The Department for Transport (DfT) recently reintroduced the HGV levy following a temporary suspension during the Covid-19 pandemic. The levy, first introduced back in 2014, is aimed at making sure lorries make a contribution towards the wear and tear of...
An MS90 conviction is the DVLA endorsement code for the motoring offence of failing to provide the driver details when requested by the police. This carries an endorsement of six penalty points and a fine of up to £1,000. When does this type of...
The police, the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) and other organisations use endorsement codes to classify certain driving offences. What is a DR10? A DR10 relates to the offence of driving, or attempting to drive, with an alcohol level above...
Drug driving is a serious offence and the police, the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA), and other organisations, use what is known as endorsement codes to classify offences. All the codes explained here on this page are related to drug driving...
From 17th September, motorists in Wales will be required to limit their speed to 20mph in built-up areas. The change follows a vote in the Welsh Senedd back in July 2022, to make Wales the first nation in the UK to adopt 20mph as the default speed limit...
As the UK basks in some late summer sun many of us will be getting behind the wheel with a pair of sunglasses close to hand. However, as the nights begin to draw in, and autumn months see the sun drop lower in the sky, most people are unaware that the wrong...
The Driver and Vehicle Licencing Agency (DVLA) has recently updated its list of eye conditions that car and motorbike drivers must declare. The guidance states that motorists must inform the DVLA of certain eye conditions affecting both eyes, or one eye...
The Sentencing Council’s new sentencing guidelines significantly increase the sentences which can be imposed when an adult motorist is convicted of certain motoring offences in England and Wales. Under the revised sentencing guidelines, any...
The offence of drink driving is an imprisonable offence. However, the court looks at each drink driving offence on a case-by-case basis. Not every offender will face time in jail. The offence of drink driving is committed if a person...
Speed limits are in place to keep you, other road users and pedestrians as safe as possible and should always be adhered to. However, thousands of people receive speeding fines each year with the fines and penalty points varying depending on how much over...
The consequences for a conviction for drug driving are serious. If you’re convicted, you face a minimum one-year driving ban, an unlimited fine, up to six months in prison and a criminal record. Your driving licence will also show that you have been...
Changes to the speed limit in urban areas have long been under review and their introduction in Wales could point to their gradual introduction across the UK as a whole. There is a concerted effort from safety campaigners, political parties and even car...
The consequences of dangerous and careless driving are often profound. Just one moment of madness behind the wheel can inflict a lifetime of harm and suffering. Until now, where injury was caused (irrelevant of the extent of that injury) as a result...
On 10th May 2022, the government announced it was bringing forward changes to driving penalties to meet its longstanding commitment to ensure the courts have the powers they need to deal with offences involving death by dangerous driving and death by...
Motorists are being warned ahead of new laws around using your mobile phone while behind the wheel coming into force this week. From Friday (25 th March) the new stricter laws will mean drivers cannot use a hand-held device while behind the wheel for...
There is no doubt that better protection for more vulnerable road users has been long overdue and the changes in the Highway Code will go some way to close that gap. There has been much debate since the announcement of these rule changes as to whether they...
The announcement that UK drivers will be banned from filming or searching for playlists on hand-held devices from next year will be welcome news for many and goes some way towards making our roads a safer place for all road users. This offence has...
The use of mobile phones in vehicles has long been under the spotlight. It has been illegal to use a mobile phone whilst driving since 2003. We have seen penalties gradually increase since the introduction of the offence in 2003 when penalties were...
I have previously written blog posts on 14 th January 2019 and 26 th February 2019 giving an insight into the penalties received by Katie Price when convicted of various driving offences. The latest offence has resulted in Ms Price now receiving a...
It is reported that Mr Saunders was sentenced at Chester Magistrates’ Court, for a charge of failing to provide a specimen of breath. Mr Saunders faces ten weeks custody, as well as a 30 month driving disqualification and a total fine of £620,...
