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If you are facing a motoring conviction or penalty point endorsement, you could be at risk of losing your driving licence, your livelihood or even your liberty. Our solicitors can help.
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At Poole Alcock, our specialist team of driving offence lawyers defend individuals against prosecution for alleged road traffic charges, driving licence endorsements and fines. Whether the offence is minor or major, you should ensure that you have a legal expert at your side who will understand your rights and make a qualified appeal. A driving conviction could be life-changing. As a well-established leading law firm that has defended a number of traffic offence cases around the UK, you can be confident that your case will be handled by experienced solicitors throughout.
We can help with any aspect of driving offence assistance. Please see below for our main services.
At Poole Alcock, our specialist team of driving offence lawyers defend individuals against prosecution for alleged road traffic charges, driving licence endorsements and fines. Whether the offence is minor or major, you should ensure that you have a legal expert by your side who will understand your rights and make a qualified appeal. A driving conviction could be life-changing. As a well-established leading law firm that has defended a number of traffic offence cases around the UK, with Poole Alcock you can be confident that your case will be handled by experienced solicitors throughout. We handle a variety of motoring and road traffic offences, and can guarantee sensitive, effective legal assistance.
Every driver is obligated to stop at the scene of an accident where there is personal injury or damage caused to another car or someone else’s property, and also report it to the police within 24 hours. Most people convicted of Failing to Stop/Report offences can expect to receive 5-10 points on their licence and a fine of up to £5,000. These offences can also potentially attract a custodial sentence of up to six months.
Careless Driving, otherwise known as Driving Without Due Care and Attention, is when a driver is observed driving in a careless manner or in a way that causes inconvenience – examples include undertaking, failing to give way, or tailgating. Those convicted will likely receive a fixed penalty notice or, in more serious instances, a court summons. If an incidence of careless driving results in a court appearance, drivers can be fined up to £5,000 and receive 3-9 points on their licence. Should you wish to dispute an incident in court, our motoring solicitors can advise.
Drug driving is currently one of the most frequently prosecuted offences. It is now a criminal offence to drive, attempt to drive or be in charge of a motor vehicle in a public place when a person has a specified controlled drug in their body which exceeds the allowable legal limit. This also includes legal and prescribed drugs, which in some cases are allowed, but must be under the threshold limit. Sentences for drug driving include a minimum 1-year driving ban, an unlimited fine, up to 6 months in prison and a criminal record.
The motoring team at Poole Alcock deals with clients every day who are charged with speeding offences. We have the expert motoring legal experience to defend cases where possible. All work is carried out under an agreed fixed fee, so you know how much you’re paying. When it is not possible to defend a prosecution for speeding we provide realistic advice to save our clients money and to help reduce any impact on driving licences. Motorists who are at risk of accumulating 12 or more penalty points face disqualification from driving.
If convicted of driving whilst using a mobile phone you may be given a fixed penalty of £100.00 and receive three penalty points on your driving licence. If your case is taken to court you could face disqualification and a fine. Our motoring lawyers will advise you on the prosecution case and will explore all possible avenues if you wish to raise a defence. Advice and representation for your initial plea hearing is available for a fixed fee and where required we will help you build your defence case and run your trial for an additional fixed price.
Often, alleged road traffic offences are caught on camera. In these circumstances you will be notified by way of a Notice of Intended Prosecution (NIP), which serves two purposes – warning that someone may be prosecuted for a speeding offence and requesting driver information. Failing to respond to the request for driver information or ignoring the notice is an offence, even if you weren’t the driver or weren’t speeding. The offence carries 6 points on your licence and a fine. If you think you may have a legitimate argument, please contact one of our expert motoring lawyers. We will be happy to discuss fixed fee representation for driving offences to defend your case.
We understand how important staying on the road can be. If you risk accumulating 12 points on your licence and are facing a 6 month ban, we can help protect your freedom and livelihood. Even if no “Special Reasons” exist, our expert motoring lawyers may still be able to help you keep your licence or persuade the court to impose a shorter ban by arguing the loss of your licence will cause “Exceptional Hardship”.
