are a new driver. Our team’s advice is therefore critical.
Driving while disqualified
If you are currently disqualified from driving, being caught behind the wheel of a vehicle is a criminal offence that could lead to imprisonment and a further disqualification from driving.
If you have been caught “red-handed”, expert representation will be key to receiving a reduced penalty or avoiding prosecution altogether.
Using a mobile while driving
The laws on using a mobile phone while driving is very clear and now extends to essentially any handheld use when driving. However, there are exceptions to this law and the meaning of “driving” can also be a point of defence. When combined with other relevant offences, such as careless or dangerous driving, the penalties for the more serious offence can be increased.
Surpassing 12 penalty points
If you receive penalty points for driving offences, taking you to the 12-point threshold, you may face a disqualification from driving. Naturally, this is something you will want to avoid wherever possible and there are legal arguments that can be advanced to avoid what would otherwise be a mandatory disqualification from driving. Our motoring offences solicitors can support you.
Why work with our motoring offence solicitors?
There are many motoring offences in the statute books that carry the risk of penalty points or disqualification. For many of us, a conviction for a motoring offence can be disastrous.
There are likely to be a range of consequences, such as increased insurance premiums, loss of job, family and friends who rely on you being affected, sometimes the need to take a further or extended driving test and even the prospect of a prison sentence for the most serious motoring offences. This highlights the need for highly specialised advice from a team of expert solicitors.
As a team, we have been recognised for our dedication to providing the highest quality criminal law advice with the Law Society’s Criminal Litigation Accreditation.
Where expert evidence is needed, our driving solicitors work very closely with tried and tested experts in the fields of drug and alcohol analysis, road traffic investigators and mechanics to ensure that everything possible is done in each case to advance the best defence possible for each client.
Where our examination of the facts and circumstances of your case reveals that there is no defence available, our work does not stop there. We are experts in damage limitation and will proactively, on your behalf, advance special reasons or exceptional hardship arguments to avoid or reduce any disqualification that would ordinarily follow. We are also experienced in securing the return of vehicles that may have been seized by prosecuting authorities.
Our motoring offences solicitors will be readily available to support you, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
Motoring offence FAQs
Is a motoring offence a criminal offence?
Yes, if you are convicted of a motoring offence and it is deemed to be a ‘recordable offence’, it will be added to your criminal record. Criminal records that relate to motoring convictions will be spent after a certain period of time.
What is the Road Traffic Act?
The Road Traffic Act 1988 is the primary legislation for motoring offences in the UK.
How long do the police have to prosecute a motoring offence?
For the more common, low level motoring offences, such as speeding, going through a red light etc, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) will have six months from the date of the motoring offence to issue criminal proceedings. However, the police have an obligation to send out notices to you for some offences prior to the case passing to the CPS. However, the more serious the motoring offence, the less likely that there will be a time limit on when the CPS can prosecute.
What happens if the police can’t prove who was driving?
If it can be demonstrated that a suspected motoring offence took place, but it cannot be shown who was driving at the time, the person keeping the vehicle is obligated to supply the information of the driver. Usually, a Notice of Intended Prosecution will be served to the registered keeper.
How long do penalty points remain on my license?
Depending on the offence, endorsements (penalty points) must remain on your licence for either four or 11 years, depending on the offence. However, the relevance of those endorsements for the purpose of ‘totting up’ last for 3 years from the date of the offence.
Will a conviction for a motoring offence cause my insurance to go up?
Yes, almost certainly. If you have any points on your licence, it will usually still be possible to obtain insurance, but fewer insurers are likely to provide cover and premiums will be higher.
Our motoring offence fees
If you are to be interviewed at a police station for a suspected motoring offence, we can provide you with free legal aid regardless of the seriousness or complexity of the driving incident or of your financial circumstances.
For court proceedings, legal aid is only likely to be available if the offence is a serious one, such as dangerous driving, driving while disqualified, repeated drink driving offences, or if your case involves a complex point of law.
Legal aid for court is also means tested. Our driving solicitors will advise you as to your eligibility for legal aid. If legal aid is not available, then we can explore the availability of other types of funding, typically an insurance policy. In the absence of this, we will provide a bespoke cost estimate which will often comprise of a fixed fee for the entire case.
We would like to think, and certainly our clients tell us so, that we stand out from the crowd because, not only do we offer experience, a professional service and competitive prices, but because we are friendly, approachable, and put our clients’ interests right at the forefront of our business.
Get in touch with our motoring offences solicitors in Cardiff, Newport and Chepstow
If your driving licence is important to you, and you find yourself in trouble, contact us today for a free, no obligation, friendly chat with one of our team. The sooner you contact us, the sooner you may find some peace of mind. Contact your local office in Cardiff, Newport or Chepstow.
