Law-Forums.org

[mads]

The full story is i was driving a friends nans car which i knew i wasnt insured . I wasnt speeding as i didnt exceed 30mph but the officer stated he estimated i was exceeding 30mph as he was travelling the opposite direction and couldnt clock what i was doing. As i got outside my friends nans the police officer put me in the back of the car and questioned me. Asked me 'if i had a licence and insurance 2 drive the vehicle ' i told him yes i have a clean licence and the insurance is any drivers insurance and he took my word for it . He didnt check no insurance details neither did he ask me 2 produce any documents or didnt ask the owner of the vehicle if she gave me permission 2 drive the vehicle. He just gave me a pink warning ticket and the offense says 'speed RTA 88 ' which i believe is just a warning. It says on the ticket 'no further action will be taken on this occasion' . But now i am going to court 5 months down the line? Can someone help ?

[chepito]

The full story is i was driving a friends nans car which i knew i wasnt insured . I wasnt speeding as i didnt exceed 30mph but the officer stated he estimated i was exceeding 30mph as he was travelling the opposite direction and couldnt clock what i was doing. As i got outside my friends nans the police officer put me in the back of the car and questioned me. Asked me 'if i had a licence and insurance 2 drive the vehicle ' i told him yes i have a clean licence and the insurance is any drivers insurance and he took my word for it . He didnt check no insurance details neither did he ask me 2 produce any documents or didnt ask the owner of the vehicle if she gave me permission 2 drive the vehicle. He just gave me a pink warning ticket and the offense says 'speed RTA 88 ' which i believe is just a warning. It says on the ticket 'no further action will be taken on this occasion' . But now i am going to court 5 months down the line? Can someone help ?

[arrigo]

.

[norwyn]

Obviously he checked who was insured to drive the car when he returned to his base
and found that you were not insured to drive the car at all
the speeding ticket presumably doesn't apply if he couldn't prove what speed you were doing
So now you have to plead guilty to driving without proper insurance or not-your choice ??
and take the consequences which will possibly be a large fine and points on your licence
and steeper insurance costs in the future

[fenwick]

If you had no insurance and they can prove it then they've got you bang to rights.

It may sound harsh, but what if you had run a child down and left them disabled for life? How would they have been compensated if you had no insurance?

[brenn15]

Hey,

'RTA 88' refers to Road Traffic Act 1988 under which the speeding laws are legislated.

Usually a driver will not be ticketed or charged for speeding without mechanical or technological evidence; that is, video evidence including the vehicle be calibrated to the speed indicated on the device (to confirm that the speed is accurate). Other ways include fixed speed cameras and hand-held cameras which can detect your speed.

It is not difficult to spot someone speeding significantly over the limit, however in most circumstances this is not used as key evidence in court. This perhaps explains why you were issued with some form of warning.

Insurance checks can be retrospective. Therefore the officer may have gone back to the station and checked whether you have insurance. If you did not then he can report you and summons you to court to answer the offence pointed out. You will need to prove (with a certificate) that you had insurance on the day and time you were stopped by police.

If you did not then you are looking at somewhere around a £200 fine and 6 points on your licence (the court has discretion here but these are what are dished out on the traffic tickets).

It is unlikely that your friend's nan's policy will cover you but you can always ask. In this instance you were possibly quite lucky as the police also have the power to seize the car which incurs recovery charges (usually a minimum of £150).

Bottom line is if you were driving without insurance then you will have to go to court and face the facts.

[hackett]

You were not insured, and now they have found out.

You knew this was a risk, so why are you complaining now?

Some piece of paper apparently saying nothing further would happen cannot be relied on- if you think it should be, then try using it as a defence in court- you won't get anywhere, I suspect.

[darrick34]

busted retrospective. no insurance on the vehicle. you are in **** street,

[curney13]

He must have checked you on the insurance system when he got back to station and now you have been caught out. You broke the law and now have to deal with it. wHY SHOULD WE HAVE TO PAY CAR INSURANCE FOR YOU NOT TOO.

[shadrach]

Find out who her insurance company is and ask them. Don't give any personal information, you don't want to cause this lady problems with her insurance company. Go to court, say that the owner has insurance (bring a copy if possible) and that the officer never asked to see the insurance. Sometimes just showing that the ticket they gave you doesn't have the info is enough to throw the case out.