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DIR Return to: Speeding and other criminal offences
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#Post#: 115411--------------------------------------------------
Received SJP - please advise on next steps
DIR By: adamam88
Date: April 9, 2026, 4:14 am
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Hi,
Received SJP today with 8 offences:
1. 1/11/25 35mph in 30mph zone - A646 road 09:08am
2. 1/11/2025 36mph in 30mph zone A58 road 09:39am
3. 18/12/2025 27mph in 20mph zone C Lane road 07:55am
4. 18/12/2025 25mph in 20mph zone C Lane road 08:14am
5. 4/12/2025 failed to identify driver
6. 5/12/2025 failed to identify driver
7. 20/1/2026 failed to identify driver
8. 20/1/2026 failed to identify driver
I now have until 24/4/2026 to respond.
I was the driver at the time of all of the above offences which
took place as 4 offences in 2 days.
I have no prior points or offences.
I did not receive any of the NIP's as these were sent to my
previous address. I know because I have just confirmed with the
DVLA that they still have my old address on record incorrectly.
I updated my tax and driving licence address but failed to
update the V5 log book, this is my error.
My questions are:
1. What is my best course of action in terms of addressing the
charges. As I understand my best option is to plead not guilty
to all then try and deal to just admit the speeding offences but
not the failure to respond to NIP? I'm not clear on this process
2. How could the SJP be sent to my correct and current address
if all the NIP's were sent to my old and incorrect address? I
have lived at my current address for 2 years and my vehicle is
taxed at this address. Assuming the V5 address was never updated
correctly.
3. I looked back on my whatsapp messages to see why I had driven
down the same road twice (to my girlfriends house) that I would
never normally drive down and it was in response to her dog
experiencing a seizure and need help to get him down the stairs
and into the van to take to the vets. This explains the speeding
and using the same road twice. I'm sure not many judges would
entertain this as mitigation but is it worth mentioning as it
was for a genuine pet medical emergency which can be proven via
vet records (of which the dog died)
Thanks
#Post#: 115422--------------------------------------------------
Re: Received SJP - please advise on next steps
DIR By: Ex CPS here
Date: April 9, 2026, 7:03 am
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You are really trying to strip this back to four speeding
matters and defeat the four failure-to-identify charges, because
that is what keeps the case proportionate and avoids four
separate 6-point endorsements. The Single Justice Procedure,
meaning a paper decision unless you ask for a hearing, is the
wrong place to leave this to chance.
The prosecution must prove the charges so the court is sure. For
the failure-to-identify counts, the real issue is not whether
you were driving but whether the notices were lawfully served
and whether it was reasonably practicable, meaning realistically
possible, for you to reply. Notices can be treated as served if
they were properly posted to your last known address, so the
fact your licence or tax address was right does not necessarily
help if the V5 keeper record was still wrong. That also explains
how the SJP could later reach you: records may have been
corrected or matched later.
My view is this. Do not plead guilty across the board. Ask for a
court hearing. Plead not guilty to the four failure-to-identify
counts. On the speeding counts, your honest position is guilty,
but the practical aim is to have the case listed so you can
invite the prosecutor to accept guilty pleas to the four
speeding matters and withdraw the four failure counts. That is a
sensible and common resolution, but not a right. On your facts,
that route is arguable to realistic if you can prove genuine
non-receipt and the address history; it weakens sharply if the
court concludes the V5 omission was your own avoidable mess and
that the prosecution served the notices correctly.
The hidden problem is that four low-level speeding offences
usually fall in the 3-point band, so speeding-only can still
mean 12 points and a totting-up ban, meaning a likely 6-month
disqualification unless the court uses short bans instead of
points or finds exceptional hardship, meaning hardship beyond
the ordinary misery of a ban. Your dog-emergency point is not a
defence, but it is worth advancing as mitigation, meaning
background that may soften sentence, if the WhatsApp timings and
vet records line up.
What independent, dated proof do you have for when you moved,
what address the V5 actually showed, and when DVLA corrected it?
How far are you willing to push if the prosecutor refuses a
speeding-only basis and you need a trial on the failure counts?
