Notice of Proposed Driving Disqualificaton Options

[DarkTrace]

Hi all - was after some informal/friendly advice:

Facts:
Caught speeding on 6th June 2021 (65 in a 30 - country road, Blythburgh, Suffolk)
Clean licence - driving for 24 years - no points ever received
I pleaded guilty (I accept I have been careless)

Today (2nd October 2021) I received a notice of proposed driving disqualification. The letter is dated 30th September 2021.
In the letter it states "You have until 25th September to register a reply indicating:

a) I will provide no further information - (do not drive after 25/09/2021) - court decision to follow
b) I'd like to request a court hearing to state my case (there probably isn't a case but it would delay a decision allowing me to drive somewhere in half term)

"If you do not reply to this notice you should not drive after 25/09/2021".

I'm a little stumped. It is seemingly impossible for me to have responded to a letter dated and sent after the reply by date. If anyone has experienced the same it would be great to hear how you approached the situation. (Can I carry on driving?)

I know there's no crystal ball but I wonder what people's predictions on my outcome might be if:
a) I do nothing (don't respond)
b) I attend court (I'm assuming I have to visit the letter issuing court, rather than somewhere local?)

Many thanks,
Andy

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[cp8759]

I suspect it's a typo and they expect you to respond by 25 October.

Do you have anything you want to say in mitigation?

[DarkTrace]

Mitigation: honestly, no. It was a careless mistake and I accept the full consequences.

I suppose I'd like to assume I can still drive until "another date" but obviously don't want to make the matter worse.

I'd rather take the points but the matter feels (probably rightly so) completely out of my hands.

[cp8759]

Well in your position I'd just put "It was a careless mistake and I accept the full consequences" on the letter and send it back, I'm not sure there would be anything to be gained by asking for a court hearing, wait for others to comment.

This post has been edited by cp8759: Sat, 2 Oct 2021 - 13:36

[DarkTrace]

Thanks.

The only thing requesting a court hearing might do is delay this matter enough such that I can drive somewhere during half term (coincidentally the 25th October...). Arguably shallow...

[Logician]

If disqualification would hit you harder than the average person or cause hardship to another person, and you were facing disqualification as a result of totting, then you could present a case to the court that it would cause exceptional hardship and therefore the disqualification period should be reduced or you should not be disqualified at all. That does not apply in your case as it is a single offence, but the court would certainly listen and might possibly be influenced if you had a strong case to put forward, although they are unlikely to consider a anything more than a short period of disqualification to be merited, and most people could cope with not driving for a shortish period.

[DarkTrace]

What would be the likely disqualification term? (I.e. what is ‘short’?)

Appreciate all the replies

[Suziboy]

7 to 56 days, according to this: http://www.pepipoo.com/Magistrates_guidelines.htm

[The Rookie]

The guidance is for upto a 28 day ban for 50 in a 30, so realistically I think about 6 weeks is to be expected.

[andy_foster]

How long is a piece of string?

The sentencing guidelines are a band C fine (?150% RWI or 100% RWI with an early guilty plea) and a 7-56 day ban or 6 points (not going to happen). for 51 mph and above in a 30 mph limit. The guidelines also suggest considering a ban over 56 days for speeds grossly in excess of the limit.

If I were to guess, I would say somewhere between 28 and 56 days. Hopefully a tame magistrate will be along shortly to make a more meaningful guess.

N.B. Any ban of less than 56 days is called a short term disqualification - you keep your physical licence but are banned from driving until the ban expires. The day you are banned is "day 1" and the ban expires at midnight at the end of the final day - e.g. if you were banned for 2 days at 4 p.m. on Tuesday you would be allowed to drive from midnight on Wednesday night (00.01 Thursday). For bans of 56 days or longer you are required to surrender your licence and re-apply for it when (or shortly before) the ban expires.

[DarkTrace]

Ok - 6 points sounds unlikely from the comments. I thought it might still be a possibility given it’s the only offence in a number of years.

[The Rookie]

No, it’s pretty much impossible given the guidelines suggest a ban from 51.

No, it’s pretty much impossible given the guidelines suggest a ban from 51.

[NewJudge]

The current guidelines provide no upper limit for "Band C" offences. They just say (for example, where 30mph is the prevailing limit) ""51 and above". The earlier guidelines (pre-April 2017) gave upper limits for the the "Band C" offences and if I recall correctly though I'll try and check, the range was 51-60mph. The guideline penalty was similar - "6 points or disqualify for 7-56 days" - but note the subtle reversal of the options. This left some Magistrates mistakenly believing that 56 days was the upper limit for a ban even if the recorded speed exceeded 60mph. But importantly it gives some idea of what the Sentencing Council believed was an appropriate excess to which a 56 day ban might apply. As Andy has mentioned, the current guidelines have included the passage: "Where an offender is driving grossly in excess of the speed limit the court should consider a disqualification in excess of 56 days." This was always an option available to the court but it has now been included as a reminder within the guidance. I believe a ban is inevitable and it is entirely a matter for the court to say how long. They will probably consider your speed to be "grossly in excess of the speed limit" and may well be justified in imposing a ban of longer than 56 days. However, they may take your good driving record into consideration and you may be fortunate and escape with around six weeks, as Rookie suggests.

This post has been edited by NewJudge: Sun, 3 Oct 2021 - 15:02

[DarkTrace]

Thanks to everyone who has taken the time to reply. I will take the opportunity to experience a court hearing for the first time and see what happens.

Appreciate all the useful info on this site - it has been very helpful setting expectations.

Andy

This post has been edited by DarkTrace: Sun, 3 Oct 2021 - 13:51

[Ziggyplayedguita...]

Andy....I hope you get off.


You have taken what is likely to be bad news very well.You are not looking for loopholes to get you off.....On here you very often see people clutching at straws to bend the rules...Hell,I've even done it myself.


I hope the court see you as a genuine guy who isnt going to re-offend ...and adjust the sentence accordingly.Good Luck.

[DarkTrace]

Thanks very much! I’ll close of this thread with an update when I find out my fate…

[DarkTrace]

Super quick one: does anyone know if I’m able/likely/entitled to request this case be transferred to my local magistrate court for sentencing?

Notices have been issued from Ipswich but if there’s a possibility of embarrassing myself in my own jurisdiction (Cambridge) then that would be nice.

[The Rookie]

Yes you can, it’s a routine matter to do so.

[DarkTrace]

Great, thanks.

[DarkTrace]

Apologies, this must be pretty uninteresting by now:

My ‘reply by’ date is the 25th (assuming) October. If I’ve requested a court hearing date does anyone have any experience of how long it might take from request to confirmation of the hearing date itself?

I was intending to go away on holiday for a week from exactly the 25th. If there’s a chance I’ll receive a hearing date, miss it and be disqualified in that time then I’d need to consider other plans.

Respond by date (was erroneously 25th Sept but assuming): 25th October
Returning from holiday: 29th Oct

Advice gratefully received.