We recently acted in respect of a driving without insurance case which had been causing our client a great deal as this offence carries a sentence of 6 to 8 penalty points or a possible disqualification.
Our client genuinely believed that she had been insured at the time and would not have considered using the vehicle if this had not been the case. However, due to an administrative error the vehicle was not actually insured for her to drive. Unless committed in the course of employment, an offence of driving without insurance is one of strict liability, meaning that a genuine belief is not a defence to the charge.
The good news is that in certain circumstances a genuinely held belief can amount to a special reason. If a Court makes a finding of special reasons then they have the discretion not to endorse a person’s licence – meaning that points and a fine can be avoided. We took detailed instructions from our client and confirmed that she had been misled by a family member into believing that the insurance was in place. Our specialist motoring solicitor made representations to the Court and a finding of special reasons was successful meaning that no points were endorsed on the licence and no fine was imposed.
If you face prosecution for an allegation of driving without insurance it is important that you seek advice from a specialist motoring offences lawyer to determine whether an endorsement can be avoided. Call our team 24/7 for free initial advice on 0845 00 20736 or complete our online enquiry form.
