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#Post#: 112588--------------------------------------------------
SJP for speeding + S172. Never received NIP (already 9 points)
advice please?
DIR By: matriarchrising
Date: March 9, 2026, 3:42 pm
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Hello,
I would really appreciate some advice regarding a Single Justice
Procedure Notice I have recently received.
I am the registered keeper of the vehicle and my V5C address has
always been correct and unchanged.
The SJP notice arrived on 24 February 2026 and requires a
response by 17 March. This was the first correspondence I have
received about any of the alleged offences.
The notice relates to two separate alleged speeding incidents
investigated by West Yorkshire Police. For each incident there
are two charges:
• Speeding
• Failure to identify the driver (Section 172)
I did not receive any earlier correspondence relating to either
incident. I never received the original Notice of Intended
Prosecution or the request to identify the driver, so I never
had the opportunity to respond.
Incident 1 – September 2025
This relates to an alleged speed of 36mph in a 30mph limit.
This offence could potentially have been me driving, but it also
could have been my husband. We have both tried to think back and
check our paper diary but we genuinely cannot remember who was
driving that day. We both regularly drive that route as it leads
to a friend’s house that our children visit frequently, so
either of us could realistically have been using the car.
The alleged offence is now nearly six months ago which makes it
difficult to recall the specific journey.
I do know that the road in question has yellow box fixed speed
cameras. It is a hilly road where vehicles naturally pick up
speed on the descent, so it is somewhere I am usually conscious
of slowing and braking near the bottom because I know the
cameras are there.
Incident 2 – January 2026
This relates to an alleged speed of 35mph in a 30mph limit.
In this case I am confident that I was not the driver. I have
text messages from that day showing that I was at home messaging
my husband while he was out with our son doing back-to-school /
holiday preparation shopping. I was sending instructions from
home while he was out with the car, so based on the timing of
those messages I am confident he was the one using the vehicle.
Another point which makes this situation more confusing is that
something very similar happened to my husband last year. He
received a Single Justice Procedure Notice months after an
alleged speeding offence without ever receiving the earlier
Notice of Intended Prosecution or driver identification request.
In that case he pleaded guilty to the speeding but not guilty to
the Section 172 charge by post. A couple of months later we
received a short letter saying the case had been dismissed. He
never had to attend court, pay anything or receive any points.
Because of that experience, I am sure that the original notices
may not have been successfully sent/delivered. Though we get all
our normal post and have previously recieved things absolutely
fine.
Another important factor is that I currently already have 9
points on my licence, so this situation is a bit more concerning
to me. Because of that I have been particularly careful with my
driving.
I have never previously failed to respond to official
correspondence and have always complied with any requests from
authorities. I rely heavily on my driving licence as we live
outside practical public transport links and I have four
children whose school and childcare arrangements require
driving.
For that reason it simply makes no sense that I would
deliberately ignore a legal notice requesting driver
information.
My current understanding is that I may be able to plead not
guilty to the Section 172 charges on the basis that the notices
were never received. However I am unsure what the best strategy
is regarding the speeding allegations given that:
• the September driver could have been either myself or my
husband
• the January driver was definitely not me
• I never received the original notices requesting driver
identification
I have therefore also never seen proof or evidence or the
offences. Putting my car there or if its more details (my
husband got photographed a few years back now by a van and you
could clearly see it was him, a man in the car not me, that's
how we knew)
If it ultimately came to it and points were imposed taking me
over the totting threshold, which I know is a separate thing,
and I think I would attend court and present an exceptional
hardship argument as losing my licence would have a significant
impact on my family. And I know friends who have managed to do
this. However my aim at this stage is simply to understand the
best legal approach and whether there is any way this matter
could potentially be dismissed given that the first
correspondence received was the SJP itself. Especially after
similar with my husband last year.
I would be very grateful for any advice on the best way to
proceed.
#Post#: 112593--------------------------------------------------
Re: SJP for speeding + S172. Never received NIP (already 9
points) advice please?
