Speeding Prosecutions

Worried about a Driving Ban? When keeping your licence could mean keeping your livelihood make sure you have the best possible representation both in and outside court.

If you have been sent a Notice of Intended Prosecution, Fixed Penalty Notice or Single Justice Procedure Notice read our guide below on what to do next, including a guide to the law on s.172 Notices and the Failure to Identify a Driver offence.

Section 172 Notices

If your vehicle was ‘flashed’ by a speed camera for example you should receive an Notice of Intended Prosecution “NIP” within 14 days (as long you were not stopped at the roadside.) The NIP will be sent to the registered keeper of the vehicle.

It will be accompanied by a Section 172 Notice which requires you to confirm the identity of the driver of the vehicle at the time of the alleged offence.

If you respond by nominating somebody else as the driver the nominee will receive their own NIP (addressed to them) in the post after you have identified them.

Failing to respond to a S.172 notices promptly and within the deadline set can have severe consequences. It could result in you also being prosecuted for failing to identify the driver, which carries 6 penalty points or an immediate ban. See our guide to the Failure to Identify the Driver offence below.

Speed Awareness Course

Once you have returned the NIP you are then likely to receive a conditional offer of a fixed penalty. Whether this will be offered to you will depend upon the speed you were recorded at driving and the policy of the local police in your area – see our Guide to Speed Awareness Courses.

It you accept the offer you must pay the appropriate fine or book on to the recommended driver speed awareness course. By accepting a conditional offer, you are effectively pleading guilty to the offence.

If you have 9 + penalty points on your licence you cannot be offered a fixed penalty – if an offer has been made it will have been sent in error.

If you dispute the alleged offence then you should not accept the conditional offer.

If you reject the conditional offer you will then receive a SJPN. The SJPN must be issued within 6 months from the date of the alleged offence.

Fixed Penalty Notice

If you are stopped at the roadside – for example by a police officer with a speed camera - the officer should inform you of their intention to prosecute you for the offence. As part of this, the officer should ask you for your full driver details. You may then receive a fixed penalty notice in the post.

If the speed you are recorded at driving is high or you are a totter or another reason means that the matter cannot be dealt with by way of a fixed penalty notice, then a Single Justice Procedure Notice should be sent to you through the post within 6 months from the date of the alleged offence.

Single Justice Notice Procedure - ‘SJPN’

​If you have received an SJPN, then you can plead guilty by returning it in the post to save you having to attend at court.

Should you dispute the offence then you can plead not guilty by post. Once a not guilty plea has been entered the court will automatically list your case for a trial hearing. See our Guide to the Single Justice Procedure Notice.

Failure to Identify the Driver

The registered keeper (or any other person) is under a legal obligation to identify the driver of their vehicle if the vehicle is alleged to have committed an offence (e.g. speeding) and they are asked by the police. If you do not identify the driver then you will likely be summonsed to appear before the Magistrates’ Court for an offence of “failing to identify the driver”.

If handled correctly, you could have a very good chance of winning a failing to identify a driver case.Notices requiring you to identify a driver or disclose driver details are sent out by the Central Ticket Office. This office is staffed by civilians, not police officers, and such notices are mass produced by computer. This means that staff from the Central Ticket Office often misunderstand and misapply the law, and there is often a margin for error.

If you have been charged with failing to identify a driver, or failing to provide driver details, there are several ways that the case can be defended.

If you do not know who the driver is, then it will be a defence if you are able to show that you did not know who the driver was and you have exercised all reasonable diligence to identify the driver.

This means that you will have to show firstly that you did not know who the driver was and secondly that you have taken all reasonable steps to work out who it was.

This will usually mean generally doing all that you can to work out who was driving. If you are subsequently prosecuted for failing to provide driver information, this letter will provide valuable evidence that you have acted reasonably and done all that you can.

Failing to identify the driver carries 6 penalty points or an immediate ban, and a fine of up to £1,000.

See our case studies of successful driving defence outcomes we have recently been involved in.

If you find yourself facing an investigation or prosecution for a motoring offence, please call our offices on our 24 hour helpline on 0203 858 0853