KNOW YOUR RIGHTS
Everyone at Patterson Law sends our best wishes to PHTM readers and we hope that you have an enjoyable Christmas. However we urge all professional drivers not to
abandon your
responsibilities and to remember to keep your licences safe! Every year we come across drivers who have put their licences at risk. Below are example cases from last year where people did exactly that (some details have been changed from the exact cases).
If you need any advice on motoring matters, please email
advice@pattersonlaw.co.uk or call us on 01626 359800 for free legal advice.
Case 1
Question: I bought my son a car for Christmas. Because he hadn’t passed his test yet I didn’t get the vehicle insured and intended to store it on our driveway. I’ve now had a letter from the DVLA saying that I have been keeping the vehicle without insurance and issuing me a £300 fine. Is there any way to challenge this as we have never driven the vehicle and it has only been stored on my private drive?
Answer: If the fixed penalty is for £300 only but without penalty points, then it sounds like they have prosecuted you with “keeping” a vehicle without insurance.
Keeping is different from driving. Driving without insurance carries 6 points and a £300 fine, whereas keeping a vehicle without insurance carries a £300 fine only.
If you have just purchased the vehicle, then it has to be insured. If it is not insured, then the only way to keep an uninsured car is to declare it off road by completing a Statutory Off Road Notification (SORN). That applies even if it is kept on private land. If you have not done that, I would advise accepting the fixed penalty.
Case 2
Question: A few months ago I received a letter from the police accusing me of speeding and asking me to
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nominate the driver. The letter arrived outside of the 14 days as it had been delayed in the Christmas post. The speeding offence was on the 11th December and their letter was dated 23rd December. I have looked up the rules on postal service. When they send an item by first class post it is presumed served on the second business day. This means that if they posted it on the 23rd December, the second business day would be the 27th December, which is out of time. So I wrote back to the police to reject the notice on the basis that it was delayed with the Christmas post and is out of time.
They have now taken me to court for failing to provide driver information. Do I have an argument that the case should be thrown out on the basis it was sent out of 14 days?
Answer: Unfortunately, you do not. Only certain offences require a NIP to be served on the registered keeper within 14 days. You are correct that speeding is one of them, but they have charged with failing to provide driver information rather than speeding, and that does not require a letter to be sent within 14 days.
If you had nominated yourself as the driver and they prosecuted you for speeding, then you could argue that the notice was served out of 14 days and therefore was out of time. However, that argument does not apply to a charge of failing to give information.
The bad news is that failing to provide driver information carries 6 penalty points and much higher financial penalties.
Outcome: In this case, after taking further instructions from the defendant, we ascertained that he knew it was him driving but did not nominate himself as the driver, and therefore had no legal defence to failing to give information.
However, we managed to limit the damage by agreeing a deal with the prosecution whereby he pleaded guilty to the original speeding offence and in return they withdrew failing to give information, meaning he received 3 points rather than 6. The fines however were somewhat higher, totalling over £500.
Case 3
Question: I need representation at trial for driving without due care and attention. My parents bought me a car for Christmas and I was out test driving it when I
DECEMBER 2025 PHTM
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