roadtrafficlaw.com » Specialist Road Traffic Law Advice

Points discount leads to rise in road offence guilty pleas

Roadtrafficlaw — Sat, 25 Feb 2012 12:33:07 +0000

Victoria Weldon (Copyright The Glasgow Herald and Victoria Weldon)

Reporter with the Glasgow Herald, ran this piece today but I was wondering how many other lawyers had noticed a similar increase in clients chasing a penalty points discount?

INCREASING numbers of driving offenders are pleading guilty at the earliest opportunity to benefit from new rules on discounted penalty points, lawyers have claimed.

Road traffic lawyer Graham Walker said more of his clients are choosing to admit their offences quickly in a bid to receive fewer points and keep insurance premiums down. Mr Walker said this means less time is being spent in court dealing with the cases, resulting in a saving to the public.

The new regulations were brought about by a controversial legal ruling issued by the Lord Justice Clerk, Lord Gill, at the end of last year.

Previously, no discounts were offered on penalty points or bans and any fine imposed was reduced instead. But, following the ruling, drivers can now obtain a discount of up to one-third at the discretion of the judiciary.

Mr Walker said: “We have referred to the discount direction from the day of its publication and we have received the benefit of discount in penalty points often. The magistrates actually say in their ruling, ‘I was going to impose X points but will discount to Y points because of the early plea’.

“The other day I had a case that merited five penalty points but the accused had the case accelerated – the case hadn’t even been called in court yet and he wanted it brought forward to secure the points discount.

“He eventually received four penalty points and was delighted with the reduction.

“As everyone knows, insurance companies charge more for businesses and young people who have points on their licences. He was a garage owner with high insurance premiums so he needed less points to keep the premiums down. My take on this so far is that we are seeing more clients who see real merit in an early plea and they are actively seeking that.”

A spokesman for the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service said: “The court’s decision was issued on December 20, 2011. It is too early to assess the impact of the decision on the number of relevant cases proceeding to trial.”

Julie Townsend, chief executive of road safety charity Brake, said: “It’s incredibly worrying that we can now allow drivers who have committed driving offences – in some cases very serious and deadly offences – to have their penalty points reduced.

“This will give drivers more opportunities to commit more offences before they are disqualified.”

However, under the ruling, drivers are still subject to a three-point minimum penalty.

Slow Down! Speeding Day of Action By Police

Roadtrafficlaw — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 09:24:44 +0000

Reported in Today’s Scotsman regarding Speeding

“Police will crack down on speeding drivers as part of a day of action targeting the offence.”

This is a day organised through the Association of Chief Police Officers. Great to see some joined up thinking and a concerted effort on behalf of the police to get a strong anti speeding message across. I would love to see the stats on accident reduction when such an intiative takes place or do drivers just jump on the brakes when they come round the bend and see a cop standing at the side of the road with his speed gun.

Hopefully they will be using something other than the Radar equipment that seems to have been discredited not just by defence solicitors but by police officers giving evidence to say how often they fail to be reliable. Or more accurately how often they are used in unreliable circumstances.

This police initiative is the latest in a series of national ACPOS campaigns for 2011/12 which have targeted issues such as uninsured vehicles, using mobile phones whilst driving, seatbelt use and drink/drug driving.These police “Days of Action” tend to be good for business for the road traffic lawyers such as myself as they have prosecuted over 1000 motorists for speeding and over 70 drivers for driving dangerously or carelessly.

Speeding carries a 3-6 point penalty points endorsement on your driving licence with the potential of a discretionary ban. Also expect a fine. If you already have 6 points on your licence you could be facing a 12 point “Totting Up” ban so seek the advice of a road traffic lawyer as soon as possible if charged as part of this initiative.

If convicted of dangerous driving, you will lose your licence for at least 12 months and you will be ordered to re-sit an extended driving test involving at least 1 hour of driving.

Drink Drive Law Reform In Scotland

Roadtrafficlaw — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 11:41:56 +0000

The Glasgow Herald reported that the move to create a tougher drink-driving limit north of the Border were backed by the Law Society of Scotland – despite potential to cause confusion for motorists.