If court cannot be avoided, is your acceptable outcome keeping
the licence, avoiding the failure counts, or simply limiting the
damage? Before 24 April 2026, respond to the SJP, ask for a
hearing, preserve every DVLA record, get proof of the V5 address
history, the vet note and WhatsApp timestamps, and prepare a
short chronology. Get urgent legal advice if the prosecutor will
not drop the failure counts or if you may need a properly
evidenced hardship case on 12 points.
#Post#: 115425--------------------------------------------------
Re: Received SJP - please advise on next steps
DIR By: adamam88
Date: April 9, 2026, 7:24 am
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Thanks for your response, that all makes sense.
I have no proof of correspondence regarding a change of V5
address so difficult to prove anything on this front other than
my own ignorance in the address changing process.
Honest question - am I screwed and doomed to accept 36 points at
worst case scenario?
I can't believe after 20 years of driving with no points or
penalties it can result in such a harsh outcome in one swoop.
Not expecting sympathy, just the worst case scenario and best
way to navigate.
#Post#: 115437--------------------------------------------------
Re: Received SJP - please advise on next steps
DIR By: NewJudge
Date: April 9, 2026, 8:01 am
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--- Quote ---
> I updated my tax and driving licence address but failed to
update the V5 log book, this is my error.
--- End Quote ---
What do you mean by your “tax” address? How did the DVLA have
your new address “for tax purposes” but your old address when
the police interrogated the data?
--- Quote ---
> …am I screwed and doomed to accept 36 points at worst case
scenario?
--- End Quote ---
You won’t get 36 points. The worst case scenario is 24 (not that
it makes much difference as far as disqualification goes). The
speeding charges are dead ducks unless you plead guilty to them
as the police have no proof that you were driving.
You won’t have to ask for a court hearing. Your case will not be
concluded under the Single Justice procedure because, even in
the best case scenario (four speeding charges with the "Fail to
Provide" (FtP) charges dropped), you face a “totting up” ban. It
will be adjourned to a hearing in the normal Magistrates’ Court
and you will be asked to attend.
My advice would be to plead not guilty to all offences and in
the “reasons for not guilty plea” section say that you are
willing to plead guilty to the speeding offences on the
condition that the “FtP” charges are dropped.
When you attend court you should ask to see the prosecutor
before you are called into Court and repeat that offer. You
could also ask if consideration could be given to combining any
of the offences as having occurred “on the same occasion”.
Looking at the timings, this is unlikely to be successful but if
it is, it will see only one set of points imposed for the two
offences, so avoiding a “totting up” ban.
If you do face such a ban, will you or others suffer
“exceptional hardship”?
#Post#: 115451--------------------------------------------------
Re: Received SJP - please advise on next steps
DIR By: andy_foster
Date: April 9, 2026, 8:59 am
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--- Quote from: adamam88 link ---
>
> I did not receive any of the NIP's as these were sent to my
previous address. I know because I have just confirmed with the
DVLA that they still have my old address on record incorrectly.
--- End Quote ---
If the V5C previously had your correct details and you moved
without notifying the DVLA in respect of your V5C, *they* did
record your address incorrectly.
You also claim to have updated your tax address - assuming that
you are referring to car tax, that is another lie. There is no
address for car tax, other than the address for the RK on the
V5C.
Currently, unless squaring the circle of updating the address
for tax but not V5C discloses a defence, the prosecution will
almost certainly be able to prove the 4 s. 172 offences but none
of the speeding offences. That would nominally put you on 24
points, which being a number that falls into the category "12 or
more" would trigger a totting up ban, unless the court found
that such a ban would cause exceptional hardship.
The stock advice is to plead not guilty to all charges, and try
to do the deal. On the face of it, this would nominally result
in 12 points, which is also a number in the category "12 or
more", albeit with less insurance unfriendly endorsement codes
and lower fines.
Technically there are <x> potential ways to avoid a totting up
ban -
1. Defend the charges successfully somehow - nothing you have
told us so far indicates a viable defence other than exceptional
incompetence from the CPS (beyond the level of incompetence that
the CPS would typically exhibit). N.B. If the prosecution can
prove that the notices were properly posted to your last known
address, they *will be* deemed to have been lawfully served
unless and until you can prove that they were not delivered
(which would appear to be somewhat difficult as you were not
living there). Not being aware of the notices does not in and of
itself constitute a defence of not being reasonably practicable
to provide the information - the court would look at the wider
question of whether it would have been reasonably practicable to
ensure that such notices were brought to your attention, such as
by complying with your legal obligation to inform the DVLA of
your change of address in respect of the V5C.
