...and issued a FPN (offence code RT88576).
I'm going to go ahead and call bullsh*t on that.
1. Having a court hearing would be both inconvenient (I live about 2 hours away from the issuing authority) and intimidaing for me. Is there any way I could contest this without having one and if I do have one can I be reimbursed for costs?
You have already tried to contest this informally. If, as you claim, you have been issued with an FPN, you have 21 days to either pay the fixed penalty or request a court hearing. However, as indicated above, you haven't.
If the police instigate court proceedings, you can either plead guilty or not guilty. Assuming that the police's evidence is sufficient to convict if not challenged, pleading not guilty would be somewhat futile unless you are going to present a defence in court.
If you win, you can claim your necessarily incurred costs.
2. I can't really afford legal representation but also probably don't qualify for free help. I feel the evidence for my case is strong so would representing myself likely be appropriate in this case?
If you can't afford a lawyer, representing yourself would seem to be the only option.
3. The offence I have been accused of is for inconsiderate driving ("without reasonable consideration..."), is it true that to be found guilty they would need to prove that I caused someone to be inconveninced; would this mean that I would have had to cause someone to brake / change direction? (this is probably the most obvious thing to argue)
Pretty much
Best wishes,
S
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