One of the
most unpleasant things that any of us receive in the post is a dreaded – Notice
of Intended Prosecution from the Police. This means of course that we have been
caught by a speed camera and will have to face a fixed penalty of £60.00 and
three points on our driving licence.
I can still
remember the day I received one and then noticed there was another one attached to
the back. I had been caught by the same set of cameras, on the way there and on the way back, and had
to face the double consequences! It also put me on 9 points. As 12 points
normally leads to a ban I was the most cautious driver in the UK for the next year or so. It can
be a worrying time.
Former
Minister Chris Huhne found himself facing a possible ban back in 2003. He got
his then wife to take the rap and say that she had been driving his car.
That must have seemed a good idea at the time but it is now going to see him behind
bars.
This is
because the arrangement with is wife amounted to Conspiracy to Pervert the
Course of Justice. In this country that is a serious criminal offence.
Earlier
this year the BBC reported that one person had helped hundreds of drivers to
provide false information and was handed a 7 year prison sentence.
Mr. Huhne
had already resigned from the Cabinet. He will now have to stand down as a
Member of Parliament and has been told by the judge to expect to go to jail when he is sentenced next week -
"You should have no illusion whatsoever as to the sort
of sentence that you are likely to receive."
It is fair
to say that he would have been better advised to simply take the consequences.
It may be
tempting to simply ask someone else to ‘take the points’ but the consequences are
severe. For the sake of avoiding some points and £60.00 fine drivers face the
risk of a prison sentence and a criminal conviction which will ruin many a
career.
Penalty points are designed to encourage safe driving and reduce casualties on our roads. Motoring Barrister Direct provides Learn how much you will pay if you have any driver penalty points and the increasing amount for continually collected points.
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