In what time frame do the Garda have to issue a summons

CQ

I am getting done fro driving with no insurance after i crashed a car, which i was told i was insured to drive, no one was hurt and everyone one else had been driving so i was the only one able to drive. The garda are going to press charges and so i'm waiting on a summons. How long do they have to issued the summon?
I don't spend alot of time in my own house, but did receive a letter from an overnight delivery service with a number asking me to contact them so they could deliver a package to me.....would this be the summons? I cant recall ordering anything, and surely if i did they would have my mobile number, also the letter had "the occupier"
I would be grateful for any information on this

jenny jinks

The guards just apply for a summons. After is is applied for it is issued and served. This can take up to a year. It would be served by a courier company.
What part of the country are you in. My boss is a solicitor and is very good at getting people off charges of driving without insurance. It is very easy if you did not own the car.

CQ

I'm in Donegal.
So the Garda would have applied for a summon, and anyone could deliver it? Does it need to be delivered into my hand, or can someone else sign for it? Once the summons has been issued, is there a time limit on serving it, say if i'm never in the house, which is normally the case?

Reloc8

jenny jinks wrote: »

The guards just apply for a summons. After is is applied for it is issued and served. This can take up to a year. It would be served by a courier company.
What part of the country are you in. My boss is a solicitor and is very good at getting people off charges of driving without insurance. It is very easy if you did not own the car.

Dangerous nonsense. This is the sort of post which really deserves sanction in this forum - a little bit of touting (albeit apparently on someone else's behalf) coupled with nonsensical assertions which purport to be made by someone who might/should know what they are talking about is a ridiculously inappropriate response. I would have left my response at 'OP seek legal advice' if it wasn't that I was staggered by this post.

For the sake of giving information, and not advice, the summons has to be applied for within 6 months of the offence giving rise to the charge, in case of summary offences (district court only charges), which it seems these are likely to be.

There is no upper limit on when it has to be served. This must be done within a 'reasonable time period'. Generally for RTA up to 18 months or so is not unusual although 12 months is more usually the case. If someone is eh difficult to serve the period can be considerably longer.

The registered package the OP mentions may indeed be the summons'. If you refuse delivery the gardai will try and serve you personally (they are more or less supposed to try and achieve this but most people accept delivery by registered post and turn up on the day, which is sensible of them, so its a bit of an effort-saver on the part of the authorities).

OP if you don't accept reg post/delivery the gardai will be out to try and serve you personally. They will pretty much do that as many times as is necessary. Its a matter for yourself if you want them hanging around your door. If you seem to be dodging service they may well let the summons into court and explain this to a judge with a view to getting a warrant to arrest you and bring you to court. Basically, you're not going to get out of this by not being at home etc.

When you get your summons go to a good solicitor and follow their advice. Trying to be clever (or indeed following jennyjinks' advice) is only going to get you in further trouble. The suggestion that if you didn't own the car it will be easy to 'get off' would be comical if it wasn't moronically dangerous.

There is a defence to those in employment who are led to believe they are insured by their boss but arn't. In all other cases it is your responsibility to ensure you are insured in any car you drive. If you had some reason to believe this was so but it turned out not to be the case that may go to mitigating your offence.

In broad terms, you're in a bit of a bind. Depending on what you do now you can make things much, much worse. In general terms in a case like this owning up to your obligations and confronting the case like a responsible adult can only help you.

maidhc

Reloc8 wrote: »

In general terms in a case like this owning up to your obligations and confronting the case like a responsible adult can only help you.

I agree. There is an easy and hard way to deal with the inevitable.

MagicSean

Reloc8 wrote: »

Dangerous nonsense. This is the sort of post which really deserves sanction in this forum - a little bit of touting (albeit apparently on someone else's behalf) coupled with nonsensical assertions which purport to be made by someone who might/should know what they are talking about is a ridiculously inappropriate response. I would have left my response at 'OP seek legal advice' if it wasn't that I was staggered by this post.

For the sake of giving information, and not advice, the summons has to be applied for within 6 months of the offence giving rise to the charge, in case of summary offences (district court only charges), which it seems these are likely to be.

There is no upper limit on when it has to be served. This must be done within a 'reasonable time period'. Generally for RTA up to 18 months or so is not unusual although 12 months is more usually the case. If someone is eh difficult to serve the period can be considerably longer.

The registered package the OP mentions may indeed be the summons'. If you refuse delivery the gardai will try and serve you personally (they are more or less supposed to try and achieve this but most people accept delivery by registered post and turn up on the day, which is sensible of them, so its a bit of an effort-saver on the part of the authorities).

OP if you don't accept reg post/delivery the gardai will be out to try and serve you personally. They will pretty much do that as many times as is necessary. Its a matter for yourself if you want them hanging around your door. If you seem to be dodging service they may well let the summons into court and explain this to a judge with a view to getting a warrant to arrest you and bring you to court. Basically, you're not going to get out of this by not being at home etc.

