In this month’s edition we feature more road traffic issues relevant to the trade supplied by Patterson Law. If you need any advice on motoring matters please email
e.patter-
son@pattersonlaw.co.uk or call 01626 359800 for free legal advice.
KNOW YOUR RIGHTS POLICE AND ENFORCEMENT
The most important thing to remember is that there is no road traffic amnesty during this crisis. The police will continue to en- force the rule of law under all circumstances.
The police are still stopping drivers with no insurance and drivers who are above the drink/drug limit. They are enforcing all traffic matters.
Speed cameras are to remain active. When a vehicle is recorded speeding by a static camera the data is stored until a technician removes the film and inputs it onto the police system at their headquarters. From there letters are automatically generated and posted to the registered keepers, asking them to nominate drivers and accept points/fines. It requires very little human input and there is no reason why this isn’t going to continue at normal pace.
DRIVER IMPROVEMENT AND SPEED AWARENESS COURSES
HOW WILL THE CORONAVIRUS AFFECT ROAD TRAFFIC LAW?
It’s not a question that has been asked much and not one that has been brought up by the government. With the focus under- standably on healthcare and with many of the announcements relating to social distancing, self-isolation and business prac- tices, it seems that traffic law has been somewhat forgotten.
But that doesn’t make it any less important, especially for pro- fessional drivers, and especially when the need to be able to drive is so important.
The coronavirus has already affected traffic law in many ways; defendants are now arguing that they cannot be disqualified because they need to pick up shopping for their elderly rela- tives. Drink drivers are arguing that the alcoholic hand gel at the police stations has been interfering with breath devices. Newly hired delivery drivers have been stopped because they haven’t taken out the correct insurance. And what are the po- lice doing? How can they enforce traffic law during this chaotic period? Cases are being adjourned but does that mean the matter is over?
For all professional drivers these questions are more important than ever. No longer is it possible to walk into another job. De- liveries need to be made. Without public transport, private hire and taxi drivers are vital in taking the elderly and vulnerable to and from the shops. The need to have a full licence is vital.
At Patterson Law we are constantly monitoring the day-to-day changes to all aspects of road traffic law, how these cases are processed and what it means for professional drivers.
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Once an offence has been detected, either by way of camera or police officer, the next stage is usually for the police to con- sider an ‘out-of-court’ disposal, the most common of which is a course; speed awareness courses for minor speeding matters, motorway awareness for speeding on a motorway, driver im- provement for driving without due care and attention and red light courses. And importantly, completing the course is instead of receiving points.
However, attendance on these courses usually requires being in an enclosed space with 20 or 30 people at a time and for obvi- ous reasons at the moment this cannot be done.
So en masse the police have withdrawn all offers and cancelled all courses.
This does not mean that cases are automatically going to go away. In some cases the police will simply delay the offer of a course and defer it for two or three months until the restrictions are relaxed.
But the police have a very strict six-month limitation period to prosecute most traffic offences, and so if the limitation period is going to expire then deferring the course will not be an option. In these cases the police will either revert back to offering a fixed penalty of points and a fine or instead take the matter straight to court. Either way, this means that many drivers will suddenly be at risk of points where usually they would have received none.
For professional drivers, this could be catastrophic.
If this has happened to you, call us urgently on 0162 6359 800 for a free initial advice call. We may be able to argue on your behalf that this is what is called an “abuse of process”. If you had a reasonable expectation, or if the police made a promise
APRIL 2020
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