Disqualification from driving under the penalty points scheme usually carries a minimum period of 6 months, so if you can prove that this restriction would cause you ‘exceptional hardship’, you could reduce your disqualification period. The charges and your sentence (most likely a fine), however, still remain the same. It is important to remember that being allowed to continue driving with 12 or more points on your licence is not the norm. By reviewing exceptional hardship cases, our team of motoring solicitors created a formula to calculate a list of criteria and circumstances that can influence an exceptional hardship argument. The scenarios listed, if applicable, mean that your case is more likely, in a solicitor’s view, to be successful. However, the Court will judge each case on its individual merits.
If you have already been disqualified from driving, we may be able to help you get your licence back by making an early application to the court. You will need a very good reason to reduce your ban – some examples include a new job or promotion being dependant on driving, a family health issue which would be helped by you being able to drive, charity work or contact with your children. We have a very high success rate of getting licences returned after disqualification for drivers who have banned for longer than 2 years, a service which we can offer on a Fixed Fee or Hourly Rate basis.
We offer our motoring defence services on an hourly rate or fixed fee basis and will discuss the best option with you. Our hourly rates depend on the seniority of the fee earner involved and are as follows (all costs quoted are exclusive of VAT charged at 20%): Solicitor, Fellow of Institute of Legal Executives – £300/hr Trainee Solicitors, Paralegals and Executives – £180/hr We offer the following services on a fixed fee basis. Below, we have set out the likely fixed fee dependent on the nature of the work involved:
Having expert court representation, even if you inted to plead guilty, can mean the difference between keeping your licence or not. Our expert motoring lawyers can offer representation at plea hearing and consultation for a fixed fee of £1,000 plus £200 VAT. Subsequent hearings such as sentencing hearings will be charged at an additional £200 plus £40 VAT per hearing.
Exceptional Hardship and Special Reasons arguments can be complex and require further preparation in order to put the strongest possible case to appeal for you to keep your licence. Our fixed fees for hearings of this nature start at £1,200 plus £240 VAT.
If you are involved in a contested trial in relation to a motoring offence then your fixed fee will start at £1,500 plus £300 VAT for non-complex half-day trials. Full day trials will attract a fixed fee starting at £2,500 plus £500 VAT for non-complex cases. For trials that last for longer than a day, representation will typically be charged at a fixed fee of £2,000 plus £400 VAT for each additional day and £1,000 plus £200 VAT for each half day. The fees quoted above represent a minimum due for non-complex matters. Cases which require significant amounts or preparation may attract fixed fees higher than this. Please note that additional costs such as expert medical or accident reconstruction reports are not included in the above fees. Such costs will be discussed with you and agreed prior to any instruction. Please note many cases involve more than one court appearance and you will be quoted accordingly for additional representation over and above the first Magistrates Court hearing, on a fixed fee or hourly rate basis. Please also note that the above fees may be increased if there is certain additional travel involved for attending court. You may be eligible for legal aid, subject to a means test. Get in touch with our team to see if you are eligible for public funding. We are happy to discuss your case with you over the telephone. Call us today on 01270 256665 or contact us using this form and we will call you back to discuss your case.
Here are some of our frequently asked questions about Motoring Offences. Please get in touch with us for more information.
It depends on when the points were accrued and, if within a 3 year period, whether or not you succeed with an Exceptional Hardship Argument
It can be possible to avoid a disqualification if you have “special reasons” which will provide a partial excuse for committing the offence. Examples can include having your drink “spiked”, the shortness of distance driven, or driving in a genuine emergency (usually medical) when no other options were available. Such reasons will be specific to each individual case.
If an incidence of careless driving results in a Court appearance then a driver could be fined up to £5000 and have 3 to 9 points put on their licence. If a driver already has some points on their licence then this can mean disqualification if the new total number of points exceeds 12. The Court can also exercise its discretion to disqualify a driver, irrespective of whether there is a penalty points disqualification.
Unfortunately, relatively few motorists avoid being prosecuted at some point for speeding offences. Often these prosecutions will be for travelling at speeds marginally in excess of the speed limit. Speeding is a strict liability offence which means that the police do not have to prove that you were even aware that you were exceeding the speed limit. We deal with people every day who are charged with speeding offences and have the expert experience to defend cases where it is possible.
If you have a question about motoring offences or would like to speak to a dedicated solicitor, please complete the short form below or call us on 0800 470 0340.
Partner - Family Law
Partner - Criminal Defence
Tim Edgeley gave an excellent service throughout my case and kept me updated regularly.
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