Soopra Posted December 10, 2011 Share Posted December 10, 2011 On 23rd July this year my son jumped a red light. This fact is without doubt. He returned a form on 15th August admitting the fact. Today he has received a date for a court hearing (16th Jan). He has had no other communication in between. Is this the normal process? Sorry for my ignorance but I've not committed any offences (yet) and don't know the process. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soopra Posted December 10, 2011 Author Share Posted December 10, 2011 Just to add to the info - he was 17 at the time and had passed his test about 3 weeks before. I'm guessing the outcome isn't going to be good... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noz Posted December 10, 2011 Share Posted December 10, 2011 I think it may help he is a new driver, as it would be better to be a new driver and make an error than an old driver and ignore the traffic signals. Your just have to sit tight on this one i think. What was his reason for jumping the light? I know I've left the gym before still pumped right up and jumped a light as I shouldn't of been driving and completely missed it till my mate started screaming. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soopra Posted December 10, 2011 Author Share Posted December 10, 2011 i don't know but according to the paperwork the light had been red for 27 seconds!! i'm guessing that he had his mates or a girl in the car and wasn't paying attention Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Posted December 10, 2011 Share Posted December 10, 2011 Jumping a red light is normally a fixed penalty of 3 points and £60 (I've had one). The fact that he has had a summons would tell me it's down to the fact he has just passed his test and already seems to be flaunting the law. I would guess that he is most likely being taken into court so that he can be given a shakedown on his responsibility on the road etc etc. It will also be down to the fact if he gets another 3 points he will lose his license and need to take his test again, this will no doubt be drummed into him also. I just hope that it was through a mistake he went through the red light and it's not because of driving around like a loon (like most do). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noz Posted December 10, 2011 Share Posted December 10, 2011 Oooooo, 27 seconds... i definitely wouldn't say about the mates thing. Maybe he was having a bad day, arguments at work/college? 3 points ouch, thats gonna be nasty on insurance Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soopra Posted December 10, 2011 Author Share Posted December 10, 2011 it does say in the paperwork that he can plead guilty by post, which is what i was going to suggest he did. do you think it would benefit him to go to court? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Posted December 10, 2011 Share Posted December 10, 2011 it does say in the paperwork that he can plead guilty by post, which is what i was going to suggest he did. do you think it would benefit him to go to court? I would personally give them a call and see what's going on. If the original paperwork has been lost in the post then this would explain the summons. When in court th$e penalty is often an increase of the original fixed penalty due to not taking the original offer. This can vary from extra points (what you don't want) to an extra fine (you don't want this either but it's better than points). It does seem a little strange that it's happening as I doubt they would waste the money just to teach him a lesson so I would definitely try to find out what's going on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soopra Posted December 10, 2011 Author Share Posted December 10, 2011 so he should have had something between sending the form back and receiving the summons? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Posted December 10, 2011 Share Posted December 10, 2011 Just thinking here... Has an officer delivered a court summons by hand at any point? I take it the original form was an NIP? Received through the post? Was the latest summons hand delivered by a police officer? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Posted December 10, 2011 Share Posted December 10, 2011 so he should have had something between sending the form back and receiving the summons? Not necessarily, if it is judged to be an offence outwith the norm for jumping a red then they will take it straight to court. As an example, anything over 90mph on the motorway is generally seen as excessive and will usually warrant a court summons. The NIP will be sent out first to find out who was driving and then the court summons will be sent out later. It can be as much as 6 months after the initial NIP. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jazz1 Posted December 10, 2011 Share Posted December 10, 2011 A summons for court normally suggest he pleaded not guilty by post, unless different like Scott stated. They can take time as they have to normally fix a court date. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soopra Posted December 10, 2011 Author Share Posted December 10, 2011 the summons today came by post. to my knowledge he has not had a visit from the police. i don't know what an NIP looks like but i don't think the form was labelled that... it was just asking him if he was driving the car at the time of the incident Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Posted December 10, 2011 Share Posted December 10, 2011 the summons today came by post. to my knowledge he has not had a visit from the police. i don't know what an NIP looks like but i don't think the form was labelled that... it was just asking him if he was driving the car at the time of the incident It would most likely have said Notification of Intent to Prosecute (we call them NIP for short). If he has definitely pleaded guilty and definitely filled the form in correctly then either something has gone wrong or they have decided it isn't just a regular red light infraction. Possibly due to the fact it was red for ages and he drove through. It's possible that they aren't hand delivering summons now, I was always under the impression they had to be hand delivered to insure the intended person got it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soopra Posted December 10, 2011 Author Share Posted December 10, 2011 Scott I've PM'd you the form he sent back Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dude Posted December 10, 2011 Share Posted December 10, 2011 If he does not go to court the next NIP will be arecorded delivery, ive swerved a couple by not turning up for the first one then turning up at court and pleading not guilty (they can't proceed) new court date comes regular post so ignore it and wait for the recorded one, sometimes that never comes and a couple of times the police didnt turn up so it was thrown out !!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hp006 Posted December 10, 2011 Share Posted December 10, 2011 Time since passing the test is irrelevant. You can get 6 points in first two yrs. Only time police would issue summons/nip is if he is likely to receive a ban. Due to the fact this is only 3 points its unlikely. Check that this is the only offence listed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Havard Posted December 11, 2011 Share Posted December 11, 2011 it does say in the paperwork that he can plead guilty by post, which is what i was going to suggest he did. do you think it would benefit him to go to court? Weird one this. I suspect that the original NIP was lost in the post and they have now sent a summons as in their eyes you have not responded to the NIP. I would personally send back the form and plead guilty and take £60 and 3 points. If you go to court, you will get a fine and the court costs which will undoubtedly be more than the fine you are looking at now. The amount of time that he has held is licence is not a consideration. H. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soopra Posted December 11, 2011 Author Share Posted December 11, 2011 won't he have to pay the court costs whether he goes or not? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tricky-Ricky Posted December 11, 2011 Share Posted December 11, 2011 If he was not initially cautioned by a police officer at the time of the offense, then i think a post delivered NIP has to be received withing 14 days of the offense, or its not valid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian C Posted December 11, 2011 Share Posted December 11, 2011 If he was not initially cautioned by a police officer at the time of the offense, then i think a post delivered NIP has to be received withing 14 days of the offense, or its not valid. It only has to be *sent* within the 14 days, unfortunately. It turning up on your doormat or not is irrelevant and no defense. They also don't have to offer any proof of postage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tricky-Ricky Posted December 11, 2011 Share Posted December 11, 2011 Can they really? dam! i was going by what people where saying over on the Pepipoo forums, having just received my first NIP:( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Havard Posted December 11, 2011 Share Posted December 11, 2011 won't he have to pay the court costs whether he goes or not? Not as far as I know. Your attendance at court is seen as taking up time as opposed to just pleading guilty and getting on with the punishment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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