A motoring offence is a crime committed which concerns driving. Many people in the UK have driving licence, which means motoring offences are a common occurrence.
Some of the more common motoring offences are:
There are now many different penalties which can be given to people when they are caught committing a driving offence. These include:
With more serious offences like drink driving, your case is likely to go to magistrates’ court and there are many different penalties available, depending on the severity of the incident. You can get points on your licence, be disqualified from driving and/or fined, or even receive a prison sentence.
Most of the successful defences to motoring charges are based on points of law or procedure rather than the actual evidence. The Human Rights Act 1998 guarantees a ‘right to a fair trial’ and this is where much of the power to challenge motorists’ sentences/convictions for driving offences comes from.
Most cases for driving offences will go through the magistrates’ court; if you’re not satisfied with the outcome of the case then you do have the right of an appeal against conviction and/or sentence to the Crown Court.
This kind of appeal is basically a re-trial where all evidence will be re-heard again and the case will be re-considered by a Crown Court judge and two magistrates, neither of whom had any involvement with the initial hearing in the magistrates’ court. This can work for or against the person appealing as the Crown Court can increase or decrease the sentence imposed by magistrates.
If you had been disqualified from driving a motor vehicle for a fixed period of time, it may be possible for this disqualification to be suspended pending appeal.
Another route of appeal which can be used is an appeal to the Administrative Court (High Court) by way of judicial review. This type of appeal is not a re-hearing but is decided on the basis that the court has made an error of law which should be looked at being overturned. This route is much more time consuming and complex and cases can take around 12 months to be heard.
Nicola is a dual qualified journalist and non-practising solicitor. She is a legal journalist, editor and author with more than 20 years' experience writing about the law.
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