Facing a driving offence prosecution can be a frightening experience. You may have been caught speeding, or you may have received a careless driving charge and you may be worried about the future.
If it’s your first offence, you may simply get a Fixed Penalty Notice, which for speeding involves three points on your licence and a £100 fine. If you feel this is fair, then simply pay the fine, accept that you’ll have points on your licence for three years and polish up your act.
Some drivers, though, may feel that their charge is unfair, which is why they should consider engaging expert legal help to contest their charge, especially if it’s important to avoid penalty points.
Video evidence is a double-edged sword
We have more speed cameras these days and while they’ve helped to prevent and solve many crimes, they can also catch fleeting moments that land otherwise careful drivers in trouble. A one-off lapse in focus can mean three penalty points that could lose someone their job.
Even if you know you were in the wrong
You should still hire a team of lawyers to help you. Everyone can make mistakes – you could have been just over the speed limit, or you were distracted by a child’s tantrum in the back seat. You may have been late for an important interview and tried to gain a few seconds on an empty road. These actions can have consequences far in excess of the results and you could be facing a big fine or even worse if your job relies on you being able to drive.
Getting legal representation will help you in two ways
Your representation will look for holes or inconsistencies in the evidence that the police collected. They’ll also look for any failures on the part of the police to follow tight Home Office guidelines. If an important step was missed, or a witness statement proves to be unreliable, then this could make the whole case unreliable. Experienced lawyers can see an error from a long way off – you won’t be able to see these flaws because you won’t know what to look for and you’ll be too worried to think clearly.
You’ll have experienced, knowledgeable and hard-headed people in your corner. You’ll probably be feeling really bad about yourself – no-one likes to break the law and possibly put others at risk. You feel judged by friends and family, as well as wider society and if this is combined with worrying about your job security then you’re in for a miserable time. Just having someone there who doesn’t judge you and who could get you a second chance is invaluable.
Having legal help gives you peace of mind
If you have a good solicitor with you when you go to court, you can be sure you’ll get fair treatment and the best outcome possible. Even if you do get a fine, it’ll be smaller and if you are banned, it’ll be for less time. It may be possible to avoid a conviction altogether, so it’s well worth paying the fees.