Most of us in this country would consider ourselves honest and law abiding. Very few have been to court accused of a serious crime and many of us have never even been to court outside, perhaps, of jury duty. However, the most likely reason we would appear in court ourselves, would be for a serious driving offence. For many motoring offences, there are fixed penalty points – which are annoying enough – and fixed fines, but for other traffic offences, you will have to appear in court. For these sorts of offences, you could face a heavy fine, a ban from driving and even a spell in prison.
Almost every motorist will suffer a bump sooner or later, even if it isn\’t their fault. It seems natural that everyone should stop and exchange names, addresses and insurance details. But did you know that it is a legal requirement? If you don\’t, you will be guilty of failing to stop at the scene of an accident. If, for some reason, you can not stop you must go to a police station and report it within 24 hours of the event. You only have to do one or the other, not both. The courts look on failure to stop and failure to report very seriously. After all, if you didn\’t stop, how could you know that everyone was safe and uninjured? In some cases, often involving large trucks, drivers have persuaded the court that they didn\’t actually know they had been in an accident. I think a court would be more difficult to convince if you are driving an average car. If you fail to stop or report, you could receive a fine of up to 5,000, get 10 points put on your license and get a driving ban.
Drink driving was once regarded a a fairly innocent offence. However, it is now considered to be socially unacceptable. The law has been extended to include driving under the influence of drugs. The police do not have to give any reason to stop your car. If they reasonably suspect that you have been drinking, or that you have committed an offence, they can breathalyse you. Because the amount of alcohol in the blood depends on so many factors, authorities are reluctant to say how much alcohol will take you over the limit of 80mg of alcohol in 100ml of blood. If your breath test show positive, you will be taken to a police station and asked to give a blood or urine sample. In fact two samples are taken. If you refuse to give a sample you can be fined, or disqualified from driving. Driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs can result in a fine and disqualification. Because this area of the law is so technical, you can contest some of the technical findings – the second sample is for you to take away and have analysed independently, but the chances of success are often slim.
It is every law abiding driver\’s nightmare to be in an accident with someone who either does not have a license, or no insurance. It causes lots of problems and can result in the innocent driver losing money through not fault of their own. Whilst insurance premiums are very high, there is no excuse for driving without appropriate insurance. However, if you can convince the court that this was an innocent oversight, you might escape a ban. If you are caught without the minimum third party insurance, you could be fined 5000 and have up to 8 penalty points. If you have no driving license you could be fined, disqualified and imprisoned for up to six months.
A court appearance is quite daunting for most people. Your lawyer will talk to you about what to expect and will advice you how to plead. Whilst the courts are there to punish wrongdoers, they are not always unreasonable and, of course, have to operate within the letter of the law. Make sure you take all driving related documentation with you as well as anything you have received from the police. Be prepared to pay a fine, or at least part of it, on the spot so take cash or a cheque book with you.
Want to find out more about finding a reliable lawyer in Glasgow?, then visit Andrew Marley\’s site on how to choose good Glasgow lawyers for your needs. There are so many specialist areas of law and choosing a lawyer who is not an expert in your kind of case could cost you your money or your liberty.
Getting a good lawyer for traffic offences
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