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No MoT, Tyre and brake light (Scotland)
Blinker
post Tue, 28 Jan 2020 - 21:59
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Unwittingly had the wrong date in my calendar for my MoT renewal and was stopped yesterday as it had expired 15th Jan not 30th as I'd thought.

Unmarked car stopped me, with two officers present who advised my rear brake light was out and rear tyre also illegal. It was explained because of the nature of these offences I would have to go to court and I should hear from the court in the next few months. I was given no documentation or confirmation of the incident from either of the officers.

I have a completely clean licence which I've held for over 30 years - I've only ever been stopped once when I was learning to drive some 30+ years ago! I've never let an MOT lapse previously and I'm kicking myself about it now. Whilst I hold my hands up completely for the lack of MoT, I do have some concerns with regards to the charge about the rear tyre. I drive an old car, but it is kept in good driving condition (I was unaware of the brake light fault - and stupidly didn't check to confirm if it was faulty prior to the MoT today). Officer stated the tyre was illegal, yet it was only part worn on the outer side). I took the car to the MoT centre the same day, and the tester advised me the tyres were not illegal, and I shouldn't have had a charge for them - he questioned whether the officer had checked the whole tyre. He has written me a letter confirming his findings as well as provided me with the tyres to produce as evidence should I need them (I had the tyres changed today as part of the service / MoT).

I contacted the police station, who couldn't find who had stopped me, but said they will look into it and ask the officer to call me.

I would like to know what the fine / points etc are likely to be for this offence, and also for any advice on how best to deal with the tyre issue - I'll put my hand up for the MoT - stupid mistake on my part, but I don't want to accept points for something that's incorrect.

Would appreciate any help / advice...
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post Tue, 28 Jan 2020 - 21:59
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Logician
post Wed, 29 Jan 2020 - 00:46
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You have done exactly the right thing on the tyre issue, which few people do. Hopefully the officer will drop the charge in view of the evidence you have obtained. The guideline for the defective tyre offence is 3 points and a fine equivalent to one week's net income. For no MoT and a defective light there are no points, just a fine of 50% of a week's net income. Pleading guilty to any offence at the first opportunity attracts a discount from the fine of 33%, there is a surcharge on the fine of 10%, costs are £85 after a guilty plea and a guideline of £620 on conviction after a not guilty plea.


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nosferatu1001
post Wed, 29 Jan 2020 - 07:47
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Wont the MOT have picked up whether the light was faulty or not? I woul dhope that is part of the test (I drive a work car so no MOT for years now!)
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BaggieBoy
post Wed, 29 Jan 2020 - 09:04
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The brake light might well have been not working at the time of the stop but working now. If the fault is due to bad contact/wiring issue it may not be a solid fault.
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southpaw82
post Wed, 29 Jan 2020 - 09:37
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QUOTE (Logician @ Wed, 29 Jan 2020 - 00:46) *
You have done exactly the right thing on the tyre issue, which few people do. Hopefully the officer will drop the charge in view of the evidence you have obtained. The guideline for the defective tyre offence is 3 points and a fine equivalent to one week's net income. For no MoT and a defective light there are no points, just a fine of 50% of a week's net income. Pleading guilty to any offence at the first opportunity attracts a discount from the fine of 33%, there is a surcharge on the fine of 10%, costs are £85 after a guilty plea and a guideline of £620 on conviction after a not guilty plea.

Do those guidelines and the surcharge apply in Scotland?


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Blinker
post Wed, 29 Jan 2020 - 11:29
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QUOTE (Logician @ Wed, 29 Jan 2020 - 00:46) *
You have done exactly the right thing on the tyre issue, which few people do. Hopefully the officer will drop the charge in view of the evidence you have obtained. The guideline for the defective tyre offence is 3 points and a fine equivalent to one week's net income. For no MoT and a defective light there are no points, just a fine of 50% of a week's net income. Pleading guilty to any offence at the first opportunity attracts a discount from the fine of 33%, there is a surcharge on the fine of 10%, costs are £85 after a guilty plea and a guideline of £620 on conviction after a not guilty plea.


That does put my mind at rest somewhat, thank you Logician. I'm going to chase the police again today to find out the details of the officers concerned as I do want the tyre charge dropped.

QUOTE (nosferatu1001 @ Wed, 29 Jan 2020 - 07:47) *
Wont the MOT have picked up whether the light was faulty or not? I woul dhope that is part of the test (I drive a work car so no MOT for years now!)