In recent months, it has been reported that several solicitors and a barrister have received sanctions from their regulatory bodies as a result of a drink driving conviction. This highlights the impact and potential consequences a criminal conviction can...
The police, the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA), and other organisations, use offence codes, also known as endorsement codes, to classify offences. DR40, DR50, DR60 and DR70 are all codes related to drink driving offences. DR40...
Jockey, Joe Colliver, has been recently charged with drink driving and was due to attend Harrogate Magistrates Court on 14th March 2019. However, also on the 14th March 2019, Joe Colliver was due to ride ‘Sam Spinner’ in the 15:30 race on...
Young drivers and those who have only recently passed their driving test are typically faced with expensive quotes when shopping for their car insurance. Black box or ‘telematics’ insurance is a great alternative for these individuals. Black...
For a long time there has been a myth in this area of law, that an individual will be automatically disqualified from driving if caught over 100mph. However, the recent case involving Premier League footballer Samir Nasri, shows that even when driving...
Further to my earlier blog posted on 14th January 2019, which can be found here, Ms Katie Price was convicted of being drunk whilst in charge of a motor vehicle after a trial on 25th February 2019. It is reported that Ms Price also faced an...
It is reported that Katie Price was sentenced on 9 th January 2019 to a three months driving disqualification as well as fined a total of £1,295, which includes the fine, costs and a victim surcharge, after pleading guilty to driving whilst...
If you are a driver there are several new driving laws due to come into force this year that you need to know about. There are 48 million drivers on our roads and these new laws will affect everyone from the most experienced drivers to those who have only...
Hefty financial penalties imposed for criminal motoring offences committed by high profile individuals are becoming regular news topics. We are now seeing what appear to be extraordinary fines being imposed on those affluent ‘celebrities’ to...
In the last six months the press have reported on a number of cases that have collapsed due to the failure of the police to provide full disclosure to the defence. These cases have highlighted the failings in the disclosure process and resulted in a...
The government has made changes to the laws which govern learner drivers and where they can drive, allowing them onto the motorway network for the first time. Under Regulation 2 of the Motorways Traffic (England and Wales) (Amendment) Regulations...
As the clock ticks down to the start of the 2018 FIFA World Cup (14 June – 15 July) , the festival of football is set to capture the nation once again. 64 games are due to take place over 32 days and supporters, friends and even...
There may be little chance of finding a 20 kg gold bar while you're out and about today, but for some residents in a remote part Russia, earlier this month, that unlikely scenario very nearly happened. A plane taking off from a...
Debate surrounding imposing a legal age limit to tyres used on coaches and buses is rumbling on, some four years after a company had its PSV (public service vehicle) operator licence revoked by the Traffic Commissioner following the death of three...
The civil case of Ivey v Genting Casinos UK Ltd (t/a Crockfords Club) [2017] UKSC 67, published in the last few days, has rewritten criminal law textbooks overnight. The case itself concerned a professional gambler who...
The DVLA has published guidance for lorry, bus and coach drivers. The simple two page leaflets are designed to be printed and folded to pocket size for ease of reference. It is hoped that the leaflet will assist and highlight some of the most...
In August 2017 the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) launched a new campaign to reduce physical and verbal assaults against its staff. The campaign seeks to highlight the increase in incidence of attacks on staff between April 2016 and March...
It might have been picked up on most people’s radars in the last few weeks that the Sentencing Council has revised the sentencing guidelines for speeding meaning motorists convicted of serious speeding offences are set to face harsher penalties....
They were this year’s ‘must have’ gifts for young and old alike. They come in all shapes, sizes and complexities, from ‘nano’ versions that measure no-more than a couple of inches across to enormous, GPS enabled, camera wielding...
From 1 October, a new law will come into force, making it illegal to smoke tobacco in a vehicle carrying anyone under the age of 18. The restrictions do not apply to so-called ‘e-cigarettes’, however, the new legislation will also make it...
Many people will now have heard about the case of Elsa Harris, the woman fined £100 for eating a banana behind the wheel whilst stuck in traffic. This, understandably, caused quite a few eyebrows to be raised. People will no doubt wonder what basis the...
