Free Traffic Legal Advice

Firstly ok I'm stupid and need to slow down, I got 2 Nips with 3  days in July. The first came on time and I put my hands up too it with an apology. The second on the 19/07/ Came through on the 18/8 nothing recieved before this date so I sent the the NIP admitting guilt with an apology. But stated that it was sent late after 14 days and wasnt legally sent. I waited to send it and the day after received the reminder letter that I needed to respond to the nip issued on 18/08 for the offence on thev19/07 Is this worth challenging in court or should I take both on the chin? They've now sent the option pay the fine or go to court. Also in both cases I was just outside the 10% speeding threshold.  I hope that makes sense??

Are you the Registered Keeper of the vehicle in question?

If so, have you checked the V5C?  (Whether all the details are correct, has it been (re)issued recently such as a move/change of keeper?)

As pointed out, a ramble won't get precise answers...

Just to be clear:

1.  You received an NIP dated 18 August in respect of an alleged speeding offence on 19 July.

2.  When did you receive it?

3.  How long did that NIP say you had to respond by?

4.  You responded on 11 September.

5.  Did the reminder you received on 13 September refer to the NIP dated 18 August?

6.  The V5C for your work van definitely has your name and address as Registered Keeper?

V5 definately in my name.

I assume you've actually dug it out and checked?  (If it's leased then someone else may actually be the RK)

Once you've dug it out and checked the address is spot on then you need to check the Doc Ref date which is when the V5C was last issued.  (At the bottom of page 2)

Then you may have the makings of a successful defence on the basis that no NIP, compliant with s1 of the Road Traffic Offenders’ Act, was served.

To take advantage of this you will have to turn down (or ignore) any out-of-court offers the police may make and instead face prosecution in court. The police have only to prove to the court’s satisfaction that the NIP was posted to the Registered Keeper’s last known address in time so as to arrive within 14 days. If they do that, it is deemed “served” two working days after posting.

The burden then shifts to you to convince the court “on the balance of probabilities” (i.e. more likely than not) that it did not arrive in time. Of course if the police can only prove that it was posted on 18th August, that burden will not fall on you.

However, I have a suspicion that you may have got something wrong somewhere. I say this because we understand (though cannot be sure) that the system which produces NIPs will not automatically produce one if it will not meet the 14 day deadline. Manual intervention is then required. As I said, this is only what we understand to be the case.

You need to check everything very carefully before embarking on this course because the cost of failure in court is high. You will pay a fine of half a week’s net income, a “victim surcharge” of 40% of that fine and prosecution costs of around £650. For most people that will mean a total of at least £1,000 and probably more. Before you make your decision, it may be worth asking the police whether the NIP you have, dated 18th August, was in fact the first NIP they sent.

As an aside, were you not offered an awareness course for either of these offences?

I guess the simple question for the OP is do you own the van outright or do you lease it/finance it in some other way?

Often a call to the ticket office will reveal if this was the first in the chain or not. The importance of getting all the ducks lined up before you go into court with a not guilty plea is important, not least for your wallet.