Speeding Ticket when foreigner driving car

[simonx98]

Hi there,

 

We have just completed a houseswap to Canada (so can prove out of the country) and have received a "Notice of Intended Prosecution" from Kent police for the car doing 38mph in a 30mph (fixed camera) road - this was when it was being driven by our Canadian friends - it was insured for them by the way.

 

Obviously I don't want to cop the points and fine but it seems an easy way out to say a foreigner was driving the car, anyone know how authorities deal with such claim?? The insurance company should be able to verify that the Canadian was insured to be the main driver for a couple of weeks.

 

Also I was wondering how to inform and advise the Canadians - I'll have to give their address but I presume they can ignore any demands??

 

Thanks ... Simon.

[m0jpm]

Just send in the form tick you where not the driver (which obviously you werent) provide them with the address and details and bobs your uncle

[Tony P]

As you don't know which one of your Canadian friends were driving at the time you cannot provide a positive Driver details.

 

As above, tick the box "Don't know who was driving". This is true because you don't know which of your friends was driving!

Make sure you return the form within the stated period preferably by Recorded mail and keep a copy.

 

That should be the end of the matter as far as you are concerned, but they will no doubt make further enquiries of you. When they do you can explain and give them a copy of the Insurance Cover Note that covered the Canadian(s) and provide both/all their names and addresses.

 

I don't know what happens thereafter. No doubt they will write to one or all of the Canadians asking which of them was driving.

How they handle it is up to them - especially as they are now presumably outside the jurisdiction of the Camera Partnership.

I would guess they could ignore it - or name the actual driver concerned, reply by surface mail. Then the Partnership will write to the driver named for their details - by this time it could well be outside time limits from the date of the offence. Or they can just ignore it!

 

As a courtesy to your friends, let them know all this and more definitive replies to this thread.

[Old Snowy]

As you don't know which one of your Canadian friends were driving at the time you cannot provide a positive Driver details.

 

As above, tick the box "Don't know who was driving". This is true because you don't know which of your friends was driving!

Make sure you return the form within the stated period preferably by Recorded mail and keep a copy.

 

That should be the end of the matter as far as you are concerned, but they will no doubt make further enquiries of you. When they do you can explain and give them a copy of the Insurance Cover Note that covered the Canadian(s) and provide both/all their names and addresses.

 

I don't know what happens thereafter. No doubt they will write to one or all of the Canadians asking which of them was driving.

How they handle it is up to them - especially as they are now presumably outside the jurisdiction of the Camera Partnership.

I would guess they could ignore it - or name the actual driver concerned, reply by surface mail. Then the Partnership will write to the driver named for their details - by this time it could well be outside time limits from the date of the offence. Or they can just ignore it!

 

As a courtesy to your friends, let them know all this and more definitive replies to this thread.

Unfortunately if you follow this advice you are likely to be convicted (and properly so) of the offence of failing to furnish. This carries a mandatory 6 points and fines are usually in the £300-400 bracket. The MS90 endorsement it carries is not popular with insurance companies either and revokation of policies is by no means unheard of once the endorsement is revealed.

 

The law requires that you name the driver or, as in this case, provide such information as is in your power to give that will lead to the identification of the driver. Simply stating that you don't know when you have other relevant information will sink you I'm afraid.

 

Whilst you do not know who was driving, you do know that it is (presumably) one of two people. You should therefore provide both of their details - as required on the form - and explain that as you were not in the country at the time and the vehicle was in their possession you cannot identify the driver. It would be as well to keep your air tickets to hand and I recommend that you obtain a copy of their UK insurance cover asap.

 

This is likely to be followed up with some rigour by the police who, sadly, encounter the "foreign driver" situation used as a ruse by those intent on avoiding their responsibilities. This inevitably results in them receiving a period of imprisonment for attempting to pervert the course of justice.

[Aretnap]

Obviously I don't want to cop the points and fine but it seems an easy way out to say a foreigner was driving the car, anyone know how authorities deal with such claim??

The authorities will naturally be suspicious as some people do indeed invent foreign drivers to get off speeding tickets. As noted this is perverting the course of justice and can lead to a prison sentence if proven, but it's often difficult to prove so an easy way of dealing with such a claim is to ask for proof that the mysterous foreigner was insured to drive the car. Allowing an uninsured person to drive your car carries the same penalty as driving without insurance yourself - 6-8 points and a fine of several hundred pounds - and the burden of proof would be on the owner to show that insurance was in place. Naturally someone who has invented a Bulgarian friend to get off a speeding ticket will be unable to provide such proof, and will end up much worse off than if he'd just accepted it in the first place.

 

So once you name your Canadian friends, it's likely that the police will ask you to provide evidence that they were insured to drive your car. They may also ask for some evidence that they were actually in the country at the time as well. If you can provide these that should be the last you hear from them. The police may or may not bother attempting to chase your Canadian friends. If they do, how your friends handle it is up to them. If they ignore it, it will have no effect on them as long as they're in Canada - they're not going to be extradited over a speeding ticket - but it could cause them problems if they return to the UK in future.

 

As noted in the first instance you need to provide the names and adresses of both possible drivers, and explain that you left the vehicle in their keeping while you were out of the country. The form likely won't have a box to tick which covers this so write "see attached" on the form and write a covering letter setting out the relevant information. Staple the form to the letter, keep copies of both just in case and send recorded delivery.

[honeybee13]

Hello there.

 

You've posted on a very old thread. Please tell us your story and we'll start a new thread for you.

 

HB

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?436201-Re-Speeding-Ticket-when-foreigner-driving-car

 

New thread started for mamoothd ^^^^

Edited November 8, 2014 by citizenB