Wrongful Speeding Summons

joh.olery88

Hi,

I came back from Australia today for christmas to find a court summons for doing in excess of 120kph in a 60kph zone. In a car I do not own. The offence was date on 17/06/2013.

Now, At this time I was in Australia, working about 200 km outside Kalgoorlie. I have my flight details from Perth to Kalgoorlie. I have payslips from my company showing that I had been working on the date specified.And Im sure I could get more evidence show that I wasn't in the country.

So im not worried about actually about being found guilty of this offence but, the court date is in February, I fly back to Australia in the middle of January. I won't be here for it, and therefore cannot represent myself.

Therefore Im asking if anybody knows a way to sort this mess out before going to court i.e. who to call, forms to fill out ect.
Or if I was to get a solicitor to represent me in court, could I counter sue for all legal cost associated.

Any advise would be greatly appreciated

John

dobman88

If it was me I would just head to your local station and see what can be done. Once they realise it is a mistake and you have solid proof you were out of the country then there shouldn't be any reason to continue the case.

wotswattage

Was it a car in your name or something?

If its a completely random car/place then fair enough guards/gosafes mistake they'll prob be happy to revoke it, but if its your car it may not be so simple...

joh.olery88

No I don't own the car, infact I don't own any car in Ireland. Have no connection to it.

I looked up the reg. its a 08 diesel Mercedes S class.

The road is somewhere in Tipperary at "knock Saint lour, Cashel". Where is that?

My family lives in cork. I ain't going to Tipperary on my holidays!

YbFocus

Head to the local station man, I'm pretty sure they can put a quick stop to it when you present your evidence.

tossy

Do you think maybe someone who knows you and knows you were out of the country long term may have put you forward as driving their car when they received the initial speeding fine ?

Del2005

dobman88 wrote: »

If it was me I would just head to your local station and see what can be done. Once they realise it is a mistake and you have solid proof you were out of the country then there shouldn't be any reason to continue the case.

The Gardaì are renowned for not doing this correctly, if it's even possible for them to quash a summons. The OP has been summoned to appear in court and has to be there or have a representative. There's a chance that the OP could be convicted in their absence and have a bench warrant issued.

Our justice system is far from perfect.

joh.olery88

tossy wrote: »

Do you think maybe someone who knows you and knows you were out of the country long term may have put you forward as driving their car when they received the initial speeding fine ?

No, I don't think anybody I know would do that, or would be able to afford a S class Mercedes... or afford the fuel (most of the people who I know who are still in Ireland are unemployed!)

After numerous phone calls I learned I must get through to the officer that issued the summons, and Im told once I present my information to him, he has the power to be able withdraw the summons. Now Im waiting for him to call me back... which may or may not be today.

biko

Iwannahurl, please post on topic.
Post removed. PM me if you have questions.

Tigger

joh.olery88 wrote: »

No, I don't think anybody I know would do that, or would be able to afford a S class Mercedes... or afford the fuel (most of the people who I know who are still in Ireland are unemployed!)

After numerous phone calls I learned I must get through to the officer that issued the summons, and Im told once I present my information to him, he has the power to be able withdraw the summons. Now Im waiting for him to call me back... which may or may not be today.

I'm sure once the garda realises he's never met you and that he wasn't shown a lisence he'll go after the car owner which is more interesting than a speeding summons. I wonder if the car is even in the name of its owner or if the owner has the same name as you.

bookerboy

If you were guilty of this offence there is a good chance that the Summons would be quashed and no points would be issued on your Licence.
The fact that you are not guilty,i'm not sure.
Welcome back to Ireland !!!!!!!!!!!!

pa990

Write to the superintendent of the area where the speeding happened.
Explain your circumstance.
Attach relevant documentation.

Job done

Old diesel

Del2005 wrote: »

The Gardaì are renowned for not doing this correctly, if it's even possible for them to quash a summons. The OP has been summoned to appear in court and has to be there or have a representative. There's a chance that the OP could be convicted in their absence and have a bench warrant issued.

Our justice system is far from perfect.

Apologies for being a bit slow here - but a bench warrant for a speeding offence is ever so slightly over the top.

While still on my slow moment - okay - the OP will provide his documents showing he wasn't even in the country at the time.

But surely if the system was run right - someone would have to prove a connection between the OP and the Mercedes S class if the OP is stating he was not in the country at time and was not driving the car.

Since clearly from what he is saying - he is not the registered owner of the car.

I know that's probably not how it works though

Del2005

Old diesel wrote: »

Apologies for being a bit slow here - but a bench warrant for a speeding offence is ever so slightly over the top.

While still on my slow moment - okay - the OP will provide his documents showing he wasn't even in the country at the time.

But surely if the system was run right - someone would have to prove a connection between the OP and the Mercedes S class if the OP is stating he was not in the country at time and was not driving the car.

Since clearly from what he is saying - he is not the registered owner of the car.

I know that's probably not how it works though

The bench warrant is probably unlikely, but we do have some crazy judges. For motoring offences the laws are different, a group took the UK to the European Court over their penalty notices and lost.

The time for the OP to have sorted this out was when the penalty notice was delivered. Once the summons is issued it gets more complicated. When they go to court and produce proof that they where out of the country it'll be struck out, relying on the Garda to tell the court clerk to drop the case is risky. It's better for the OP to have someone turn up on the day to make sure that they aren't convicted in absence.

As I said our legal system is far from perfect.

Old diesel

Del2005 wrote: »

The bench warrant is probably unlikely, but we do have some crazy judges. For motoring offences the laws are different, a group took the UK to the European Court over their penalty notices and lost.

The time for the OP to have sorted this out was when the penalty notice was delivered. Once the summons is issued it gets more complicated. When they go to court and produce proof that they where out of the country it'll be struck out, relying on the Garda to tell the court clerk to drop the case is risky. It's better for the OP to have someone turn up on the day to make sure that they aren't convicted in absence.

As I said our legal system is far from perfect.

Agreed - its far from perfect clearly - its completely nuts though - its like its down to OP to show he wasn't guilty rather then for the system to prove he was driving the car.

I suppose I really shouldn't have expected it to be any other way - but its still very disappointing

ironclaw

Is this a speed camera summons? If so, whats the reg? Is it even close to yours?

Kenny Logins

ironclaw wrote: »

Is this a speed camera summons? If so, whats the reg? Is it even close to yours?

OP doesn't have a car!

Odyssey 2005

I would write to the clerk of the court,relaying your story and enclosing photocopies of proof that you were 10,000 miles away from Tipperary at the time(it's a long way to Tipp). Register the letter and tell him your return date. He should be able to do something for you.

Ps keep copies of all correspondence.

RustyNut

Del2005 wrote: »

Relying on the Garda to tell the court clerk to drop the case is risky. It's better for the OP to have someone turn up on the day to make sure that they aren't convicted in absence.

This is good advice. ^^^

If you were to ask a hypothetical question(you are not allowed to ask for legal advice) over on the legal forum about a similar issue you might get some good information.