DIR By: andy_foster
Date: March 9, 2026, 3:59 pm
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What is the date after the DocRefNo at the bottom of page 2 of
your V5C?
What does the evidence bundle say about sending of notices?
#Post#: 112635--------------------------------------------------
Re: SJP for speeding + S172. Never received NIP (already 9
points) advice please?
DIR By: matriarchrising
Date: March 10, 2026, 5:00 am
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I'm trying to find my V5 docs now, but I have owned the car
since 2021. Here is a image, they are saying in the section that
says 'statement of evidence':
A combined Notice of Intended Prosecution/request under Section
172 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 was served on the defendant
within 14 days, requiring them to furnish details of the driver
at the time of the alleged offence, the defendant being the
registered keeper / insured party of the involved vehicle. This
combined notice was sent on 18/09/2025 and by the 20/10/2025
they had not replied as required by the legislation to that
request.
(Nothing received)
an
A combined Notice of Intended Prosecution/request under Section
172 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 was served on the defendant
within 14 days, requiring them to furnish details of the driver
at the time of the alleged offence, the defendant being the
registered keeper / insured party of the involved vehicle. This
combined notice was sent on 06/01/2026 and by the 05/02/2026
they had not replied as required by the legislation to that
request.
(Nothing received)
#Post#: 112642--------------------------------------------------
Re: SJP for speeding + S172. Never received NIP (already 9
points) advice please?
DIR By: JustLoveCars
Date: March 10, 2026, 5:39 am
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--- Quote from: matriarchrising link ---
>
> I'm trying to find my V5 docs now, but I have owned the car
since 2021.
>
--- End Quote ---
You definitely need to find them and ensure the details are 100%
correct.
It be unusual for 2 NIP's not to arrive if all is in order.
#Post#: 112652--------------------------------------------------
Re: SJP for speeding + S172. Never received NIP (already 9
points) advice please?
DIR By: BertB
Date: March 10, 2026, 6:12 am
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Are there copies of the original NIPs within the SJPN pack?
I think what people are trying to establish is whether the
details on your V5C are correct in order for the NIP to have had
a chance of reaching you. You say you have had notices before,
were they to your current address?
The problem you have have is knowing probably doesn't help you
much. If the address is wrong on your V5, this is your fault and
therefore you have contributed to the non-serving of the NIP.
If it is correct then you will have to prove that neither
notices and possibly a couple of reminders were received,
however the SJPN was.
A sceptical bench may ask if someone on 9 points may have an
ulterior motive to claim no receipt. What may help is your claim
is that you were not driving the vehicle at the time and
therefore it was in your interests to have replied to both. But
again without proof it will be decided if your defence was
credible, if that was the angle you were going to run with.
#Post#: 112653--------------------------------------------------
Re: SJP for speeding + S172. Never received NIP (already 9
points) advice please?
DIR By: matriarchrising
Date: March 10, 2026, 6:12 am
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Thanks, all is definitely in order here. V5 been in the
cupboard, nothing changed, not moved house, owned this same
vehicle since Sept 2021 as V5 notes. Its not just 2 NIP's not
received we didn't receive one for my husband last year also.
I've heard a similar situation from my friend that owns a garage
locally after telling him. All other post absolutely fine. I
received a different NIP early year before last and another the
year before that that which I of course dealt with and responded
to promptly. (all within the same ownership of the same vehicle)
Any advice on how to plead and deal with welcomed. Thank you.
#Post#: 112657--------------------------------------------------
Re: SJP for speeding + S172. Never received NIP (already 9
points) advice please?
DIR By: matriarchrising
Date: March 10, 2026, 6:29 am
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Thanks. No copies of the original NIPs or any pictures or
evidence included in the SJP Pack.
I am 100% I definitely wasn't driving on one of them. And
genuinely unsure of the other as although its registered in my
name it is a family used vehicle.
