Motoring offence solicitors

Motoring offence solicitors

For many normally law-abiding people, the only time they may find themselves on the wrong side of the law is if they are facing penalties for motoring offences. Purcell Parker can help you with any aspect of road traffic law by offering the services of some of the most experienced lawyers in the UK. Our high levels of expertise include representing clients in connection with cases involving exceptional hardship where a driving ban would result in a consequence such as loss of employment and securing reductions in the length of driving bans. 

‘Special reasons’ in motoring cases 

In certain circumstances, a ‘special reason’ may be a valid part of your defence. As many motoring offences are one-off incidents committed by individuals with an otherwise blemish-free record, the circumstances of an offence are very often caused by external factors that cause the offence to be committed, such as speeding in a medical emergency. While a special reason does not amount to a defence in itself, if there are external circumstances that should be taken into account by a court, our specialist motoring solicitors can advise on how they can be presented in court as mitigating circumstances.

A personal approach to motoring offences

Our first class service takes into account the fact that your driving licence is an essential part of your daily life, particularly if you need it to do your job. We use our expertise and vast experience in this area of the law to achieve the best possible outcome for every case we deal with. We are also fully aware that many of our clients in this situation have had no previous reason to seek advice about motoring offences. Bearing this in mind, we may be able to meet you at a time and place convenient to you.

Paying for a motoring offence lawyer

At Purcell Parker we are happy to offer fixed fees for representing you in respect of motoring matters before the Magistrates’ Court where you are pleading guilty. Most of such matters will be dealt with at a single hearing on your first appearance and our fixed fee is £595 plus VAT (£714). 

If you case is adjourned to another date for sentence then there would be an additional fee for the sentence hearing of £395 plus VAT (£474).

If you are disputing the charge, and plead not guilty, then our fixed fee will depend on the length of the trial. For a half-day trial our fee is £1,500 plus VAT (£1,800), rising to £2,000 plus VAT (£2,400) for a full day trial. How soon a trial can be fixed depends on the listing at a particular court and can be anything from a few weeks to a number of months. 

Our fee includes all preparation work and representation at court by one of our directors or experienced solicitors, all of whom are supervised by a director.

Any disbursements, for example in respect of expert’s reports if required, would have to be met by you in addition to the above fees. The fee would depend on the type of expert and how much work was involved but could be in the region of £1,000 plus VAT. We will obtain quotes on a case by case basis on your behalf.

Effective defence for all motoring offences

Every road traffic case is unique, however our specialist motoring solicitors can help with the following areas:

Dangerous driving

Dangerous driving is a serious offence. The court will normally consider imposing a prison sentence and a lengthy disqualification, especially in cases where a driver has caused death by dangerous driving. If you have been arrested for dangerous driving, it’s crucial to speak to the motoring solicitors at Purcell Parker straight away to get expert advice on the best possible course of action.

Our solicitors are on call 24-hours a day. We can be contacted before the police are involved or from the police station and can advise you from the very beginning of your case. If you are charged with dangerous driving we can provide you with an experienced motoring lawyer to plead your case at court.

Every case is unique but possible defences for dangerous driving can include:

• You can argue that your driving was not under the expected standard required.
• You were driving under duress, for example to escape violence.
• A previously undetected mechanical fault caused you to lose control of the vehicle.
• A previously undiagnosed medical condition such as epilepsy caused you to lose control behind the wheel.

Driving without a licence

The only circumstances where an individual is allowed to control a vehicle on public roads without a full driver’s licence is when they are a learner driver in possession of a provisional licence and are accompanied by a full driver’s licence holder in the passenger seat. Those who drive without a licence are very often caught by police tracker technology which can detect whether a car is insured, has a valid MOT and a full licence holder as the registered owner.

Being caught driving without a licence can result in fines of up to £1000 (up to £5000 if you have also been caught driving without insurance), penalty points on your licence and a ban on applying for a driving licence for a certain period of time. If you are in the position of being caught driving without a licence, our motoring solicitors can advise on the best course of action to minimise the consequences, including any ‘special reasons’ that are appropriate to your case.

