Driving offences

djflawless

Sold a car late last year and stupidly drove it some of the way to meet the buyer. Met a checkpoint.asked usual questions and lied about insurance.
Didnt have any as car was off the road.
Few months on and i got summonsed.
Not trying to get out of it.my own fault.
But what penalties am i looking at?
And is representation required or van i go without?

boardsuser1

djflawless wrote: »

Sold a car late last year and stupidly drove it some of the way to meet the buyer. Met a checkpoint.asked usual questions and lied about insurance.
Didnt have any as car was off the road.
Few months on and i got summonsed.
Not trying to get out of it.my own fault.
But what penalties am i looking at?
And is representation required or van i go without?

You breached sections 56 and 69 of road traffic act 1961 as amended.

56 is insurance
69 failure to produce insurance (if garda asked you)

56 is a 2 year ban and 5 points.
69 will probably be taken into consideration

Have you any previous road traffic convictions?

GET A SOLICITOR!!!!!!!

djflawless

No nothing else.1st time in any trouble
Thanks

boardsuser1

djflawless wrote: »

No nothing else.1st time in any trouble
Thanks

If you get a good solicitor and plead guilty you might escape a ban. I did for a careless driving charge a few years back as it was also my first offence. Which county is it?some judges are stricter than others.i got lucky to be fair with the judge i had.

whomitconcerns

I would doubt that. No tax or insurance won't get any leeway

boardsuser1

whomitconcerns wrote: »

I would doubt that. No tax or insurance won't get any leeway

Depends on the judge. I admittedly got lucky. Mitigating factors such as a guilty plea,lack of previous convictions etc will go for him. If he fights it then a definate ban.no mention of no tax/test though

Indricotherium

KC161 wrote: »

Depends on the judge. I admittedly got lucky. Mitigating factors such as a guilty plea,lack of previous convictions etc will go for him. If he fights it then a definate ban.no mention of no tax/test though

On what grounds could it be fought?

boardsuser1

Indricotherium wrote: »

On what grounds could it be fought?

That's for the OP to decide.

4ensic15

Indricotherium wrote: »

On what grounds could it be fought?

Same as drink driving defences. Hope the guard makes a mistake in the oral evidence. Also if the car was sold at the time there may be a servant defence.
A creative barrister would find a few possible arguments and if there is a soft judge the defendant might get away with it.

PeteK*

KC161 wrote: »

If you get a good solicitor and plead guilty you might escape a ban.

4ensic15 wrote: »

Hope the guard makes a mistake in the oral evidence.

If he pleads guilty, would the garda still need to give evidence?
I didn't think they would.

BaronVon

The guard, or someone on his behalf, will have to give the facts of the case, a brief outline of what happened.

djflawless

Cheers for the replys.was in contact with a couple of solicitors and have one arranged for court date

4ensic15

PeteK* wrote: »

If he pleads guilty, would the garda still need to give evidence?
I didn't think they would.

If he pleads guilty he cannot challenge the guard on the evidence.

boardsuser1

4ensic15 wrote: »

If he pleads guilty he cannot challenge the guard on the evidence.

Correct. Even with a guilty plea the Garda outlines the facts as they then become known to the court.

NUTLEY BOY

Generally, District Justices are quite firm on the absence of insurance especially if the lack of it was not due to something simple as a clerical error or misunderstanding of an actual policy that might have been in place.

If a DJ gets a whiff that OP knowingly lied to Gardaí that will not sit well although I appreciate that there is nothing charged in this respect.

