Driving motorway, provisional licence

Delites

Hi All,
I have a friend who was caught driving on a motorway on a provisional licence and was wondering what the potential penalty might be? The guard who pulled her over advised that there was no fixed penalty in place for this type of offence and instead they would be be summoned to court.

This all happened in february this year and a summons was received in September I think. My friend has since passed her test, and incase anyone is wondering, friend was driving on the motorway because there were signs up saying the other route, ie not the motorway, was flooded. There was nothing wrong with her driving by the way, wasn't doing anything crazy, just had L plates up so was caught.

Any idea what penalty might be?

Sorry if something similar been posted previously, scrolled through 12 pages of posts and didn't see anything!

timogen

Couldn't the fully licenced driver that was sitting in passenger seat have drove the car on the motorway when she had to take the detour,or was she breaking that law aswel.
I dont think it will be that bad to be honest.I'd say a small fine and a few points.

Delites

Obviously she was on her own in the car otherwise the whole thing would be a non issue as that person would have been driving

timogen

Delites wrote: »

Obviously she was on her own in the car otherwise the whole thing would be a non issue as that person would have been driving

Do you know she was breaking the law even before she made it to the motorway thats more of an issue

dermot_sheehan

Was the fixed penalty charge paid for driving unaccompanied?

If its just a summons for driving on a motorway in contravention of the motorway rules (s. 81 Roads Act 1993) max fine is €1,270 plus 6 months imprisonment plus optional disqualification. Unlikely to get near the max, should be able to get probation act or a fine.

Delites

Yes I know that as does she, as does the whole country. That's not what im asking though, I'm asking if anyone has any experience with the penalty that may be incurred for driving on a provisional on a motorway?

I've no interest in turning this into a debate on wether or not people should drive on provisional licence or not.

Even the guard who pulled her over didn't have an issue with the driving on her own as she let her go on her way but was to get off the MWay at the next exit.

Delites

The above is aimed at timogen.

Gabhain, thanks for that, there was no fixed penalty summons at all, just the court summons for not holding the correct licence for driving on the mway

dats_right

Gabhain has told you what the maximum penalties are and has stated that the offender is unlkely to have maximums imposed. I agree.

Other then that it is impossible to be specific because the penalty will depend entirely on the particular Judges view of this type of offence. Some Judges would have a normal fine they impose or request payment be made to a charity or whatever for such offences, but each judge differs on their approach and attitude to dealing with these matters. Nevertheless, as a rough estimate based on my experience, I would have thought that your friend could expect a fine or contribution of somewhere between 150-500 or possibly more.

slimjimmc

Delites wrote: »

Yes I know that as does she, as does the whole country. That's not what im asking though, I'm asking if anyone has any experience with the penalty that may be incurred for driving on a provisional on a motorway?

I've no interest in turning this into a debate on wether or not people should drive on provisional licence or not.

Even the guard who pulled her over didn't have an issue with the driving on her own as she let her go on her way but was to get off the MWay at the next exit.

Don't assume that the Garda had no issue because she let her continue. There is very little law to allow the Gardaí to physically prevent your friend from driving (e.g seize car or arrest), much of it only empowers them to report you for offences detected, afaik.

Delites

Thanks datsright, I will let her know what you guys say about the fines etc but obviously at the end of the day it's the judge who decides, think she's worried about potentially losing the licence because she commutes to work on a daily basis and it would cost 40e a day on public transport...

Slimjimmc I think the guard said to her something like 'you're lucky I could take the car from you' so that would imply they have the power to do that? Of course it could be an empty threat!

PCPhoto

as far as I know Gardai could have seized the vehicle in that situation.... and probably would have taken it if she was a he !! ...or if she was cheeky to the garda.


as for the court appearance - has she gotten a solicitor to stand up for her in court - my advice is to get one so the solicitor can get the most lenient sentence for her.

Solicitors know what to say to the judge and the way to say it to a judge in order to do the best for their client - of course, she might be capable of standing up before a judge and pleading the correct way - being in court is a daunting situation and takes confidence.....remember you are basically standing up in front of 30-40people (maybe more) and pleading for leniency.