E-scooter confusion continues
Within days of posting my last blog, in which I attempted to warn drivers about the use of e-scooters, it was reported that a 20-year-old on the Isle of Wight was caught using an e-scooter whilst over the drink drive limit. The rider was disqualified for two years! Misunderstanding of…
The fun of an electric scooter can be bad for your licence!
The use of privately owned electric scooters, or ‘e-scooters’, in public is illegal. If you are caught using one, you will face the same consequence as a driver using a motor vehicle illegally. One outcome may be that you lose your driving licence, or opportunity of applying for one. E-scooters…
Separate Courts
What should a motorist do if they committed three offences of speeding at the same location on three different days within the same week and three summonses were issued from different Magistrates’ Court: Willesden Magistrates’ Court, Lavender Hill Magistrates’ Court and Wimbledon Magistrates’ Court? Recently, I was instructed in such…
The new 20 mph speed limit
One of the purposes of these blogs is to inform on developments in law and how they apply in practice in our everyday lives. Reduction in speed limits A relatively new development is the proliferation of 20 mile per hour speed limit zones in residential areas in London and elsewhere….
When is a mobile phone not a phone?
There have been two relatively recent authorities on the use of mobile phones when driving where the Courts have grappled with the complex nature of smart phones. In the Crown Court at Harrow the case of Eldarf, the issue was considered. The question was whether the defendant offended against the…
Drug driving: Cannabis and the amount of drug found
I attended Staines Magistrates’ Court this month. My client was charged with drug/driving. It is an offence under the Road Traffic Act 1988, s5A. The legislation came into force in March 2015. This is a ‘strict liability’ offence; meaning that intent or mental state does not need to be proved….
What to expect in the Covid Courts
COVID COURT What can you expect when you have to appear at, or accompany someone to, Guildford Magistrates’ Court and Staines Magistrates’ Court during Covid? This is not official guidance, only what I have experienced from visiting Guildford Magistrates’ Court and Staines Magistrates’ Court. The criminal Courts are remaining open…
Judgement affected by prescription drugs and alcohol
When prescription drugs and alcohol are combined and driving takes place, the consequences cannot be avoided. When a driver claims to have been confused when he or she embarked on driving, and argues that the confusion or lack of judgement was due to a combination of prescribed drugs and alcohol,…
Drink/drive; blood sample at the hospital
What are the rules for taking a blood sample from a badly injured suspected driver who has been taken to the hospital following a road accident? The circumstances when a suspected driver is taken to hospital are generally when a road accident has occurred and the driver has been…
Discharge of Sexual Offences Protection Order
Introduction As a Guildford lawyer, I successfully applied to the Guildford Crown Court to discharge a Sexual Offences Protection Order on behalf of a client who had previously received an indeterminate Order. Background A Sexual Offences Protection Order is an ancillary order, commonly imposed by a court sentencing an…