When the police believe a driving offence has been committed, they will send a section 172 notice that requires the person named in the notice to identify the person driving the vehicle at the specified time. These often accompany a notice of intended prosecution (NIP) but are separate things (even if they are printed on the same piece of paper) and should not be confused with NIPs nor with the time limits that apply to NIPs.
A requirement that you identify the driver is usually sent to the registered keeper but can be served on anybody the police suspect was driving or knows the identity of the driver. Failing to respond, or giving an unsatisfactory response, is a criminal offence.
Winning a trial
The courts will generally expect you to have a good idea of who was driving your vehicle, and if you are a business then you should be keeping a record of who drove which vehicle and when.
There will be situations where it is possible to persuade a court that you are not guilty. For example, if you have done your best to identify a driver but it has proven impossible. Or, where you were away for an extended period of time and did not receive the notice in time to reply – or where you didn’t receive the notice at all. We also see situations where the notice has been returned but not received. In a few rare cases, clients have received notices for incidents in places they have never visited, which suggests somebody has stolen their number plate to use on their vehicle, probably for other criminal purposes.
They key to defending these cases is to show the court that you have done all you could do in the circumstances and present your position in the strongest way.
Sentencing
A person convicted of failing to identify a driver should expect a fine of up to £1,000 and six-penalty points. This can lead to people being disqualified if they exceed 12 penalty points. In which case, you should consider whether there are any exceptional hardship arguments that will help you keep your driving licence.
A company can also be convicted of this offence, in which case there is a fine only. However, if the court believes that a director of the company has deliberately withheld information, e.g. to avoid naming himself or another director and thus avoiding the penalty points, then the court can imposed the penalty points on that director!
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