Speaking after giving evidence to the Scotland Bill Committee, Michael Clancy, director of law reform at the society, said they were “broadly in agreement with the changes to the powers to allow Scottish drink-driving limits in Scotland” but warned that “having different limits across the UK could cause confusion amongst motorists”.

Personally I do not think there will be any confusion that will cause motorists difficulty. The present confusion occurs because motorists think that there is a “Two drink” limit. ie That the present law allows you to have two drinks and to drive. With the proliferation of strong beers and wine that is of 14 -15% alcohol times have changed and motorists need to be aware of the dangers of drinking ANY alcohol and driving. It therefore makes a great deal of sense to reduce the limit to an amount that will allow for residual alcohol (From night before etc) and present a strong message to general public that drink driving is simply not acceptable in Scotland.

As for the notion that there would be some kind of cross border “confusion” that is simply nonsense. We already have the same Road Traffic Law legislation in both countries and there are times when it is interpreted differently. The simple message that needs to put across is that “Drink Driving is Illegal”

Stuck in Europe Driving Advice

Roadtrafficlaw — Sun, 04 Sep 2011 12:07:59 +0000

Although we specialise in road traffic cases in Scotland it is clear that many of us will require assistance in Europe due to the flight chaos that is currently closing airports all over Europe.
Many people have decided to hire cars in an attempt to get home therefore we have set out some of the laws that affect drivers in Europe.

We DO NOT specialise in road traffic cases in any other country except Scotland but we do hope that this information may be of use to drivers frantically trying to get home.
Here we look at how offences and penalties compare:

GERMANY
We would consider the blood/alcohol limit in Germany to be zero. Actually it is 0.5mg/ml and this is for any trace elements of alcohol left in your system.
If you break this law expect suspension for up to three months even for a first time offence. In Scotland you face a 12 month ban even for a first offence but the level of alcohol accepted here is higher
Donâ€™t fall out with the cops or show your displeasure with a hand gesture as you can expect an on the spot penalty for nearly Â£500
No seat belt offences will attract an on the spot penalty in the region of Â£25

SPAIN
Donâ€™t speed in Spain as the fines can be crippling. Approx Â£250 to Â£1300 for exceeding the limit by 30kph over the speed limit;
One of our clients exceeded the speed limits through out Spain and France in an attempt to deliver a top of the range Audi to London. He failed to stop for the police so thought he would be free of the on the spot fines. His Audi was taken from him in Calais and he is still involved in a legal wrangle about how to get it back to the UK.
Donâ€™t fill the car with more passengers than seats as you will face a fine for doing so. It may be tempting to pick up the distressed hitch hikers that are trying to make their way home but they will not get the fine. You will.
Careless driving and parking in dangerous spots will also attract fines of up to Â£250 and a possible licence suspension for 30 days.
They are hot on use of a mobile phone so donâ€™t be tempted to phone home whilst at the wheel. Pull over and be safe.

ITALY
It can be a nightmare to be stopped for a driving offence in Italy as they will press for payment and if you fail to pay any fine you can expect to be arrested the next time you venture into their country,
The fines can seem inordinately expensive with fines handed out for speeding that are hundreds of pounds and for some offences even several hundred pounds. Up to about Â£1500

FRANCE
There is a common misconception that drink driving is ignored by the police in France. Nothing could be further from the truth. Whilst the French do not have as many traffic policemen able to patrol their vast country they do deal with drink driving in some cases with a prison sentence.
The misconception probably comes about because they also deal with low level alcohol consumption by way of fines and low level driving suspension but be aware that this relates to a very low level blood alcohol. 0.5mg/ml compared to the 0.8mg/ml in Scotland.
If you have more than 0.8mg/ml in your system you could face a two-year prison term and a much steeper fine.
Speed limits are 50kph (31mph) in towns; 90kph (56mph) on main roads; and 110kph (68mph) on dual carriageways. On motorways the speed limit is actually 130kph (81mph).

The above is a guide and not legal advice. We specialise in road traffic law in Scotland and not the countries listed but at this present time of flight crisis maybe this information will be of assistance to at least one of the poor souls abandoned by the airlines in Europe.
Contact www.roadtrafficlaw.com on 0800 612 9597 or tweet @roadtrafficlaw