Failing to stop at the scene of an accident

The Road Traffic Act 1988 states that it is an offence for a driver to fail to stop to provide their details when they are involved in an accident that causes damage to a vehicle or injury to a person other than themselves. Crucially, this includes circumstances where the driver does not believe they are at fault for the accident. Also, if you return to the scene of the accident after initially driving away, you may still have committed an offence.

If it is not possible to give details at the scene of an accident, the law states that you must report it to a police station ‘as soon as practicable’ and within 24 hours. It is advisable to do this in person. Being accused of failing to stop is considered a serious offence and may result in a trial at the Magistrate’s Court. The expert motoring solicitors at Purcell Parker are able to support you at every part of the process including representing you at any court case that may arise.

Possible consequences for failing to stop at the scene of an accident include:

• 5 -10 penalty points on your driving licence
• A driving ban
• A fine of up to £5,000
• A prison sentence of up to 6 months

Refusing to provide a breath, blood or urine sample

Refusing to take a test to show levels of alcohol or drugs that police suspect are in your system when you are driving or in charge of a vehicle is a serious offence with potentially severe consequences. It’s important to remember that refusing to give a sample because you think it will show you are over the legal limit for alcohol or have drugs in your system will not result in a better outcome than complying with the test.

Refusing to provide a sample is covered by the following categories:  

1. Refusal to participate in a preliminary test

If you fail to take part in a roadside breathalyser test when asked to do so by a uniformed police officer, you are committing an offence which could result in four points on your licence, a driving ban and a fine of up to £1000.

2. Failure to provide an evidential specimen for testing

If you have been arrested for suspected drink or drug driving and refuse to cooperate with giving a blood, urine or breath sample at the police station, you are committing an offence. It is important to call the 24 hour solicitors at Purcell Parker for legal representation at the police station as soon as you are detained.

Consequences for refusing to give an evidential specimen include a driving ban, an unlimited fine and up to six months in prison. It’s also important to remember that you do not have to actually be driving the vehicle to be arrested – the punishment for refusing to provide an evidential sample when in charge of a vehicle can involve 10 driving licence penalty points, a driving disqualification, a fine of up to £2,500 and three months in prison. Prosecutions in this area centre round intention to drive, so if you were in your car to retrieve possessions or sleep, it’s vital to speak to an experienced motoring solicitor who can build a case based on any valid defence you may have.

The same penalties are applicable for withholding consent for any blood sample you give to be tested in a laboratory.

Religious reasons are not accepted as a valid reason for refusing to give a sample, however, you may have a valid defence if you have a proven medical reason for refusing to give a sample such as a needle phobia or an inability to provide a urine sample. In other circumstances, any case against you may be dropped if it can be proven that that the police did not follow procedure properly or that the testing equipment they used was faulty. In cases where a driving ban is inevitable, it may be possible to reduce your sentence by 25% if you agree to attend a drink driving rehabilitation course.

Driving without insurance

Driving without insurance has hefty penalties which can involve penalty points and a fine of £5000 or even a driving ban. Mistakenly believing you were insured is not a defence and may not be seen as a valid mitigating circumstance.

It is also an offence to drive someone else’s car without insurance or to give them permission to drive your car when they are not insured to do so. Even if you pay for fully comprehensive insurance, this does not automatically mean you are insured to drive another person’s car, and even if you do so, the cover may drop to third party meaning you will not be covered for any damage you do to the vehicle in the event of an accident.

Driving without insurance is an unusual area of the law, because unlike with most offences where the defendant is not obliged to prove anything, you are required to provide the documentation to prove you were insured. Although this can make cases of this nature seem black and white, it is possible for ‘special reasons’ to come into play in this kind of case, for example in circumstances where your insurer cancelled your policy but failed to inform you.

Free, confidential initial advice for motoring offences

As well as these common areas of road traffic law we can also help with issues such as drug driving, failing to report an accident or stop at the scene of an accident, driving without a licence, letting someone drive your car uninsured, refusing to provide a breath sample and more. If you have been accused of any type of motoring offence, contact Purcell Parker today for free and confidential initial advice on 0121 236 9781 or email info@purcellparker.co.uk.