Free Traffic Legal Advice

Hi all,
So glad I found you as I need some next steps advice please.

I received first NIP dated 7.6.24, for speeding offence on 1.5.24.
I completed the S172 saying that I was the driver and registered keeper though the first NIP was not sent in time and could not be regarded as having been properly served in accordance with the 1988 Act. Citing that failure to comply with the aforementioned provisions is a bar to prosecution; see Gidden v Chief Constable of Humberside [2009] EWHC 2924 (Admin).

I requested no further action to be taken.

Kent police refused this request. Police say that when they checked DVLA database on 3.5.24 there was no registered keeper. They then searched for my insurer and then I was given the first NIP 30-something days later.

I found that odd - this vehicle was bought the month prior from a trader but I received the DVLA registration certificate very quickly. So, I ask DVLA for a SARs to be sure. DVLA say I was the registered keeper on 1.5.24 and that the police have access to the DVLA database to verify registered keepers.

It seems to me, there must be some kind of data lag between DVLA and the police - I am not sure. All I am certain of is I was the registered keeper on the date of the offence and all details on the certificate are accurate. Therefore, I should have been served this NIP within 14 days.

I sent the police the SARs from DVLA and the police still would not cancel this.

Today (3.10.24) I received the charges to make my guilty/not guilty plea.

What do I do now? I suppose I make a guilty plea but state that this was not served in accordance with the 1988 Act? Any advice would be very much appreciated. It just seems so ridiculous it has gone this far when I have evidence from the DVLA that I was the registered keeper on that date!

Help please 

S. 1 RTOA 1988 says that you cannot be convicted (subject to the exceptions in ss. 1 & 2), not that you cannot be prosecuted.

The police do not obtain keeper details directly from the DVLA, but from the PNC. The PNC is supposedly updated overnight from the DVLA - which could potentially introduce a delay of up to a day - assuming that the data updated to the PNC is correct.

Based on what you have told us, most likely is that they entered the incorrect VRM.

S. 1 RTOA 1988 says that you cannot be convicted (subject to the exceptions in ss. 1 & 2), not that you cannot be prosecuted.

The police do not obtain keeper details directly from the DVLA, but from the PNC. The PNC is supposedly updated overnight from the DVLA - which could potentially introduce a delay of up to a day - assuming that the data updated to the PNC is correct.

Based on what you have told us, most likely is that they entered the incorrect VRM.

Yes, I can see that is a possibility for sure. The DVLA wrote "The police have access to DVLA records via internal systems to obtain keeper details themselves". But does not say whether there would be any delay caused. At any rate, I would think two working days later, the system should have shown a registered keeper.

I am just working on the basis of the facts I have available, and it still seems that the police should have cancelled this one.

I have the SARs from DVLA, the registration certificate, the first NIP and correspondence back and forth with the police.

Though I do need to make a decision in how to respond to the charge sheet for the speeding offence (38mph in 30) received today. I suppose my best option is to plead guilty with court attendance to show the evidence from DVLA?   

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I suppose my best option is to plead guilty with court attendance to show the evidence from DVLA?

If you do that it is likely that the court will not accept your guilty plea. What you would be presenting are reasons why you should not be convicted.

Ah, yes that makes sense. I am not someone who gets loads of speeding offences, so I have much to learn. So, what exactly do I need to plead? This Single Justice Procedure says I have three options; plead guilty, plead not guilty, and don't respond.

I thought I needed to plead guilty because yes, I was speeding. But the NIP was late and therefore null. I need guidance, clearly! 

The exception that the police are purporting to rely on is that it was not reasonably practicable to obtain the keeper's details in time to serve a NIP within the 14 days. That would, in the first instance, be for the prosecution to prove.

If the words have the same meaning as the s. 172 defence, I would suggest that the bar is reasonably high

I think you have just two choices: plead guilty or plead not guilty.

If you plead guilty not much you can say will significantly alter the sentence so in that respect it doesn't matter whether you attend court or not. The matter of the NIP is not mitigation (i.e. it does not lessen the seriousness of the offence). As I said, it is a reason why you should not be convicted.

If you plead not guilty you will have to convince the court that the efforts made by the police to trace your details so as to be able to serve your NIP within 14 days were not good enough. Whether that would succeed is anybody's guess, but I think it may not.

There is a big difference in the financial penalty. You face a fine of half a week's net income. This will be reduced by a third if you plead guilty. You will also pay a surcharge of 40% of that fine. But prosecution costs are the big difference. A guilty plea will see you pay about £90. Failure following a trial will see you ordered to pay around £650. Three points will be imposed in either eventuality.

Thank you for clarifying that. In terms of the potential outcome, if I do plead not guilty and able to convince a court that there was some break down in communication between systems or whatever, and that DVLA clearly had me listed as the registered keeper on the date in question, etc - I would still end up with a fine and points?

Either an exception to the 14 day rule applies or the 14 day rule applies.
If the court finds that the exception does not apply, then they cannot convict you of the speeding offence.
If they find that the exception does apply, then the fact that the NIP was served outwith the 14 days is irrelevant.

Just out of interest, what is the date on the bottom of pg2 on your V5C?

You say you bought the car around a month before. I have an electronic copy of my latest V5 and while it says date acquired 30/10 the issue date, i.e. when DVLA updated their records is 5/12. Which is 5 weeks later.