Failing to Provide Driver Details/Furnish InformationSection 172 of the Road Traffic Act makes it a criminal offence for a person to fail to respond to a lawful requirement for information as to the identity of the driver of a vehicle that is alleged to have committed a motoring offence Ordinarily, if a person has committed a motoring offence and they have not been stopped by the police, a Notice of Intended Prosecution (NIP) will be sent to the registered keeper of the vehicle within 14 days of the alleged offence. They would then be given 28 days from receipt of the notice to respond. The penalty for failing to provide driver details is 6 points and a fine of up to £1000. This is quite harsh considering most minor motoring offences attract a penalty of less than 6 points. You may not have even been driving yet you could still receive 6 penalty points for failing to provide the relevant information to the police. The law surrounding this area is complicated and can be a bit of a minefield. If you have received a court summons in respect of an allegation of failing to furnish information, we would urge you to contact us immediately. One of our expert motoring solicitors with expertise in dealing with allegations of failing to furnish information is waiting to talk to you. Get some initial advice free of charge. Call us free on 03333 446440. IndividualsIf you are an individual and the DVLA has you registered as being the ‘keeper’ or ‘owner’ of the vehicle that is alleged to have committed an offence, you will be guilty of failing to furnish driver details if you fail to name who was driving the vehicle at the time of the alleged offence. However, if you are unable to establish who was driving the vehicle at the time of the alleged offence you may have a defence. It would not be enough to simply say you cannot remember. You would have to demonstrate to the court that you exercised “reasonable diligence” in trying to establish who was driving. It would be for the court to decide whether or not your actions amounted to ‘reasonable diligence’. The defences that are available to companies are slightly different. If you are not the registered keeper of the vehicle then the law on what you need to do is slightly more relaxed. You are only required to provide information that is in your power to give, which could assist the authorities in identifying who was driving the vehicle at the time of the alleged offence.
Call us now and receive some free initial advice from one of our expert motoring offence solicitor. Remember though, because of the time limits applicable in cases of this type, time is of the essence. local rate 03333 446440. Do not try this at home!Whatever you do, you MUST NOT do any of the following:
The penalty for perverting the course of justice is very severe. In most cases a conviction for perverting the course of justice is imprisonment. Is it really worth it, the loss of your liberty for the sake of avoiding penalty points or a disqualification from driving? For expert advice, local rate 03333 446440. Failure to Provide Driver Information - Fighting Two AllegationsYou may have received a summons that is alleging that not only have you failed to furnish information, you have also committed another motoring offence such as speeding or failing to stop at a red light. Confused? How can you be prosecuted for the original offence when the authorities do not know the identity of the driver? Isn’t that why you are being prosecuted for failing to furnish information?
If this is what you are thinking, then you are right. Despite this, the CPS may continue to prosecute you for both offences up until the day of trial. If you find yourself in this predicament, you need our help! We are extremely confident that with our involvement, you will avoid a conviction for both or at the very least one of the allegations. Call us today on 03333 446440 or complete our online enquiry form.
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