It has previously been the case that where a driver provided a breath specimen at the police station with a reading of 50 or lower, they had a statutory option to provide either a blood or urine specimen as an alternative. This often had the effect...
This has been the cry from Tim Madgwick, the deputy chief constable of North Yorkshire. This has come about as a result of the drink driving campaign which has been run by Yorkshire police over the course of the world cup. So far over 50 people have been...
The Government has announced new plans to increase the maximum fines for a variety of offences dealt with in the Magistrates Courts. The new plans will allow the Courts to levy much larger fines on offenders as a punitive measure. The main targets of the...
The well known Freedom of Information Act has now been able to show the true speeds reached by the drivers of this country in new data released recently. The public are often only aware of those cases that appear in the news and the higher speeds recorded...
The Association of Chief Police Officers is seeking to kick drink driving out of England and Wales during this summer’s World Cup. A month-long drink and drug enforcement campaign is being launched by the association which will result in an increase...
Lee Ryan attended Ealing Magistrates Court where he pleaded guilty to failing to provide a specimen of breath and criminal damage. The pop star who is a member of boy band, Blue, was arrested at 5.30 am on a Friday morning after being pulled over by police...
In a recent Freedom of Information request made to the DVLA, it was disclosed that 10,797 new drivers had their driving licence revoked in 2012. New drivers are classified as those who have held their full UK licence for less than two years. If they...
The most recent research carried out by the RAC has concluded that one in 20 drivers suffer from sleep apnoea syndrome. The condition can be responsible for people falling asleep at the wheel and would lead to a highly dangerous driving situation. Further...
Professor Green admitted to drink driving at Bromley Magistrates Court last week, after he was arrested for the offence back in 2013. The rapper, whose real name is Stephen Manderson, said that he had been mugged when arriving home after a night out with...
Kristina Long, who was crowned the first official Miss Bolton in 2010, has now been jailed for a hit and run incident when she was drunk behind the wheel. On the night of the incident Miss Long, who worked at a law firm at the time, had been at her work...
The M3 motorway has become the latest victim of the European Union and has been earmarked to have its speed limit reduced to 60 mph. The speed limit laws of the UK that apply to motorists have been set in stone for a very long time and yet the powers...
Several police forces have begun an initiative of naming people charged with drink driving, and even publishing their addresses. Whilst there will undoubtedly be people who say that this is a good development and those who choose to break the law should be...
The government has recently announced they are considering imposing further restrictions on learner drivers. The proposed changes include a mandatory 1 year learner stage, in which anyone under 18 would not be able to take their driving test, and then a...
When Joseph McBrearty was arrested for drink driving in April 2001 he decided to give false details to the police arresting him at the time. He gave the name of Rory O’Donnell and backed up his identity with a fake US driving licence which he had...
The latest case that shows the stark reality of driving with excess alcohol and dangerous driving comes from Bristol and involved a male who was over the drink drive limit and then drove into oncoming traffic forcing other road users to get out of his way...
As summer comes around and we all try and make the most of it by having barbeques whenever the weather permits and sit in beer gardens, the police take a significant interest in potential drink driving. Almost every police force has again announced a summer...
Carlos Tevez has been in the news a lot recently and not always for his skills with a football. Mr Tevez has been before Macclesfield Magistrates Court previously with the assistance of a specialist motoring law solicitor . He has been looking for ways...
On the 3rd of September 2012, a man was stopped for speeding in Whiston in Merseyside. When he was pulled over by the Police he gave his details as Mr Matthew Morley and provided a date of birth and a home address. Despite providing an incorrect address and...
In drink driving cases there is often the misconception that unless you are contesting the charge then there is no point having representation at Court or that the duty solicitor will be able to deal with the case. The reality is that there are often...
The government has unveiled new penalties for road traffic offences such as tailgating and hogging the middle lane which will come into effect from July. The fixed penalty fine levels have also been increased from £60 to £100 for using a mobile...