Looks like the type of case for a guilty plea followed by sweet mitigation...........

djflawless

I dont intend on pleading not guilty. Im accepting the slap on the wrist. Just wondering how severe the slap would be and if there was 100% need for a solicitor. Im expecting the cost itself to be expensive enough with regards loosing 2 nights pay, fines etc if all a solicitor will say is yes sir no sir

boardsuser1

djflawless wrote: »

I dont intend on pleading not guilty. Im accepting the slap on the wrist. Just wondering how severe the slap would be and if there was 100% need for a solicitor. Im expecting the cost itself to be expensive enough with regards loosing 2 nights pay, fines etc if all a solicitor will say is yes sir no sir

It would look better for yourself if you had proper representation. I went in before without a solicitor and got hammered.had to appoint one for the appeal. OP where is the court house you are going to?might give people an idea of what those judges are like? For example i'm in Cork city and could give an example of some judges attitudes towards road traffic offences.i've been through it enough myself over the years but nothing in the last 6 thank god

djflawless

Portlaoise district

Kepler 186f

djflawless wrote: »

Sold a car late last year and stupidly drove it some of the way to meet the buyer. Met a checkpoint.asked usual questions and lied about insurance.
Didnt have any as car was off the road.
Few months on and i got summonsed.
Not trying to get out of it.my own fault.
But what penalties am i looking at?
And is representation required or van i go without?

Not bright to lie at the outset, as the result today is the same as would have been then, you being summonsed to Court. If you DONT have previous convictions for the same offence you can expect a large fine and probable ban. As suggested it is worth having a Solicitor represent you but that's your choice.

boardsuser1

djflawless wrote: »

Portlaoise district

My brother appeared there 2 years ago for crashing his car on the motorway. Cops came told him produce. He admitted having no insurance. He had a previous for it also. After mitigation he got a €600 fine.5 points.no ban.

coylemj

KC161 wrote: »

My brother appeared there 2 years ago for crashing his car on the motorway. Cops came told him produce. He admitted having no insurance. He had a previous for it also. After mitigation he got a €600 fine.5 points.no ban.

I bet he had a solicitor - second conviction for no insurance and he got away without a ban!

boardsuser1

coylemj wrote: »

I bet he had a solicitor - second conviction for no insurance and he got away without a ban!

He did indeed the first conviction was 10 years old at the time of the second.

...And Justice

KC161 wrote: »

He did indeed the first conviction was 10 years old at the time of the second.

I had a bad car accident and the gardai tried to do me for it. I was in the right, and proved it on the day, it was section 53-(1) the most serious. I went to my solicitor and he put me in contact with a criminal lawyer, I paid for it but, the truth came out in the end. I won.

boardsuser1

...And Justice wrote: »

I had a bad car accident and the gardai tried to do me for it. I was in the right, and proved it on the day, it was section 53-(1) the most serious. I went to my solicitor and he put me in contact with a criminal lawyer, I paid for it but, the truth came out in the end. I won.

Section 53 is dangerous driving. I was charged with that. They reduced it to section 52 on appeal. Once you won is the most important thing. I had a similar issue to your own but corruption was and still is rife here since that sadly.

...And Justice

KC161 wrote: »

Section 53 is dangerous driving. I was charged with that. They reduced it to section 52 on appeal. Once you won is the most important thing. I had a similar issue to your own but corruption was and still is rife here since that sadly.

Yeah there was a load of "evidence" that didn't make sense, so my solicitor arranged a criminal lawyer. And stuff I won't go into here. Basically my solicitor saw it for what it was, and done the business. He knew who to contact in the law library.

It's a good thing to have a family solicitor, I've used the same person for the last 15 years, and he's done everything, from my mortgage to other stuff, I trust his advice.

Nomis21

I'm not convinced in fact that it would have been a good idea to tell the guards that you had no insurance at the time. The vehicle would have been seized and destroyed.

That happened to me.

6 points and 200 Euro fine. No previous convictions.

slimjimmc

Nomis21 wrote: »

I'm not convinced in fact that it would have been a good idea to tell the guards that you had no insurance at the time. The vehicle would have been seized and destroyed.

That happened to me.

6 points and 200 Euro fine. No previous convictions.

The car could easily have been seized but a seized car can only be destroyed if you don't claim it back within at least 3 or 6 weeks (not sure which) and pay the impound fees. If you want to have it driven out it must be covered by an insurance policy otherwise you can have it trailered out.

djflawless

For a €250 mitsu colt, id imagine it would be too costly to have the car seized and held/crushed