An 89-year-old pensioner has been handed a criminal conviction and fined for not paying a few weeks of car insurance after his vehicle failed its MOT and sat unused on the drive.Should I pay the original fine?”
The man from Hampshire was taken to court by the DVLA through the single justice procedure and convicted in a behind-closed-doors hearing last week.
The SJP system is under scrutiny thanks to an Evening Standard investigation into how elderly and vulnerable people are convicted using the controversial courts mechanism for minor mistakes.
The pensioner faced a charge of being the uninsured keeper of a vehicle in May, and a fixed penalty notice sent to his home was not paid.
“I apologise, I am now 89 and accidentally put the letter in a drawer without reading it properly,” he wrote to the court while pleading guilty. “The car failed the MOT and didn’t leave the drive until it was disposed of in June this year.
A magistrate convicted the man and imposed a £62 fine plus a £25 victim surcharge, but spared him paying any costs from the case.allegation had not been considered.
Analysis of court data shows cases at Barkingside magistrates’ court in north-east London — including claims of truancy — were dealt with in less than a minute during a SJP session in June, raising concerns that the full circumstances of an
Magistrates can refer cases into open court if there are concerns, but it is usually the prosecutor’s decision whether to withdraw a case no longer considered in the public interest.
The single justice procedure is used for minor crimes like train fare evasion and speeding, but it has also been used to punish Covid rule-breaking.
Homeowners accused of not paying their TV licence are also prosecuted through the SJP system, with court papers showing they are not given an option of to pay a fine to avoid a criminal case.
In court papers seen by the Standard, a 71-year-old Newcastle woman was prosecuted last week for not getting a TV licence after just two weeks in her new home.
https://www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/driver-fined-single-justice-procedure-criminal-conviction-car-failed-mot-uninsured-b1102195.html
QUOTE: “I apologise, I am now 89 and accidentally put the letter in a drawer without reading it properly,”ENDS
What does your advance age have to do with it? Either you are capable of owning a car or you're not.
Stop looking for excuses.
QUOTE: “The car failed the MOT and didn’t leave the drive until it was disposed of in June this year. ”
How did you drive it home?
The SJP system is under scrutiny thanks to an Evening Standard
investigation into how elderly and vulnerable people are convicted using
the controversial courts mechanism for minor mistakes.
https://www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/driver-fined-single-justice-procedure-criminal-conviction-car-failed-mot-uninsured-b1102195.html
QUOTE: “I apologise, I am now 89 and accidentally put the letter in a drawer without reading it properly,”ENDS
What does your advance age have to do with it? Either you are capable of owning a car or you're not.
Stop looking for excuses.
QUOTE: “The car failed the MOT and didn’t leave the drive until it was disposed of in June this year. ”
How did you drive it home?
QUOTE: The SJP system is under scrutiny thanks to an Evening Standard investigation into how elderly and vulnerable people are convicted using
the controversial courts mechanism for minor mistakes. ENDS
REMEMBER THIS?
A 96-year-old driver killed a pedestrian as he crossed the road after refusing to give up driving despite suffering from deteriorating vision.
The 84-year-old victim was declared dead at the scene after being run
down by the driver's Peugeot 208.
William Beer was suffering with bilateral cataracts and wet macular degeneration when he hit Illtyd Morgan in Caerphilly on April 6, 2021. He
had been advised by an optician in March 2019 to give up driving.
QUOTE: The SJP system is under scrutiny thanks to an Evening Standard investigation into how elderly and vulnerable people are convicted using the controversial courts mechanism for minor mistakes. ENDS
REMEMBER THIS?
A 96-year-old driver killed a pedestrian as he crossed the road after refusing to give up driving despite suffering from deteriorating vision. The 84-year-old victim was declared dead at the scene after being run down by the driver's Peugeot 208.
William Beer was suffering with bilateral cataracts and wet macular degeneration when he hit Illtyd Morgan in Caerphilly on April 6, 2021. He had been advised by an optician in March 2019 to give up driving.
On Tuesday, 31 October 2023 at 15:42:30 UTC, Simon Mason wrote:A Mr Magoo incarnate who should NOT have been driving at all.
QUOTE: The SJP system is under scrutiny thanks to an Evening Standard investigation into how elderly and vulnerable people are convicted using the controversial courts mechanism for minor mistakes. ENDS
REMEMBER THIS?
A 96-year-old driver killed a pedestrian as he crossed the road after refusing to give up driving despite suffering from deteriorating vision. The 84-year-old victim was declared dead at the scene after being run down by the driver's Peugeot 208.
William Beer was suffering with bilateral cataracts and wet macular degeneration when he hit Illtyd Morgan in Caerphilly on April 6, 2021. He had been advised by an optician in March 2019 to give up driving.
QUOTE: A 96-year-old driver killed a pedestrian as he crossed the road
after refusing to give up driving despite suffering from deteriorating vision. The 84-year-old victim was declared dead at the scene after being
run down by the driver's Peugeot 208. ENDS
"WILLIAM BEER" IS THE NAME OF THIS PEDESTRIAN KILLER - REMEMBER IT WELL.
Pinkcrush, Poole, United Kingdom, 9 months ago
Advised not to drive but continued to do so???? Is that not manslaughter?
Does the optician/doctor not have any responsibility to notify the DVLA
if a person is advised not to drive?
Sincere condolences to Mr. Morgans family.
Damocles666, London, United Kingdom, 9 months ago
What can you say - looks like he ran over him on the zebra crossing. Must have had poor eyesight for years.
Pinkcrush, Poole, United Kingdom, 9 months ago
Advised not to drive but continued to do so???? Is that not manslaughter?
Does the optician/doctor not have any responsibility to notify the DVLA if a person is advised not to drive?
Sincere condolences to Mr. Morgans [sic] family.
Damocles666, London, United Kingdom, 9 months ago
What can you say - looks like he ran over him on the zebra crossing. Must have had poor eyesight for years.
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