Avoiding Disqualification
My footballer client fully expected to be disqualified at the Magistrates’ court last Thursday. He had nine points on his licence and collected a further five for a speeding offence. Normally he would have been disqualified for a minimum of six months and receive a hefty fine. Fortunately, he had…
Fines Increase
Outlined in a Department for Transport consultation document, motorists caught offending face an increase in penalties from £60 to £90. These fine are directed toward drivers who occupy outer lanes when the inside lane of a carriageway is empty, and pushing into an orderly queue of traffic. From my personal…
Drink Drivers Beware
I have just been informed that a conviction for drink driving will disqualify you form obtaining a visa to the USA. A family holiday was ruined because a family member received a conviction for drink/driving (excess alcohol) and the US Embassy refused to grant a visa because of the conviction!
Road Traffic
Andrew has in-depth knowledge of road traffic law having recently been commissioned to write a book on the subject. In recent years, he has developed a niche practice representing company directors and professional footballers, to name but a few. Road traffic law can be complicated; defences are not well publicised….
Businesses cannot rely on Atkinson v DPP
Business cannot rely on the liberal interpretation in Atkinson v DPP (duty to give information). The High Court excluded business because of the implied duty to keep records. Ensure records are properly maintained in the event of a road traffic offence being committed. Aktinson v DPP
Recent Interpretation of Duty to Give Informtion
Recently the High Court liberally interpreted the provision requiring a vehicle keeper to provide details of a driver. This is good news for vehicle owners unable to reasonably ascertain a driver’s identity when required to provide details under section 172 Road Traffic Act 1988. Atkinson v DPP.
Time is money: Business beware of imposing unreasonable timetables
If an employee exceeds the speed limit as a result of attempting to comply with his or her employer’s unreasonable timetable, the employer can be charged with procuring an offence of speeding. The timetable or schedule can be used as evidence of the employer’s complicity. So, this is a cautionary…
Businessmen – Know Your Limits!
Lack of judgement about your speed, coupled with a lack of judgement about your ability to communicate, could cost you your licence. My working environment, the courtroom, is an artificial place. The rules and customs there are known only to the initiated. To an outsider, it is a mysterious place…
The Clerk to the Magistrates’
The Clerk to the Magistrates’ The lay decision makers in the Magistrates’ Court do not usually have formal legal qualifications. The clerk is a qualified lawyer who advises on the law. He or she sit in front of the bench and could be mistaken for fulfilling an administrative rule; do…
All That Legal Experience
Recently at the Magistrates’ Court my client faced a charge of driving through a red light at 53 mph in a 30 mph limit. The expected penalty was a very large fine (he was a Premier League Football player) and 6 points. With the assistance of a photograph of the…