I will be blunt, I probably was doing that. Whilst it is no defence, it was late at night, and I was heading home from my daughters home. There was not a soul on the road.
Anyway, the alleged offence was on 14/05/21, but I have only just received a Notice dated 04/06/21. I would just add that I’ve owned the bike for the past five years. I have lived at the same address for the last 10 years. The bike is registered there. Am I right in thinking I can’t get done for speeding? If I am right, I am just going to ignore the Notice.
Answer
From what you have advised, you are correct, you can’t get done for the speeding. The relevant authority has 14 days from the date of the alleged offence to send the registered keeper the first Notice of Intended Prosecution (NIP). If they do not do that, then you cannot be prosecuted for the speeding offence. If you want to read the law, it’s at section 1 of Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988.
However, whilst you cannot get prosecuted for the alleged speeding offence, you could get done for failing to give information of who the rider was if you just ignore the NIP. If that happened, you would get six penalty points and a fine of up to £1,000. This is due to section 172 Road Traffic Act 1988.
As such, my advice is reply to the request but put in a covering letter advising you did not get the first NIP within the required 14 days. Keep a copy of that letter in case the matter ends up at court. If the speeding does end up at Court, you do have a defence.
Andrew Prendergast
More Bikes August 2021
Be wary, Challenged such in a slightly different situation – Never received the ‘first’ NIP. Received a reminder was the first thing I knew about it over 1 month after the alleged offence. Took it to court and lost. What is relevant here is the date of posting the NIP (the first one) was sworn by a witness to have been posted within the fourteen days (with no other corrobating evidence) – not necessarily delivered within the 14 days and no proof of postage or proof of delivery was required!