Any criminal solicitor worth his salt will be able to tell you that crashing a recently stolen vehicle into a Police Officer's car is not going to end well. This was exactly what happened to a Mr Beard who was already well known to the Court for previous...
Attending court for anything can be very daunting. However, nothing feels quite so serious as attending a criminal court as a defendant. Some tachograph offences may be dealt with in the Magistrates Court but more serious tachograph falsification...
The Vehicle Operator Services Agency (“VOSA”) investigates and prosecutes offences of tachograph falsification. The road transport law department at Stephensons Solicitors LLP has noticed that, these days, VOSA tend to target their resources on...
In the recent case of R v Huhne & Pryce, a wife had taken penalty points on behalf of her husband which resulted in both parties being convicted of perverting the course of justice. The motivation for this at the time of the original speeding offence...
Drivers who were convicted of speeding on the M42 motorway may be able to challenge the conviction. The warning comes after the Crown Prosecution Service alerted Warwickshire Police to the fact that the font used to display variable speed limits on some...
Mr John Moir has recently appeared before the Magistrates Court and received his 43rd disqualification from driving after reportedly previously telling the Police that even facing jail would not deter him from driving again on the roads. Mr Moir had already...
When weather conditions worsen over the winter months there is an increase in road traffic accidents. Many drivers are aware of the problems this can cause in raising the cost of their insurance if they are involved in an accident. However we sometimes...
Cambridgeshire Police have confirmed that they will repeat the month long crackdown on drink drivers that resulted in 1,133 arrests last December. With many Christmas and New Year parties in the coming month the number of people driving over the...
Gary Dobson, who was driving a BMW motorcycle, pleaded guilty to the offence of speeding at 144mph in a 70 mph zone. We are currently representing the defendant in this case to help him mitigate the sentence and reduce the length of ban he will receive. His...
Hungarian HGV driver Pal Korbely, 50, has been sentenced to 8 months in prison and disqualified from driving for 3 years after admitting dangerous driving and driving with excess alcohol Mr Korbely was arrested after driving his driving a lorry the wrong...
Stephensons Solicitors LLP successfully defended an HGV Driver who was prosecuted by VOSA for a number of offences of breaching Drivers’ Hours Regulations. Our client had maintained from the outset that the tachograph unit in the vehicle had been...
Most of us would know Kris Marshall better from the BT advertising campaign that he has long been the star of, yet on this occasion the news has featured Mr Marshall for an appearance at the Magistrates Court theatre. The actor was charged and bailed to...
England footballers are never too far away from the news and it would appear that this observation applies equally to former players as it does to current ones. Mr Paul Merson has again made the news recently with a serious incident that occurred on the M40...
The latest views on proposals to change the current Northern Ireland drink driving laws have come from the Environment Minister Mr Alex Attwood. He has confirmed that he wishes to push through proposals to reduce the current legal blood...
Lancashire police have announced that the factors which they believe are the four major contributors to severe road traffic crashes are to be given special attention over the next few months. The police have confirmed that the...
Linford Christie has now been sentenced for a road traffic collision that he was involved in after crashing his black Audi head on into a silver Mercedes taxi that was in the opposing lane. The crash happened in Buckinghamshire and the case was...
The summer campaign to combat drink driving and drug driving by Cheshire police has got off to a fast start with 70 people having been arrested within the borders of Cheshire within the last two weeks. A month long campaign in June last year...
The latest news from the Magistrates Court involved a gentleman from Blackburn, in the County of Lancashire, who is driving on our public roads with a grand total of 30 points endorsed on his driving licence. He was able to convince Magistrates that he...
Dr Donald Clegg has recently been disqualified from driving for a period of 12 months by Bury Magistrates after being charged with an offence of drink driving . At the Court he proceeded to put forward a partial defence of sleep walking to the...
The latest large scale crash on our roads has occurred in Lincolnshire and resulted in eight people being treated for a variety of injuries at the local hospital. The road traffic accident took place on the A17 at Fleet Hargate and the Police have confirmed...
