Single Justice Procedure - MOT expired, Advice needed Options

[chocolatkay]

Hello All,

I got stopped for the first time in my life by police Aug 2019, oblivious to the fact that I was driving without an MOT. i did try to explain to the officer it was a honest mistake and. I was just quickly mopping out to pick up nappies because I’d completely run out and baby had literally just soiled the one he was in! Complete panic!

I’ve now received a single Justice Procedure in the post. I was told I’d get a fine in the post, I never got this but this is likely because I’ve also realised I haven’t updated my driving license address since moving (hold my head in shame but just trying to survive, life admin falls to bottom of pile. Luckily this letter with the SJP was redirected to me. I don’t know what I can about that, I’d rather have paid the fine than deal with this.

Side note - first time mum, mental health issues (anxiety, depression, ptsd), have been hospitalised, just been trying to get through each day as it comes but that also means a LOT of things slip through the net because I simply can’t deal with them.

My local law centre only advise on housing and immigration. I’m hoping someone here can offer some initial advice on how I should proceed. And what are the likely punishment I’m looking to face for this offence? Is it worth fighting? I have no criminal record or offences to my name and I dread the thought of what happens next, anxiety through the roof!
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Thanks in advance from a desperate mum

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[The Rookie]

They would have used the address provided at the time of the stop for any fixed penalty offer, not checked your licence address.

There will be no need to go to court, you enter a guilty plea and will be sentenced by the single justice, really it will be no 'worse' than accepting the fixed penalty.

You can request the court apply the fixed penalty tariff as the reason you didn't accept a fixed penalty was for reasons unconnected with the offence, there is guidance that they should agree to this.

DO NOT make any excuses as to why you 'had' to drive without an MOT, it suggests you think it's OK in certain circumstances.

[nosferatu1001]

Also check your licence AND your V5 address are up to date - if thyere not, you can end up in a *lot* of trouble; the fine for not keeping them up to date is usually NOT the bit that hurts, but not knowing about red light / speeding etc offences until theyve gotten to court

[chocolatkay]

They would have used the address provided at the time of the stop for any fixed penalty offer, not checked your licence address.

There will be no need to go to court, you enter a guilty plea and will be sentenced by the single justice, really it will be no 'worse' than accepting the fixed penalty.

You can request the court apply the fixed penalty tariff as the reason you didn't accept a fixed penalty was for reasons unconnected with the offence, there is guidance that they should agree to this.

DO NOT make any excuses as to why you 'had' to drive without an MOT, it suggests you think it's OK in certain circumstances.

Thank you ‘The Rookie’ for your reply.

That’s the thing, the PO didn’t ask for any details at time of stop, just my driving license. So I assume that’s what he used. And Ive checked it's my old address on my Driver licence and V5.

When you say it’s no worse than the fixed penalty - are you referring to the fine then PO had advised me about receiving in the post originally? What is the fixed penalty? I’ve heard about fines of £1000!!!

Would you kindly elaborate on how i go about requesting the Fixed Penalty - there doesn’t seem to be anything on the SJP form itlsef. Also not quite sure what you mean here about reason unrelated... would appreciate if you could clarify.

Thanks, no excuses - noted.

[NewJudge]

Magistrates have guidance which says this:

"Where a penalty notice could not be offered or taken up for reasons unconnected with the offence itself, such as administrative difficulties outside the control of the offender, the starting point should be a fine equivalent to the amount of the penalty and no order of costs should be imposed. The offender should not be disadvantaged by the unavailability of the penalty notice in these circumstances."

The problem you have is that the administrative difficulties were not outside your control as you probably contributed to them by handing over a licence with your old address on it. So you'll have to ask nicely when you submit your plea on the SJ form. Whatever happens you won't be fined £1,000 or anything like it.

[The Rookie]

The fixed penalty would have been £100.

I don’t believe you have heard of fines of £1000, you may have heard that that is the maximum for the offence. It’s almost impossible to get fined anywhere near that for most people, you would have to be very very well paid, a multiple offender and plead not guilty.

[chocolatkay]

The fixed penalty would have been £100.

