Attending court would cost me around 2 grand
If you go on your own attending court will cost you nothing (other than any fines, etc. that will be imposed) and I think you need to take a step back here.
We don't know the details of the offence other than what you've told us. But you were perfectly willing to accept a fixed penalty. It seems there were some administrative difficulties connected with this (which you have not explained) and the way to deal with that when you were prosecuted was to simply plead guilty and ask the court to consider sentencing you at the FP level.
Your guilty plea was not accepted and, again in the absence of any explanation, I assume it was because you submitted mitigation which gave the impression you believed you were not guilty.
I understand your concern about potentially receiving six points and so facing a ban, but nothing you have said suggests the offence would warrant six points. The solicitor you have consulted should have run through the sentencing guidelines which BertB provided with you. In those guidelines are two groups of aggravating factors:
Group One (Culpability)Excessive speed or aggressive driving
Carrying out other tasks while driving
Vehicle used for the carriage of heavy goods or for the carriage of passengers for reward
Tiredness or driving whilst unwell
Driving contrary to medical advice (including written advice from the drug manufacturer not to drive when taking any medicine)
Group Two (Harm)Injury to others
Damage to other vehicles or property
High level of traffic or pedestrians in vicinity
To be a nailed on six points one factor from each group should be present. If you had only one factor from one of the groups the court might not impose six points.
Nothing in your description meets any of those aggravating factors so having seen them, was there anything you have not told us which might aggravate the offence? If no, the likelihood, therefore, of you receiving six points is extremely slim. As well as that, if there was a reason why the FP could not have been taken up he should also have explored that and, if appropriate, suggested you ask the court to sentence you at the FP level.
Instead he has suggested pursuing the “public interest” angle which seems to have no merit other than it will all take too much time and effort to deal with. Then if that fails he suggests “the offence has no been made out”. Presumably he has seen the officer’s statement, which we have not. But from your description, this does not seem too promising:
I flashed my high beam and tried overtaking it.
So you’re in narrow lanes in poor weather, with an HGV adjacent, and you try to overtake it. That may well be why the officer believed your driving had fallen below he required standard.
Before you consider stumping up £2k to defend the charge, you should find out why your guilty plea was not accepted. If, as I suspect, your mitigation strayed into a defence, that is easily put right. And it won’t cost you two grand.
What exactly did you say in mitigation when you responded o the SJPN?