Police forces across England & Wales have announced campaigns aimed at reducing injuries and fatalities resulting from drink driving and driving whilst unfit through drugs. Forces are conscious of the increased risk of offending during the summer...
Chris Huhne is the well known Liberal Democrat MP who is currently at the centre of a scandal for allegedly asking his wife to accept some speeding points 'on his behalf.' There is no doubt that this type of conversation is not limited...
The corridors of power are currently full of people considering whether to provide the Police with the power to fine careless drivers at the roadside. The initiative is part of a government strategy to make Britain's roads safer and...
Two company directors have received prison sentences for their part in a conspiracy to falsify drivers’ hours records . Patrick James Boyle, 65, and Mark Anthony Boyle, 36, were directors of Boyle Transport, based in Northern Ireland. The...
The Government has created new powers to deal with uninsured vehicles. Official estimates suggest that up to 14 million motorists drive without insurance. This offence carries an endorsement of 6 - 8 points or a period of disqualification, together with a...
Mr Zaheer Patel worked at the police penalty office which deals with mobile phone offences and no insurance offences for the Lancashire police, after appearing at the Crown Court he has now pleaded guilty to eight counts of perverting the course of...
It has been interesting to note that recently the Government has been examining the possibility of introducing a criminal charge for the offence of causing death by dangerous cycling. The road traffic offence would be relatively self explanatory...
A man has avoided a prison sentence despite being caught driving his car through a city centre with a wheel missing whilst 3 times over the drink driving limit. Andrew Mackay, 29, pleaded guilty to charges of dangerous driving and driving with...
The driver of a Heavy Goods Vehicle involved in a fatal collision has received a 3 year prison sentence and a 3 year disqualification from driving for the offence of causing death by dangerous driving . Graeme Philpott, 51, was involved...
The Government recently decided against lowering the current drink driving limit from 80 mg of alcohol per 100 ml of blood to 50 mg. The new limit, which would equate to one pint of beer, was put forward in a report by Sir Peter North. The recommendations...
Two Police Constables have denied aggravated vehicle taking following a late-night crash in Hale, Cheshire. PCs Mark Colebrook, 30 and Stuart Foy, 39 appeared before the Rochdale Magistrates’ Court on 15th March. The Court heard that the...
Paul Gascoigne has found himself with unwanted media attention as a friend of his hit the news after being charged with driving with excess alcohol . Michael Harvey was handed a four month suspended prison sentence after he was caught drink...
Police forces across England & Wales are being told to retain and refrigerate specimens of blood and urine obtained from motorists until further notice. The Forensic Science Service (FSS), one of the main organisations responsible for testing samples...
I acted for a client accused of an offence concerning a Goods Vehicle Operator’s License. The Prosecution was brought by the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA). The implications of this were very serious. Operator’s License...
Manchester Crown Court has now sentenced Stephen Benson after he admitted causing death by careless driving and conspiracy to commit fraud. He was given a custodial sentence of four years and two months and disqualified from driving for five...
At Bournemouth Crown Court recently Henry Wallace, who serves with the Royal Tank Regiment, pleaded guilty to drinking 11 pints of lager and six shots in just two hours and then driving a Mazda 323 sports car. After getting...
A new set of Government proposals will attempt to reduce the number of uninsured drivers on the road in the UK which is currently estimated at one million. The aim of the legislation is to reduce illegal drivers and decrease...
Drivers in the UK could be facing a greater risk of prosecution for driving licence offences after a change in policy by the DVLA. Should a motorist receive points on their driving licence there is a requirement that the licence is...
The Road Safety Act 2006 created a number of new offences intended to impose significant penalties on drivers who are involved in fatal collisions. One of the most concerning of these offences is causing death whilst driving unlicensed , ...
The wife and son of MP Brian Binley are facing jail at the Crown Court for Perverting the Course of Justice after a drink driving allegation that spiralled out of control. Mathew Binley, a former police officer, crashed into a bollard in the...