I don’t believe you have heard of fines of £1000, you may have heard that that is the maximum for the offence. It’s almost impossible to get fined anywhere near that for most people, you would have to be very very well paid, a multiple offender and plead not guilty.

That’s reassuring! You’re right it is a maximum fine. What factors do they consider when they decide the fine?

[The Rookie]

Pretty much just your income.

The fine for no MOT is Band A, 50% of your ‘relevant weekly income’ (after tax and NI deduction), I see no aggravating or mitigating factors worth mentioning so it will be pretty much that. Less 1/3 for an early guilty plea and plus costs of £85 and the surcharge of 10% of the fine (minimum £32).

All in the ‘Sentencing Council Guidelines’ issued to magistrates court in England and Wales.

[chocolatkay]

Magistrates have guidance which says this:

"Where a penalty notice could not be offered or taken up for reasons unconnected with the offence itself, such as administrative difficulties outside the control of the offender, the starting point should be a fine equivalent to the amount of the penalty and no order of costs should be imposed. The offender should not be disadvantaged by the unavailability of the penalty notice in these circumstances."

The problem you have is that the administrative difficulties were not outside your control as you probably contributed to them by handing over a licence with your old address on it. So you'll have to ask nicely when you submit your plea on the SJ form. Whatever happens you won't be fined £1,000 or anything like it.

‘New Judge’ thanks for clarifying. You’re right I should have explained to the police officer that I need the fine sent to any new address. I was just keen to get the hell out of there! And in my mind all I needed to do was get back to change my babies bum! No excuse I know. Human error - which I’ve been doing a lot of since becoming a new mum and my mental health deteriorating.

Can I easily complete the form and make this request myself? Or would I need it backed up by a health professional? A lot of things not exclusive to my mentally health mean administrative things are slipping, and are costing me dearly too! I’ve put lots of limits on my lifestyle(life) due to my current circumstances, I’ve put myself on a sort of house arrest because aside from caring for my baby I’m not really coping and end up making a complete mess of anything I touch. I’m getting help through therapy but it’s not a quick fix for sure and takes a huge amount of energy.

An example of a plea/template would be really helpful - otherwise I have no idea where to start really, never been involved with the courts/police etc.

[Logician]

I suggest writing this in the mitigation section of the form, having completed the section pleading guilty, "I apologise for inadvertently committing this offence, all I can say is that I have just become a mother for the first time and suffering from "baby brain" causing a failure to deal properly with some administrative matters such as obtaining an MoT and updating my driving licence address. This meant that the fixed penalty offered for the MoT offence failed to reach me. In these circumstances I have been advised that you may consider sentencing me at the fixed penalty tariff, and I respectfully request that you do so."

I would say no more than that about your mental health or it may raise the issue about whether you should be assessed to see if you are actually presently fit to drive at all.

[NewJudge]

Indeed. And you're not really asking to be sentenced at the Fixed Penalty level on the basis of your health. You're requesting it because you handed over a licence with your old address on it (which anybody could do, regardless of the state of their health). No need to get too bogged down with your health and certainly no need for any evidence. Logician seems to have hit the right note.

[chocolatkay]

I suggest writing this in the mitigation section of the form, having completed the section pleading guilty, "I apologise for inadvertently committing this offence, all I can say is that I have just become a mother for the first time and suffering from "baby brain" causing a failure to deal properly with some administrative matters such as obtaining an MoT and updating my driving licence address. This meant that the fixed penalty offered for the MoT offence failed to reach me. In these circumstances I have been advised that you may consider sentencing me at the fixed penalty tariff, and I respectfully request that you do so."

I would say no more than that about your mental health or it may raise the issue about whether you should be assessed to see if you are actually presently fit to drive at all.

‘Logician’ thank you for neatly summarising this mess of a situation I’m in! I wouldn’t have know where to start!

