If you do not receive it within 14 days, any prosecution may be considered invalid. If the procurator fiscal decides that the case against you should go ahead, you may have to appear in court. The following points need to be borne in mind: The six-month time limit applies to most summary road traffic offences, but statutory exceptions do occur. Notice of Intended Prosecution (NIP) If you were not stopped by the Police and cautioned at the time of the offence, because for example your offence is one where the evidence has been obtained by camera, before any further action can be taken, the Police or Process Department, must serve a Notice of Intended Prosecution, commonly known as a . 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. There are four categories: Thirdly, it must be established whether the vehicle concerned is a goods vehicle, or passenger vehicle as distinct provisions apply. The legal loophole you can use to avoid paying a speeding fine Customer: On page 1 of the Notice of Intended Prosecution it states Notice Issue Date: 23/02/2023. if evidence of excess alcohol has been adduced at the Crown Court trial, it is more than likely that it will have been taken into account for the purpose of sentencing (this will obviously be so in the case of a trial for a section 3A offence); where a defendant has been convicted of an offence contrary to sections 1 or 3A RTA, a summary offence should not normally be restored if the defendant has been disqualified for a period at least as long as the obligatory period for the summary offence; the lapse of time between the date of the offence, the Crown Court trial and the likely date of hearing for the summary matters; if the defendant has been sentenced to a period of imprisonment, restoration of a summary offence will seldom be appropriate. What is a Notice of Intended Prosecution? - Notice of Intended The Notice of Intended Prosecution must specify the nature of the alleged offence and the time and place where it is alleged to have been committed. Section 99 TA 1968 empowers police and Department for Transport officials to require the production of records and documents, whether or not offences are revealed on the face of them. The police will then be able to check your documents and note the fact that you have produced them. Usually this warning will be a document headed " Notice of Intended Prosecution ", called a NIP for short. what you think by taking our short survey, Reality TV star Stephen Bear has been sentenced to 21 months imprisonment today for voyeurism and two counts of, A Chelsea supporter has been banned from football for three years for a racially aggravated public order offence, The CPS has authorised the @metpoliceuk to charge Constance Marten and Mark Gordon with gross negligence manslau, Coming up in the next edition of our community newsletter: Mere passive acquiescence is not enough - see Redhead Freight Ltd v Shulman [1989] RTR 1. You should note however, that the production to the police of these documents now will not be a defence to any prosecution for failing to produce the documents within seven days of the date of the original request. . It is essential to check files when powers have been exercised to ensure the material sought to be exhibited has been obtained lawfully in order to rebut any application under s.78 PACE. be warned at the time that he might be prosecuted for an offence, or, be served with a summons . A prominent notice should also accompany any summons alleging the document offences. evidence of a person who was present in court when the defendant was convicted on an earlier occasion and able to identify him as present in court. An analogy can be drawn from the case of DPP v Hay where it was held that once the prosecution has proved that the defendant drove the motor vehicle on a road, it is then for the defendant to show that he held a driving licence and that there was in force an appropriate policy of insurance, since these are matters that are peculiarly within his knowledge. 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). Such a warning is normally known as a "notice of intended prosecution", or NIP. There may, from time to time, be cases that call for exceptional treatment and departure from the normal procedures. speeding) The time & date of offence. Signed: .. Crown Prosecutor / Associate Prosecutor / Police Officer, [delete as appropriate or specify alternative]. According to section 1 of the Road Traffic OffendersAct 1998, the 14-day limit means the Notice of Intended Prosecution (NIP) needs to be served onthe registered keeper of the vehicle within 14 days. The onus of establishing special reasons lies on the defence, and the standard is that of the balance of probabilities. GOV.UK is the place to find 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. What Happens Next After Notice Of Prosecution? - Slater 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. Liability falls upon any person who 'uses or causes or permits to be used'. 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. Only official editions of the Federal Register provide legal notice to the public and judicial notice to the courts under 44 U.S.C. 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). The certificate is, therefore, likely to be signed by the appropriate police officer. Section 97(1) TA 1968 which is summary only, prohibits the use of a vehicle to which the TA 1968 applies in which "recording equipment" as stipulated in the Community Recording Equipment Regulations 3821/85 has either not been fitted or has not been appropriately repaired. The term 'motor vehicle' is defined in section 185(1) of the Road Traffic Act 1988 and section 136(1) of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 as "a mechanically propelled vehicle, intended or adapted for use on roads". 