Failure to Identify Driver
When a motor vehicle is involved in an offence such as speeding, and a speed enforcement camera catches it, the owner of the vehicle has an obligation to identify the driver of the vehicle at the time of the offence. The offence is also sometimes known as ‘failure to nominate’ a driver.
Notice of Intended Prosecution (NIP)
An NIP is the form that the registered keeper of a vehicle will receive which asks them to provide the driver’s details. It is an offence not to provide these details ans failure to do so can be punishable by 6 points on your licence and a fine of up to £1000.
What if I don’t know who the driver was?
This often arises with company owned vehicles that have multiple drivers. It is not enough to simply say that you don’t know who was driving the vehicle. If you genuinely don’t know, you will need to show the Police that you have exercised reasonable diligence in trying to find out who was driving. A first step may be to request a copy of the enforcement camera photo.
Owners of company vehicles cannot simply get away with simply saying that it is a pool vehicle and therefore you have no way of knowing who was driving it at the time. The rules for company vehicles state that records must be kept as to who was driving the vehicle at all times. This means that a comprehensive log of drivers should be kept.
If you are faced with a situation where you genuinely don’t know who was driving a vehicle involved in an offence, contact us and we will advise you on the best course of action.
Passing penalty points to a third party
Some people may be tempted to pass penalty points off to a spouse or other third party to avoid being penalised themselves and also to protect from insurance price rises due to the points.
This is actually a serious crime called perverting the course of justice and recent high profile cases have shown that the Police are keen to prosecute this type of case.
If you are charged with failure to identify a driver or perverting the course of justice please contact us for advice.
