Free Traffic Legal Advice

Hello All,

While in hospital, I received a Single Justice Procedure Notice (SJPN) which I recently amongst more than 50 letters of built-up post, weeks after it posted. For context, I was admitted via A&E on Thursday 3rd October, and the "Posting Date" on the SJPN states Wednesday 9th October. I was discharged from hospital late on Saturday 19th October. On discharge, I was put on strong steroid medication amongst other meds and not really in a fit state of health, physically or mentally, to review the extensive 24-page SJPN bundle, let alone, being to draft and appropriate and considered plea/response and put together supporting evidence.

The deadline to plead "guilty" or "not guilty" is tomorrow, 30th October by which I have make representations. I also have a good medical reason at that time (which I could not disclose to the officer due to sheer embarrasment, but this is now supported by a letter from my Consultant in charge of my care for a Chronic condition). I hasten to add though, I do not believe I was speeding, regardless.

Could someone please advise, given the above circumstances, how I can extend the time to respond? I called the Court today per the number on the letter and after almost 1 hour on hold, the line was disconnected. I cannot see anywhere else online the procedure, if one exsits, to request an extension of time due to being incapacitated in hospital, so I would be most grateful for some timely advice from this forum.

For context on the alleged offence itself, I was stopped at the road side by Police who used a Speed Pro Laser 4 Radar Gun, hiding in layby. This was a fast moving, 3-lane carriageway (totalling 6 lanes across both side of the metal central reservation) around midnight. I do not belive for a second this was my speed and I have clean driving license for the past 20 years (save for 3 points I stupidly received last year from a fixed camera for doing 34 in a 30, and as I had loan car from the dealership registered to them, the paperwork took months ages to fianlly arrive to my address and when I applied for a speed awareness course, being the first offence in 20 years, it was later denied as "being out of time" and I was automatically given points instead). At the roadside, I made no comment to the police, this was back in May, and some 5 months later, I have been served this paperwork and do not fully recall the incident as I was somewhat flustered but genuinely believe the speed capture is erroneus as I would never travel at the speed. However, SJPN includes the officer's witness statement as well as pictures of the speed gun showing "73 mph" and two pictures of some Truvelo calibration which states as being taken at the roadside in the description. Regardless, can these devices be wrong on their readout??

I am at a loss as to what to do and would be most grateful for member's advice on how best to approach all of this quickly, firstly how to extend the response deadline based on medical mititgation, and secondly, what the criteria is for pleading "not guilty", and on balance any practical advice? I am pretty shaken up by all of this, I have two young toddlers to take care of and insurance premiums are sky high as they are and my driving license is integral to supporting the family.

Are there any scenarios where you can pay a higher fine in lieu of points, for example?

Thank you for any assistance

Thank you Andy for responding promptly, much appreciated.

You are correct of course, however, I want to provide an extensive response in the online box (which is limited to 5,000 characters it seems) surrouding the stop and also documented medical supporting evidence which I now have, and the culimination of all of this led to my eventual hospitalisation recently. It is all connected but the fact remains, I do not believe the speed recorded is accurate.

My concern in all of this is not so much the financial penalty (as it is capped from my understanding), but the resulting points on my license, which I took the liberty to obtain some online insurance quotes using my existing 3 points and adding on 6 more to ascertain the price increase in the future. The net effect is an additional £8k per year in car insurance costs which would price me out of vehicle ownership and thus be hugely detriemental in being able to support and transport my young children.

Given this additional context, could you please advise on the implications for both plea options (guilty and not guilty), the likely points in each scenario, and whether submitting substantial mitigation might result in a fine rather than points? Would this outcome be more achievable with a specific plea?

How fast do you think you were travelling?

As an aside (to help us help others):

(save for 3 points I stupidly received last year from a fixed camera for doing 34 in a 30,...

Was it really 34 in a 30 limit (enforcement does not normally begin until 35mph)

I know it’s asking a lot, but would you be so kind to explain the best and worst case scenarios for:

-pleading not guilty now  or
-pleading guilty now

Other than that if you plead not guilty and are somehow aquitted you get no fine and no points (which does not need to be explained), I already have. If you require further clarification, please see my sig.

Thank you both

@NewJudge - I will reply to you shortly, thank you.

While we consider the approach, could you please advise if there any rapid mechanism (direct email address, phone number) where I can make contact to the relevant body/authority in the morning to extend the deadline for response (which currently lapses tomorrow) as I have good reasons for being unable to respond in time (being in hospital for 3 weeks during the time the paperwork was posted).

I don't think this request would be seen as unreasonable as the Court would understand that sufficient time is needed and in indeed equitable, for the accused to have the time that was lost due to the mitigation in order to make a considered plea, given the criminality and seriousness of the offence.

Thus I would be most grateful for any direction on this as I cannot find any guidance online, nor on the paperwork received how to request a time extension (the reasons for which I can document).

Thank you

I did in fact try on 2 separate occasions, on hold for under 1 hour and then call was terminated automatically.

I was checking if there was another way, like an official email address or similar where I could log the request in writing and email the mitigation paperwork at the same time (so the request is lodged in time).

I’m dreading it but will of course try calling again tomorrow, failing getting through to someone who can help - it seems plan b would be to rush to submit?

Only if you are aiming to try convincing the court that you were not exceeding 40mph is a Not Guilty plea a realistic option. If you are going to say that either (a) your speed was not 73mph but somewhere between 41mph and 72mph or (b) whatever it was it was because of the medical episode, then you should plead guilty.

In the event of (a) you could offer the court a “basis of plea” (i.e. “I wasn’t doing 73mph but only xx mph”). This could cause you some difficulty because you don’t know how fast you were travelling (and for the same reason, pleading not guilty will present you with similar problems).

In the event of (b) you should ask the court to find that although you are guilty, they should consider that there are “Special Reasons” not to endorse your licence and either impose points or disqualify you.

You can make your guilty plea by responding to the SJPN and asking for a court appearance. This will then give you time to consider how to proceed and make your case for either (a) or (b) when you attend court (though before your hearing you should inform both the police and the court if you intend to do either). If you plead not guilty you will have to attend court anyway.