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. It is a mitigating or extenuating circumstance which is directly connected with the commission of the offence and which can properly be taken into consideration by the sentencing court. Although this is the legal definition, ultimately it is a matter of fact and degree for a court to interpret as to whether or not a vehicle is a motor vehicle at the time of the incident. The police must send the notice so that it can be expected to arrive within 14 days of the alleged offence. There is no time limit for subsequent requests or reminders. (b) the condition of the vehicle, As self-balancing scooters are mechanically propelled they require registration and a vehicle registration licence (tax disc). 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. The Reminder normally includes a copy of the original Notice in case you mislaid that or did not . A. . If you've been caught by a policeman operating a radar . All agencies should be alive to these cases in the interests of justice and respond as required, but no actions should be taken or departure from the standard procedure made where this might prejudice the future interest of any victim. A taxi driver who had a licence to ply for hire in Rossendale and whose insurance covered him for the carriage of passengers for hire or reward under a public hire licence was not guilty of having no insurance in spite of plying for hire in Oldham, to which his licence did not extend. Generally the offence of driving while disqualified should not be withdrawn just because the defendant is pleading guilty to other offences. It requires the keeper to provide the police with the name of the person who was driving the vehicle at the time of the alleged motoring offence. You can check whether . By post - Speed Enforcement Unit, PO Box 213, Bristol, BS20 1DR; I cannot prove this ( I do have a couple of texts I sent around the time stating . Other legal requirements relate to construction and use, and to lighting. (d) the weight or physical characteristics of the goods that the vehicle carries, A Notice of Intended Prosecution is exactly what it says - a warning that the driver of the vehicle is being considered for prosecution. Motoring Offences and the Importance of Time Limits. The offence under section 87(1) of the Environmental Protection Act 1990. The Notice of Intended Prosecution, although issued in terms of Section 1 of the Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988, is often accompanied by a request to confirm the identity of the driver at the time it is alleged a road traffic offence has been committed. In Skills Motor Coaches Ltd, Farmer, Burley and Denman (Case C-297/99), the European Court of Justice held that time spent on activities having a bearing on driving, such as time spent reaching the pick-up point for a tachograph vehicle, would affect his state of tiredness and must be regarded as forming part of 'all other periods of work' within Article 15 of Regulation No. Every effort should be explored to avoid unnecessary adjournments, though this may be unavoidable where there is no convenient nearby police station or the circumstances are such that an adjournment is unavoidable. Additionally it may not be in the best interest of the court to prosecute Directors (solely to get points put on a licence). A Guide to a Notice of Intended Prosecution - Motoring Offence Lawyers The failure to stop is usually viewed as the more serious of the two. So what exactly is a written NIP? The offence under section 91 of the Criminal Justice Act 1967. The Notice of intended prosecution or NIP can either be given verbally at the time of the incident or in writing (i.e. It is not possible for you to have your driving documents checked at court. Offences against traffic signs and police signals are dealt with in Sections 35, 36, 37 and 163 of the Road Traffic Act 1988. There is a time limit for service of an Notice of Intended Prosecution and failing to abide by it can be fatal to the Crown case. The Notice of Intended Prosecution time limit of 28 days can incur harsh penalties of a fine up to 1,000 and six penalty points on a driver's licence if not dealt with inside the 28 day time constraints. It should state the nature of the offence (for example Speeding) together with the time, date and place . Q & A Safety Cameras Scotland This is an either way non-endorsable offence, punishable summarily by a fine or by imprisonment (maximum two years) on indictment. The offence under section 80 of the Explosives Act 1875. This guidance assists our prosecutors when they are making decisions about cases. If the points will take you over the 12-point maximum, leading to a minimum six-month ban, you may wish to pursue a plead of 'exceptional hardship'. Driving Bans Explained. . Following such a demand, no motorist who has not produced his or her driving documents at a police station should produce them to a court in answer to a charge or summons without having previously produced them at a police station for inspection. Many factors must be taken into consideration before the court even begins to consider exercising that discretion. Section 6 applies to the following offences under RTA 1988: Section 37 of the Vehicles (Crime) Act 2001 amends the time limit in the Theft Act. 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. The offence of driving whilst disqualified, although a summary offence, can be included in the indictment if founded on the same facts or evidence, or if it forms part of a series of offences of the same or similar character as an indictable offence which has also been charged - s.40 (3)(c) Criminal Justice Act 1988. 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. It is an offence, under s.99(5) TA 1968, for a person to knowingly falsify a tachograph entry made under s.97 TA1968 or entries kept for the purpose of regulations under s.98 TA1968 or under applicable Community rules.