2. Persuade the court to go outside their sentencing guidelines
to order a short ban for the lowest end speeding offence(s) -
absent Special Reasons Not to Endorse (SRNTE), if convicted, the
court are required by law to order either 3-6 points or a ban
for each offence. The guidelines say not to order a ban to avoid
totting, and not to order a ban for a band A offence. The court
can go outside the guidelines must must give a good reason for
doing so. Not. Going. To. Happen.
3. If the court finds that there is sufficiently compelling
mitigation regarding the reasons for committing the offence,
they can convict without ordering endorsement - SRNTE, Whether
or not that particular bench on that particular day would find
that you dying dog would constitute SRNTE would seem to depend
on the bench on the day and the details of your argument.
4. If convicted of any 4 of the offences, if the court does not
find that there are SRNTE, the court will order your licence
endorsed with somewhere between 12 and 24 points. You could
technically get 36 points if you pleaded guilty to the speeding
offences without agreeing a deal first and were then convicted
of the s. 172 offences, but that would require incompetence to
coincide with bad luck. If the court finds that the mandatory 6
month totting ban would cause exceptional hardship (to you
and/or to others) - that is to say hardship beyond that which
criminals facing a 6 month driving ban would ordinarily face -
they can reduce the length of the ban, potentially to no ban at
all.
As regards doing the deal. Technically it is within the gift of
the prosecution, not the court to agree to drop one charge in
return for a guilty plea for another. We are only aware of one
case where the offer was rejected, which appears to be as the
result of a spectacular failure of the attitude test - the
accused went out of his way to antagonise the prosecutor, who
perhaps unsurprisingly said no deal. The widespread policy of
dual charging is ostensibly a nicety to enable the accused to
cop for the generally less serious underlying motoring offence,
but they are not technically alternative charges, and should not
be treated as such unless the SJPN paperwork. Some courts seem
to enact the deal without involving the prosecutor (presumably
by agreement with the CPS, as otherwise they would be acting
unlawfully), and sometimes even without the accused even asking.
Others, not so much.
On the basis that you cannot plead guilt to the underlying
offence if you were not the driver, logically, failure to name
the driver would be as a result of, one of four things - not
receiving the notice as a result of moving without updating the
V5C, receiving the notice but wilfully refusing to name the
driver, not receiving the notice because it was honestly and
100% genuinely not delivered (which would be a defence), or
because you don't know who was driving and could not with
reasonable diligence work out who was driving (which would also
be a defence and raise the question of whether you are entitled
to plead guilty to the underlying offence). To the extent that
the court's views on the commission of an offence you are no
longer being prosecuted for matter (which is basically their
disposition to a request to be sentenced at fixed penalty level
on the grounds that you were not offered one, not because you
were driving too fast, but because you failed to update your
V5C), making the common mistake of not realising that the V5C
needed to be updated separately from your licence (and tax????)
is perhaps the least egregious one (excluding the examples which
ought to see the accused defending the charge(s)).
#Post#: 115454--------------------------------------------------
Re: Received SJP - please advise on next steps
DIR By: adamam88
Date: April 9, 2026, 9:32 am
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Thank you everyone for taking the time to reply.
To clarify the tax part - I assumed that the fact my car is
taxed and has been taxed for the last 2 years that it was taxed
to my current address. As well as my driving licence also having
my correct address on. Again, incorrectly assumed on my part,
that the DVLA would be aware of this. My error.
To summarise, my understanding then is that my best bet (albeit
slim chances) is to:
1. Plead not guilty to all charges
2. Attend a hearing and ask the prosecution to make a deal to
plead guilty for the speeding offences if the s.172 offences are
waived
3. Apologise for my incompetence and ignorance that I did not
realise the V5 log book address needed to be updated
independently from my driving licence and assumed that paying
car tax via direct debit method meant that the DVLA had my
correct address
4. Provide evidence relating to one of the speeding offences (27
in a 20 zone) was directly in response to a medical pet
emergency that resulted in the death of a dog with whatsapp
messages and vet records.
