Case Study: Permitting Someone To Drive Without Insurance

Everyone makes mistakes. 

If I asked you what you were doing on a random date 2 months ago you might struggle to remember exactly unless you keep a very comprehensive diary.

We were recently contacted by a gentleman who had receive a Notice of Intended Prosecution for a speeding matter, not at high speed, and in fact it could have been dealt with by way of a fixed penalty or even a speed awareness course.  However at the time of receipt he, a little overwhelmed by the formality of the paperwork in front of him, and with a linguistic barrier confusing matters further, replied giving the wrong details.

He soon realised his mistake but, unfamiliar with the situation, was unsure what he could do to undo it.  He expected his nominated driver would receive the form and then return it saying they were not the driver and it would come back to him again.

Unfortunately this did not happen.  The police investigated this ‘other driver’ and added a further charge of “Permitting someone to drive without Insurance”.  You see in this case it transpired that due to a technicality his nominated driver was not insured even though they had believed she would have been and had both been driving the vehicle on this basis.

Our client came to us asking for our help. He was quite happy to accept the charge of speeding (3 points) having realised he was in fact the driver at the time, but was very worried about the charge of Permitting Someone to Drive Without Insurance (6-8 points).  It appeared to us that the only evidence the police had of the other driver being the driver was in fact our clients assertion that they were the driver, an assertion he wanted to withdraw.

We liaised with the police on his behalf and the second charge was dropped.  Financial penalties were kept to a minimum and the client did not have to attend court and give evidence – a prospect he found very daunting. A very good result.

If you have a legal matter and need advice give the Forrest Williams Team a call. If you want your case handled by a firm who pride themselves on customer care, who will listen to you, your needs and your views, understanding that it is your case, then trust the Forrest Williams team and give us call on 01623 397200.