The policeman went bonkers. He said my riding was disgusting and asked if I would have failed my test if I had ridden like that. I pleaded with him. He was having none of it and I now have a court summons for driving without due care and attention.
I accept I rode on the curb but no one was there, apart from an old woman walking a dog and she got out of the way, so no harm done. As for the shops that line the path, I think they were shut, as it was early morning, so this isn’t a problem either. Also, the policeman was rude and said my driving was horrendous and I want the court to know that. I think he violated my human rights. Can I defend this? Also, I have nine penalty points on my licence.
Anon
My advice is you have made a stupid mistake and should plead guilty. I would go as far as to say you have been an idiot. You rode on the path and that is illegal. In fact, with pedestrians on it (or the possibility of pedestrians being on it) means your actions were downright dangerous and you could have been cited for dangerous driving which carries with it at least a compulsory 12-month disqualification from driving.
In my opinion you have got away lightly with a summons for driving without due care and attention. You should plead guilty and put forward mitigation to try and obtain the most lenient sentence possible. With nine points on your Licence the court’s starting point will be to disqualify you from driving for at least six months under the totting up rules – i.e. where you have 12 or more points on your licence.
To avoid disqualification you will need to persuade the court it would cause an ‘exceptional hardship’ to disqualify you from riding if this is true. An example may be that you would lose your job if you cannot ride and if you have no money coming in you could lose your house etc. Just being inconvenienced by a disqualification will not cut it. As for the policeman being ‘rude’ I very much doubt he ‘violated’ your human rights, so my advice is either raise a formal complaint with the police or ‘man up’ and move on.
Andrew Prendergast
Managing Partner
White Dalton Motorcycle Solicitors
Motorcycle Monthly August 2013
Don’t rely on the advice from your insurance appointed solicitor, get proper independent advice.
