Mobile Phone Use – New Higher Penalty
Following an increasingly vocal campaign to recognise driving on the phone as being as dangerous as driving whilst drunk, whose proponents include Theresa May, the RAC and the solicitor Nick ‘Mr Loophole’ Freeman, the government has passed an amendment to the existing law increasing the penalties for using your mobile whilst driving. The Road Traffic […]
Driving Whilst Using a Mobile Phone
The current mobile phone legislation was introduced to prevent drivers using a mobile phone whilst driving due to the safety issues. It is an obvious distraction if a driver is looking at their phone and could potentially cause an accident because the driver is not looking at the road ahead. Current Law Currently a […]
Increase in the Number of Unrepresented Defendants
Research suggests that the number of people appearing unrepresented in court is on the increase. The threshold for the means test of £22,325 has left many without representation and unable to afford to pay for a solicitor in the magistrates court. They may be facing serious charges which clearly pass the merits test but may […]
Proposed Changes to Sentence Reductions for Early Guilty Pleas
Presently the guidelines recommend a one third reduction when a guilty plea is entered at the first reasonable opportunity. Under the new guidelines proposed by the Sentencing Council a maximum one third reduction would be applied where the plea is entered at the first stage of the proceedings .The first stage is the first point […]
Driverless Cars
The advent of driverless and automated cars will potentially bring many benefits by making driving easier, improving road safety, reducing emissions and easing congestion. The current legal and regulatory framework would need to reviewed and amended appropriately. There is no reason why testing cannot take place on UK roads in the near future. If the […]
Supreme Court Dismisses Parking Ticket Challenge
Barry Beavis has lost his challenge against his ‘unfair’ parking fine. The case depended upon whether the Supreme Court found the £85 parking ticket for overstaying by an hour was a penalty which would mean the charge would need to bear a relation to the loss incurred by the landowner. The majority of the Judges […]
Parking Company Accused of Cheating
UK Parking Control has been stripped of its power to enforce parking tickets due to allegations that wardens were falsifying time stamps making it appear as though drivers had overstayed in car parks. Due to the ban on getting access to drivers details from DVLA the company will not be able to trace the driver.
Smokers and Soft Top Cars
With effect from 1st October 2015 there is to be a partial ban on smoking in an enclosed private vehicle carrying more than one person if there is anybody under the age of 18 years inside the vehicle. A driver who is 17 years of age who is alone in the car does not commit […]
Penalty Points and Perverting the Course of Justice Equals Prison
The recent case of R v Walker confirmed the court’s stance on driving offenders who pervert the course of justice by asking others to take their penalty points. In this case Mr Walker had committed a speeding offence. He named his 71 year old mother as the driver at the time with her consent. He […]