I definitely wouldn’t want a driving ban etc due to my health condition. I’ve been diagnosed with Generalised Anxiety Disorder and PTSD and although drivIng is more challenging, besides the extra admin clearly, I manage by driving off-peak, only locally or familiar routes when on my own, with someone (other than my baby) and definitely not when my anxieties really severe (I can barely leave the house so getting to my car alone would be a mission ! Driving in London doesn’t help either.
Most often I rely on Uber’s, or on days when I’m feeling a bit brave (and usually with someone) public transport. Maybe I should just sell my car, seems more hassle than it’s worth (also discovered a pile of parking tickets that need my attention 🙈).



This post has been edited by chocolatkay: Mon, 27 Jan 2020 - 07:46

[chocolatkay]

So here was the mitigating circumstances letter plan I scribbled after scrawling through the web yesterday (need to do something with this anxiety!)

Circumstances

1. First time mum
2. Currently signed off sick - GAD and PTSD
3. Was in mum and baby unit when MOT expired
4. Change of address - did not receive fixed penalty (own error not updating address)
5. Wrong to drive without MOT
6. No other driving offences, driving for 6-7 years
7. How it would affect my daily life - unable to use PT, more isolating, for me and my baby, attending appointments, too expensive to use cabs all the time, not always convenient, more difficult getting out and about
8. Financial difficulty - in debt, low income (UC), no disability benefits to help with additional costs
9. Physical disability - bladder and bowel in continence, again car helps with getting around, easier to get from a to b

Get letter simply confirming dates in hospital and diagnosis that makes it difficult to manage paperwork (don’t want to send my discharge summary - waayyy too TMI!!
In comparison to Logicians this seems like overkill? Just don’t want to take any chances either.

[Logician]

Some of that seems to be written with the idea that you might lose your licence, which is not at all what you face. You will not even get any points for no MoT, you will get a fine, the only issue is how much, one in accordance with court guidelines or the fixed penalty rate. To go way over the top like that would simply show that you have no grasp of the situation and probably lead to your whole statement being disregarded as irrelevant.

What you need to do is to persuade the court to sentence you at the fixed penalty level, following their guidelines on sentencing those who should have received a fixed penalty but have not done so for reasons unconnected with the offence. The only hurdle to overcome is that you did not receive a fixed penalty because you did not update your licence address, a matter within your control and putting forward a reason for that is the ONLY reason for mentioning your mental problems at all. My draft was written with that in mind, and I really think you should follow it, less is more in these circumstances.

[The Rookie]

In line with Logician on this, you are not going to lose your licence at all for this, it won't even be endorsed with points, 7 is pointless, so is 9.

1&3 are effectively the same thing.

6 is irrelevant, courts well know how low the capture rate is, so not being caught previously isn't a plus.

2 and 8 go into the financial statement on form MC100 and aren't relevant in mitigating the offence.

[NewJudge]

All you are asking the court to do is to sentence you at the Fixed Penalty level. You are asking this because you did not get a FP offer and that was because you handed over your licence which contained your old address. All that is needed is #4. It has nothing to do with your health, your child, your driving record or your finances. As mentioned, you do not face points or disqualification.

There is a grave danger that you over egg the pudding and the main (in fact only) point you want the SJ to consider gets lost. A SJ dealing with motoring cases may have a list of around a hundred cases to deal with in a day. Inevitably it is a swift process. Take heed of the Magistrates' Guidance I provided in post #5. I strongly recommend you return to Logician's post #10.

[chocolatkay]

Thank you ‘Logician’, ‘The Roomie’ and ‘New Judge’ - I can see how this would have been overkill. Thanks for putting it all into perspective and for the sound advice. Much appreciated Oates.

Finally would naking my plea online be fine or should I do it in writing by post? The added effort of a hand written plea might win me some brownie points!

[Logician]

Thank you ‘Logician’, ‘The Roomie’ and ‘New Judge’ - I can see how this would have been overkill. Thanks for putting it all into perspective and for the sound advice. Much appreciated Oates. Finally would naking my plea online be fine or should I do it in writing by post? The added effort of a hand written plea might win me some brownie points!

And the added effort for the justice in reading a handwritten plea rather than a printed one might lose them again! Seriously, do whatever you find most convenient, but the court service have not gone to the trouble of making it possible to do online in order to disadvantage you.