using mobile whilst driving

[hector-a-go-go]

Morning everyone

I was caught using my mobile whilst driving by an unmarked police car. He had me bang to rights - did all the checks on the car & was satisfied that everything else was OK.

He told me to expect a £60 fixed penalty notice thru the post in a couple of weeks time but did not give me any paperwork.

I did not receive the Fixed Penalty fine but got a Magistrates court summons instead.

I called the court explained the position & was told to put all this in writing in the mitigating circumstances section, plead guilty & send it in. I should only receive the £60 fine.

I have just received the fine this morning for £160 + costs £50 + £15 = £225.

I called the fines dept of the court & was told the officer can decide at any time to send it to court instead of issuing a Fixed Penalty & the Magistrate can decide the amount of the fine, so that was that.

I am trying to speak with the court to see if there is any appeal to the size of the fine, so in the meantime any advice anyone can help me out with please?

The only slight mistake on the police officers witness statement is the year of the car ( one year out ) - does this make any difference?

thanx

Hector

[patdavies]

If the officer had decided on a fixed penalty, you would have been given this at the time of the stop.

 

That he did not automatically means that a court summons will be issued (if he does anything)

 

You can appeal to the Crown Court against sentence - but that will not affect the costs (which will increase if you lose) or the victim surcharge.

 

With hindsight, even with a guilty plea, it is always better to plead mitigation in person. Was there any aggravating circumstance to the offence?

[hector-a-go-go]

thanx for the reply

I have since spoken to the Criminal Justice Unit - they have told me that the reason the officer did not issue a Fixed Penalty fine immediately was that my driving licence was lost when being returned to me in the post by the City of London police. I had the replacement in time for the court case.

They then told me to request the case to be re-opened ( & who to send the application to) they were very helpful so I am going down that route.

There was no aggravating circumstance to the offence.

[barrybarry]

I hope you have learnt not to ever use a mobile phone when driving too!

 

Good luck with the case

[hector-a-go-go]

yep - invested in a new hands free straight after

[letshelp]

Hector,

please keep us informed how your case goes.

regards

[hector-a-go-go]

quick update - have been given a date for a new hearing at the Magistrates Court - quite happy to go & give my side of the case. Will advise the outcome.

One legal point that I would like some clarification on.

The policeman has on his witness statement an incorrect year for the vehicle age. Does this affect the validity of the statement at all?

Any advice greatfully appreciated.

thanx

Hector

[crem]

One legal point that I would like some clarification on.

The policeman has on his witness statement an incorrect year for the vehicle age. Does this affect the validity of the statement at all?

 

I doubt it.

 

I would have thought you would be going to the court in the hope that the penalty will be mitigated back down to a reasonable level rather than holding out any hope that you can challenge the basic offence and be let off completely.

[barrybarry]

yeah, I have no knowledgable or academic grounds to base this on, but as he did catch you, and you learnt from your mistake, I would simply plead to drop the fine to it's original level rather than point out the incompentency of the officer.

 

Good luck!

[hector-a-go-go]

I have already admitted the offence & pleaded guilty so I do not expect to be let off - I just want as much ammunition as possible to get the offence back to the PCN amount of £60.00

any advise is appreciated

Hector

[letshelp]

Hi Hector,

 

I doubt very much the officers error in his statement will have much sway with the magistrates.

Good luck anyway

regards

[hector-a-go-go]

Hi all

Can anyone advise me if the following is correct-

The reason I was not given an immediate Fixed Penalty fine was because I could not produce my licence as it had been lost in the post when being returned by the police.

I am using this in mitigation as to the fine being reduced to the Fixed Penalty amout of £60.00

thanx

Hector

[TD27]

Producing your licence with 7 days is one of the conditions of the offer of an FPN, so if you could not do that then it would be a report for summons.

[hector-a-go-go]

thank youvery much for that info - that information helps me greatly as I was not told my licence waslost until after the offence.

thanx again - feel much more sure of my case now when I go to court

Hector

[hector-a-go-go]

just to conclude this thread

spent all morning in Magistrates Court - it was an eye opening experience to say the least. The number of people who had no representation & clearly had no idea how to represent themselves was frightening!!

I carefully explained my case to the Magistrates (with supporting paperwork for my lost licence) & my fine was reduced back to the Fixed Penalty amount (from £160) & the court costs were removed. No reason was given as to why this information was not taken into account at the postal hearing. I guess it is always better to be there in person, even though you are encouraged to keep it simple for the courts by pleading guilty by post.

I still had the £15 extra costs to pay for the victims support tax but I was happy to pay the total of £75 rather then the previously judged amount of £225.

I was thinking abou this after & despite having to pay extra (replacement cost of the licence that the police/post - time off work - travel expenses to court & the victims fund costs) I did feel vindicated that I had won a small victory in not allowing the charge to spiral out of control.

Thanx to everone who offered advice - it was greatly appreciated.

Hector

[TD27]

Well done you!

 

I can happily spend all day at court watching the comings and goings. Its the theatre of life!

 

Pleased it went well for you.

[lamma]

well done. and many thanks for posting the result.