Road Traffic Offences

We are the specialist road traffic firm in Cannock/Staffordshire. In addition to general crime we deal with all types of motoring offences, at all stages in the criminal investigation and proceedings process. We have a team that contains a great blend of depth of knowledge and experience in cases of this type. Most of the motoring cases in Staffordshire are dealt with at Cannock Magistrates Court. As this is our local court that places us with a distinct advantage over other firms. Our solicitors attend at Cannock Magistrates Court on a daily basis. We have forged strong working relationships with the court staff, prosecutors and legal advisers. We also have a ‘feel’ for the particular Magistrates sitting on any given occasion. This provides us with the edge in terms of being able to secure the best results for our clients on every single occasion. We deal with all motoring matters including: careless driving, dangerous driving, speeding, failing to give the details of the driver, drink driving, no insurance and many more.

We also cover courts across Staffordshire and the West Midlands on a regular basis. We can attend courts further afield when required.

We can offer advice in relation to every aspect of the process, including the following:

 

Interviews

If you have been involved in an accident the police might wish to conduct an interview with you under caution. We can help to arrange that interview on a voluntary basis at a time that is convenient to all parties. We can represent you in that interview free of charge.

Speeding or Failing To Give The Details Of The Driver

If you believe you are not guilty we will advise you, whether or not you have a case to take to court. We can advise whether you are guilty of speeding rather than failing to give details of the driver which is likely to mean you will receive fewer points.

Totting

If you accumulate 12 or more penalty points on your driving licence you are liable to be banned for a minimum of 6 months. We can tell you whether you have a case and persuade the court not to disqualify you so that you can keep your driving licence.

Exceptional hardship

There might be reasons to convince the court that even though you have reached 12 points on your licence it would cause ‘exceptional hardship’ they disqualify you from driving.  This must be more than the normal level of hardship that the court would expect a person to suffer as a punishment for being disqualified. Such examples include:

  • Driving licence required for employment, so resulting in loss of job.
  • The consequences and hardship which flow from losing your job, such as being unable to support a family, pay the mortgage & bills, visiting & looking after sick/elderly relatives who live some distance away. We have successfully argued ‘exceptional hardship’ as a reason not to disqualify our clients on many occasions.

Special Reasons

Some offences carry a mandatory sentence in terms of your driving licence. Drink driving is a minimum 12 months ban. Speeding is a minimum 3 points. No insurance is a minimum 6 points. We can advise you if there are ‘special reasons’ in relation to the circumstances of the offence that justify the court not taking that route which will allow you to avoid receiving points or a disqualification. Such examples include driving in an emergency situation - speeding/drink driving or your insurance policy being cancelled without your knowledge - no insurance. We have successfully argued ‘special reasons’ to save our client’s driving licence on multiple occasions.

New drivers  

Anybody who obtains 6 or more penalty points on their driving licence in relation to offences committed within the first 2 years of obtaining a driving licence is at risk of having their licence revoked by the DVLA. This means going back to being a provisional licence holder and having to take the tests again. We can persuade the court to impose fewer points, where possible, or to impose a short disqualification, such as 14 days, so that no points are imposed. This means you can keep your licence and not have to take your tests again.

Education/courses

We can help to persuade the Safer Road Partnership/ Crown Prosecution Service to not prosecute you at all. This means that if you are eligible for a course such as a speed awareness course or the driver improvement course you can take that rather than go to court. We can do this even if your case is already at court. This avoids having to receive a fine, court costs, points on your licence and increased insurance premiums.

Appeals

We can advise and represent you in relation to an appeal if you are dissatisfied with the outcome at the Magistrates Court. You are entitled to appeal the conviction and/or sentence imposed by the Magistrates Court as of right. You do not require leave. We deal with appeals to the Crown Court and the High Court. We have in-house Higher Court advocates who regularly practice in the higher courts. This means that we do not need to instruct a barrister and this will save you money. We can draft a notice of appeal and represent you. We can ask the Magistrates Court to suspend any disqualification pending the outcome of the appeal.

Statutory Declarations/Applications to Re-Open a Case

If you have been convicted because of a mistake made by the court, e.g. because you were unaware of proceedings, perhaps because you never received the letter notifying you of the court date. We can help you to prepare a statutory declaration which is your promise in the witness box that you were unaware of the proceedings. We are regularly able to convince the court to quash the original conviction for this reason. The effect of this is that is as if the original conviction and all of the penalties (fines, costs, points/disqualification) were never imposed. The court will reopen the case and proceed as if it was the beginning of the case. This will allow you to challenge the case if you wish, plead guilty to the correct offence or simply receive a more lenient sentence.

Early Removal of Disqualification

If you have been disqualified for 3 years or more we can help you to apply to the court for the disqualification to be removed early. We can advise you whether you have grounds to apply and make the application on your behalf.

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Telephone: 01543 505040 | Fax: 01543 579724
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