5. Ask that one of the offences be sentenced at fixed penalty
level or that a SAC be considered having never been on one
before and previously holding a clean licence for near 20 years.
6. Hope and pray on the day
#Post#: 115455--------------------------------------------------
Re: Received SJP - please advise on next steps
DIR By: NewJudge
Date: April 9, 2026, 9:51 am
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--- Quote ---
> 5. Ask that one of the offences be sentenced at fixed penalty
level...
--- End Quote ---
Leaving aside the fact that there seems no justification for the
court to agree to it, the fixed penalty level is £100 and three
points.
--- Quote ---
> ...or that a SAC be considered having never been on one before
and previously holding a clean licence for near 20 years.
--- End Quote ---
The court has no power to order a course. Only the police can do
that and since they have now begun court proceedings that will
not happen. Apart from anything else, they still don't know who
was driving and they can only offer a course to the driver.
#Post#: 115459--------------------------------------------------
Re: Received SJP - please advise on next steps
DIR By: andy_foster
Date: April 9, 2026, 10:28 am
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--- Quote from: adamam88 link ---
>
> To clarify the tax part - I assumed that the fact my car is
taxed and has been taxed for the last 2 years that it was taxed
to my current address.
>
--- End Quote ---
What exactly do you mean by "taxed to my current address"?
The car is either taxed or it is not. Where it is and where you
are living have no direct bearing on this. How long the car has
been taxed for is meaningless without context.
Are you trying to tell us that you, as registered keeper,
received a car tax reminder from the DVLA addressed to you at
your current address?
When was it last taxed? How was it last taxed (12 months single
payment. monthly direct debit, payment to the lease company,
magic pixies?).
Please think carefully before replying. I have neither the time
nor the qualifications for pulling teeth. If your answer
requires more follow-up questions, I will be faced with the
dilemma of continuing to lose the will to live, or simply
closing the thread with a single click.
#Post#: 115461--------------------------------------------------
Re: Received SJP - please advise on next steps
DIR By: adamam88
Date: April 9, 2026, 10:47 am
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--- Quote from: andy_foster link ---
>
> [quote author=adamam88 link=topic=10463.msg115454#msg115454
date=1775745136]
> To clarify the tax part - I assumed that the fact my car is
taxed and has been taxed for the last 2 years that it was taxed
to my current address.
>
--- End Quote ---
What exactly do you mean by "taxed to my current address"?
The car is either taxed or it is not. Where it is and where you
are living have no direct bearing on this. How long the car has
been taxed for is meaningless without context.
Are you trying to tell us that you, as registered keeper,
received a car tax reminder from the DVLA addressed to you at
your current address?
When was it last taxed? How was it last taxed (12 months single
payment. monthly direct debit, payment to the lease company,
magic pixies?).
Please think carefully before replying. I have neither the time
nor the qualifications for pulling teeth. If your answer
requires more follow-up questions, I will be faced with the
dilemma of continuing to lose the will to live, or simply
closing the thread with a single click.
[/quote]
My car tax was set up online via direct debit. I assumed when
setting this up you would provide your current address to the
DVLA but it appears not.
I have not received a car tax reminder from the DVLA addressed
to my current address. The reminders have been received via
email, so again this is an incorrect assumption on my part.
#Post#: 115468--------------------------------------------------
Re: Received SJP - please advise on next steps
DIR By: NewJudge
Date: April 9, 2026, 12:11 pm
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--- Quote ---
> My car tax was set up online via direct debit. I assumed when
setting this up you would provide your current address to the
DVLA but it appears not.
--- End Quote ---
I don't know why you would assume that. When your tax is due,
the DVLA apply to your bank for £x and, if all is in order, the
bank pays them what they ask for. Your address doesn't enter
into it.
Anyway, none of that matters. You obviously did not update your
V5C when you moved and unfortunately that puts you on the back
foot.
[mod edit to avoid prolonging the detour - Now that we have
established this (my emphasis above), there is no point in
rehearsing how we went through the merry little dance!]
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