When you get your summons go to a good solicitor and follow their advice. Trying to be clever (or indeed following jennyjinks' advice) is only going to get you in further trouble. The suggestion that if you didn't own the car it will be easy to 'get off' would be comical if it wasn't moronically dangerous.

There is a defence to those in employment who are led to believe they are insured by their boss but arn't. In all other cases it is your responsibility to ensure you are insured in any car you drive. If you had some reason to believe this was so but it turned out not to be the case that may go to mitigating your offence.

In broad terms, you're in a bit of a bind. Depending on what you do now you can make things much, much worse. In general terms in a case like this owning up to your obligations and confronting the case like a responsible adult can only help you.

+1. The previous post was ridiculous. I would also add that if the summons is not served in time it can be reissued over and over.

CQ

Thanks for the advice. I will contact a solicitor as soon as the summons is served. Just feel that its all landed on me, i was doing a favour as i was the only one not drinking & was assured that i was insured to drive the car. I'm also being asked to cough up all the money for the damage to the car.

Reloc8

Sounds like a bad night out alright OP - these things happen - no one is dead or hurt thank god - get it sorted and life goes on - if you're saying your mate who owns the car is pursuing you for the damage to the car after assuring you you were insured to drive it you may have an answer to any civil proceedings he or she could bring and eh you need better mates ! - off to a solicitor and good luck with it.

nuac

Jenny Jinks - it is not always easy to get summonses for failing to have insurance dismissed, irrespective of car ownership. Most judges take a serious view of failing to have insurance. Discuss your post with your employer - if Iwere your employer I would prefer to have it withdrawn.

Jo King

O/P, did someone have an insurance policy on the car? There is a case going to the Supreme Court at the moment which may be relevant.

MagicSean

Talk to the garda who is prosecuting you. Explain to him that the owner told you the car was insured. It won't get you off the hook but it is also an offence for the owner to allow his car to be driven without insurance. If he is prosecuted for that it may help you in any civil case he brings.

Have you any insurance policy at all on any car? If you do and the car was insured under another persons policy you should bring this to the attention of your solicitor.

Jo King

I would not be telling the prosecuting guard anything at this stage. You could lose a potential defence!

MagicSean

What defence? The owner telling him he was insured would surely only be mitigation. He is still obliged to make sure himself.

Jo King

There are at least three potential defences open. One has been adverted to earlier in this thread. There is a defence possible under directive 85/4 EC. There is a case awaiting hearing in the supreme court on it.

Tom Young

User infracted.

jenny jinks

The o/p is in Donegal. He may have difficulties there. It is only in Dublin that there are a few criminal law specialist solicitors who fight the insurance cases. Most people plead guilty even when they are not, usually on advice from solicitors who do not want the hassle of researching a defence. My boss has seen this happen numerous times.

CQ

Solicitors has told me not to make a statement, the car was insured by the girl who owned it, she has made a statement saying i was driving, and i haven't denied anything.There was 3 others in the car who don't rem what happened as they were all quite drunk. I will just follow my solicitors advice and see what happens. I don't have the money to pay for the car and i only had commercial insurance on a van.

maidhc

jenny jinks wrote: »

The o/p is in Donegal. He may have difficulties there. It is only in Dublin that there are a few criminal law specialist solicitors who fight the insurance cases. Most people plead guilty even when they are not, usually on advice from solicitors who do not want the hassle of researching a defence. My boss has seen this happen numerous times.

Go away out of that.. everything is wrong with what you say! If nothing else the foremost expert on this area of law hails from Listowel, Co. Kerry.

Reloc8

OP - you have matters in hand - hope it goes well for you - I'd now keep it between yourself, your solicitor and the courts.

jenny jinks wrote: »

The o/p is in Donegal. He may have difficulties there. It is only in Dublin that there are a few criminal law specialist solicitors who fight the insurance cases. Most people plead guilty even when they are not, usually on advice from solicitors who do not want the hassle of researching a defence. My boss has seen this happen numerous times.

Stop. Seriously.

Jo King

maidhc wrote: »

Go away out of that.. everything is wrong with what you say! If nothing else the foremost expert on this area of law hails from Listowel, Co. Kerry.

I have met that individual. I discussed the Carlow case with him. He wasn't aware of it or the argument being made. He asked me to let him know the result when the decision is handed down. The o/p would appear to be covered by the facts in that case. It was also averted to in a recent decision of the President of the High Court.
There is no defence for employees. There is a servant defence under Section 56(6). RTA.

nuac

Jenny Jinks

It ìs untrue to say that it is only in Dublin the poster will find solicitors specialising in defence of ( RTA ) insurance cases.

I have spent over 40 years attending the courts. There are many solicitors throughout the country deservedly well known for their expertise and success rate in such cases.

Check with your employer before posting any more in that vein, as you are sailing close to the wind.