The MoT would pick up defective rear light - and interestingly enough I have not been charged with a bulb on the service sheet, so i will speak to the garage today to find out if it was faulty and replaced or not - great point, thank you

QUOTE (BaggieBoy @ Wed, 29 Jan 2020 - 09:04) *
The brake light might well have been not working at the time of the stop but working now. If the fault is due to bad contact/wiring issue it may not be a solid fault.


Thank you BaggieBoy, Does it have to be a solid fault / failure for it to count?
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666
post Wed, 29 Jan 2020 - 11:32
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QUOTE (Blinker @ Wed, 29 Jan 2020 - 11:29) *
Thank you BaggieBoy, Does it have to be a solid fault / failure for it to count?

It only counts if it is present! It's perfectly possible for it to be an intermittent fault, seen by the police but not by the tester.
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Logician
post Wed, 29 Jan 2020 - 11:35
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QUOTE (southpaw82 @ Wed, 29 Jan 2020 - 09:37) *
QUOTE (Logician @ Wed, 29 Jan 2020 - 00:46) *
You have done exactly the right thing on the tyre issue, which few people do. Hopefully the officer will drop the charge in view of the evidence you have obtained. The guideline for the defective tyre offence is 3 points and a fine equivalent to one week's net income. For no MoT and a defective light there are no points, just a fine of 50% of a week's net income. Pleading guilty to any offence at the first opportunity attracts a discount from the fine of 33%, there is a surcharge on the fine of 10%, costs are £85 after a guilty plea and a guideline of £620 on conviction after a not guilty plea.
Do those guidelines and the surcharge apply in Scotland?


No, I missed the headline that this was in Scotland, apologies.



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Blinker
post Sat, 1 Feb 2020 - 10:37
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Thank you to everyone who replied and put my mind at rest on this thread, To update: I finally heard back from the police officer yesterday, after several calls and a visit to the local police station to enquire about the tyre.

The officer stated that he had been meaning to call me, as 'on the day I was stopped, he had gone back to the station and re-calibrated his equipment to find it was substantially out, and therefore would not be prosecuting me for the tyre.' He stated that I will now likely only get a fixed penalty notice for the lack of MoT, which will be issued directly by the Procurator Fiscal, and that he would be removing all mention of the tyre from his report.

Obviously I am quite pleased with this, despite not quite believing it was due to re-calibration of his equipment as described. My question now is, how long does the Procurator Fiscal have to issue me with a fixed penalty notice, assuming they do?

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The Slithy Tove
post Sat, 1 Feb 2020 - 16:12
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Now that's sorted, you've just got the matter of getting rid of the evidential old tyre to manage. Hopefully the garage will now take it back and dispose of it as part of the charge they would normally make for fitting a new tyre. (Likewise, there's usually a charge of a couple quid when I get KwikFit or others to change my tyres from their mobile vans.) You can't just chuck it in the bin, and where I live, the council tip will charge a fiver to take old tyres.

This post has been edited by The Slithy Tove: Sat, 1 Feb 2020 - 16:12
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Blinker
post Sat, 1 Feb 2020 - 16:29
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Good point - although I intend to hold onto them until I have written confirmation that the tyre has been removed from the charge. My trust is a little thin in this circumstance!
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Incandescent
post Sat, 1 Feb 2020 - 18:43
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I would keep those tyres until after the court has made its ruling. Now that there is a national MOT database, I suppose the police are not looking at that as well as the insurance data base. I am very surprised you got stopped, maybe the police in Scotland have already solved all the burglaries, robberies, slave-trading etc and need more work to do. Certainly here in Cheshire I see many cars with front and rear lights out.

There is a facility to get an MOT reminder to your mobile phone as a text message.
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Blinker
post Sat, 1 Feb 2020 - 23:07
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QUOTE (Incandescent @ Sat, 1 Feb 2020 - 18:43) *
I would keep those tyres until after the court has made its ruling. Now that there is a national MOT database, I suppose the police are not looking at that as well as the insurance data base. I am very surprised you got stopped, maybe the police in Scotland have already solved all the burglaries, robberies, slave-trading etc and need more work to do. Certainly here in Cheshire I see many cars with front and rear lights out.

There is a facility to get an MOT reminder to your mobile phone as a text message.


Yes - I already have a reminder on my phone - served me well until I upgraded my phone and it didn't transfer the calendar! Lesson learned, I'm now fully signed up to the text reminder service!!

Woot! Received a letter from the Procurator Fiscal today - they've issued me with a warning, and are not prosecuting me - great news! biggrin.gif

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