I don't get how/why a bench would think that/be skeptical? Maybe
I'm new to this, but why would someone not respond? Surely
eventually catches up?
I would have absolutely dealt with, as I always would these
things, but especially being on 9 points and reliant on my
licence to ensure my husband who has 0 points took them, as I
say on offence definitely was and the other also of they were
his.
To confirm again, vehicle has been owned for 5 years. We have
not moved/changed address etc.
We have in the lasty 1/2 years ago received NIP correspondence
and dealt with it absolutely fine.
#Post#: 112658--------------------------------------------------
Re: SJP for speeding + S172. Never received NIP (already 9
points) advice please?
DIR By: NewJudge
Date: March 10, 2026, 6:30 am
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The only way to avoid any points at all (and so avoid facing a
“totting up” ban) is to plead not guilty to the “Fail to Provide
(FtP) charges and successfully defend them in court on the basis
that it was not reasonably practical for you to respond to the
requests as you did not receive them. Unfortunately the police
enjoy the “presumption of service” which means they only have to
prove that they posted the notice to your last known address (as
held by the DVLA) and they are presumed “served” on you two
working days later.
The burden of proof to convince they were not is yours and it’s
very difficult to prove a negative. In those circumstances the
speeding charges have no legs because the police have no proof
to show who was driving – that comes from the responses that you
did not provide.
The alternative, which is available only for offences where you
accept you were the driver, is to plead not guilty to both of
the charges arising from each incident but to offer to plead
guilty to the speeding charges provided the FtP charges are
dropped. This is a tried and tested strategy for drivers in your
circumstances. Unfortunately, this will not help you avoid
facing a totting up ban as each speeding offence will carry a
minimum of three points.
In any case, from what you have said, his second option would
not be available to you for the second incident as you were not
driving. So you will either have to plead guilty to that charge
or try to defend it. A conviction for that offence carries a
hefty fine, six points and an endorsement code (MS90) which
insurers hate. It will see your premiums increased considerably
for up to five years, with a 100% increase in the first year not
unusual.
You can avoid a totting up ban if you can convince the court
that you or others will face “exceptional hardship” if you are
banned. This means hardship over and above which any driver
would normally face as a result of being banned.
As an aside, your concerns about the evidence for the speeding
offences are irrelevant. They will not be progressed unless you
adopt the option I mentioned above for the September offence.
This will mean accepting you were the driver and pleading guilty
to speeding. Your guilty plea means you accept the allegation as
it stands and the evidence will not be tested. For the January
offence speeding will not be an issue t all as it will not be
continued.
#Post#: 112667--------------------------------------------------
Re: SJP for speeding + S172. Never received NIP (already 9
points) advice please?
DIR By: BertB
Date: March 10, 2026, 6:54 am
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--- Quote from: matriarchrising link ---
>
> I don't get how/why a bench would think that/be skeptical?
Maybe I'm new to this, but why would someone not respond? Surely
eventually catches up?
--- End Quote ---
The level of legal advice people get from the man in the pub is
not great. The 'claim you never got the forms and they can't do
you mate' one is one of them.
While I'm not suggesting that this was your approach, a bench
would have seen a variety of defences and therefore cannot act
on a claim of didn't receive the paperwork alone without some
sort of compelling proof or testimony. And as NJ says, how do
you prove a negative?
#Post#: 112668--------------------------------------------------
Re: SJP for speeding + S172. Never received NIP (already 9
points) advice please?
DIR By: JustLoveCars
Date: March 10, 2026, 6:57 am
---------------------------------------------------------
--- Quote from: matriarchrising link ---
>
> ...but especially being on 9 points and reliant on my licence
to ensure my husband who has 0 points took them, as I say on
offence definitely was and the other also of they were his.
>
--- End Quote ---
Just to be clear - you are being prosecuted and not your
husband. (There's no formal process now to 'pass' the
prosecution/points to him even if you can prove he was driving)
I'm aware you saying that this adds weight to the claim that the
NIPs did not arrive.
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