Careless driving, summonsed.

peter.h

Hi all

Ive been accused of careless driving by a member of the public and have recieved a summons to court.. The man and his wife have accused me, there are no other witnesses so its basically my word against theres, ive never being in a situation like this before and dont know what to do.

All help or advice would be great.
#Thanks

talla10

Did a guard contact you and ask you to make a cautioned statement about the alleged incident?What are the details of the alleged incident?

peter.h

A gard rang me and asked me what was my nearest station and said theyd be in contact to ask me to make a statement but never heard anything till summons got brought to house on saturday.

peter.h

I actually dont even know the details of what I supposedly done.. Gard pulled me over on night of incident and said a person has made a complaint and we have to folow it up

talla10

Well you should have been offered the oppertunity to give a cautioned statement by the guards to answer the allegation although you do not hav e to provide one its your own choice. On the summons it should read On day date time and place you were driving car reg whatever etc. Do you remember where you were the date of the incident??Where you at the location of the incident. First thing to look at is do you have a case to answer. Its possible somebody saw a car driving dangerously/carelessly and took down the wrong reg of the car. If you were driving around the location and date of the alleged offence seek out CCTV. You should probably ask the guard to seek it out if any. Failure to obatin CCTV is negligence on part of guard and if you go to court Gardai are obliged to provide all CCTV to you on application to court. IF there is no cctv call the guard and ask for more information regarding the allegation and if you like offer to make a statement but understand anything you do say may be used against you and you are not obliged to say anything. also this is not legal advice so consult a solicitor with your summonns and seek proper legal advice

peter.h

yes i was in the location at the time. the person who accused me rang the gard and followed me. it was on a country road so there is no cctv. only recieved the summons on sat so didnt wanna ring or go garda station till i see wat people think

talla10

well IMO the only option ya have is speak to the guard try & get more info and/or get a solicitor

peter.h

thats what i thought but surely nothing can come of this. in that case i could accuse anyone of this and bring them to court

ebbsy

Fight it. Your word against theirs. My Mrs had to do the same before and the judge struck it out.

Some people have nothing better to do with their time.

peter.h

thats wat i plan doin.. did ur mrs get a solicitor

MagicSean

ebbsy wrote: »

Fight it. Your word against theirs. My Mrs had to do the same before and the judge struck it out.

Some people have nothing better to do with their time.

You should ignore this advice at all costs. Wait until you see the evidence against you before you make a decision, and its a decision you should make in consultation with a solicitor.

ebbsy

peter.h wrote: »

thats wat i plan doin.. did ur mrs get a solicitor

Yes she did....a very good one in Naas. To be honest at the end of the day you have to look after yourself, and the judge will decide. Tell the truth ( and I believe you are ) and you will be fine. Do not worry about what the police or anybody else tells you to do.

detective

ebbsy wrote: »

Do not worry about what the police or anybody else tells you to do.

Including ebbsy. Seek legal advice as it can't be given here.

Zambia

It speak volumes to me that you know you where there on the night in question but not once stated your driving on the night was above reproach.

The detectives general advice is sound you need a solicitor. You have 2 people willing to swear against you in this case. You also have no idea who these people are for all you know they could be very convincing.

sensormatic

if your not working or working part time you will be allowed free legal aid in the court on the said date a solicitor will be apointed to your case.
then if your lucky it will be ajourned to a later meaning that the people involved will have to go to court again at a later date.

if your are working fulll time do get a solicitor now and have all the facts of the said case.

believe me you might get a shock and get a fews points

dermot_sheehan

You won't get legal aid regardless of your means for careless driving as you are not in jeopardy.

i.e. you are not at risk of getting custody.

nuac

It is odd that the Gárda did not outline the accusation and ask you to make a statement.

Ask Gárdaí for the statement made by the witnesses. See a solicitor and consider making your own statement - that might ensure withdrawal of the summons.

MagicSean

nuac wrote: »

It is odd that the Gárda did not outline the accusation and ask you to make a statement.

Ask Gárdaí for the statement made by the witnesses. See a solicitor and consider making your own statement - that might ensure withdrawal of the summons.

Very doubtful the garda will show you a witness statement without an order from the court.

Jo King

k_mac wrote: »

Very doubtful the garda will show you a witness statement without an order from the court.

It seems to vary with the Garda division whether statements will be released without a court order. Some DJs insist that the garda are asked for statements first before they make the order. They take a poor view of statements not being released. Some DJs automatically order statements to be released on application.