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#Post#: 115613--------------------------------------------------
Several NIPs
DIR By: Speed
Date: April 11, 2026, 9:17 am
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My friend started to use a road for a couple of weeks as he had
a two week job on that route. It is 30mph limit road but for a
small section around the school on the road this is reduced to
20mph.
He was paying attention to his Satnav and so did not notice the
speed limit signs. As the NIPs are delayed in being sent out,
he is now getting them all for the days that he was travelling
over that road. He has 3 so far and expects more.
The three so far is 27mph, 24mph and 27mph.
What is the best course of action? Complete the forms and
return them as requested to confirm that he is the driver but
should he include a cover letter to explain why he missed the
speed limit signs, or will that make it worse?
I read on google that if you have more than 9 NIPs, you should
seek the advice of a motor offence solicitor. I wonder if it is
best he do that straightaway?
#Post#: 115618--------------------------------------------------
Re: Several NIPs
DIR By: NewJudge
Date: April 11, 2026, 10:59 am
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--- Quote ---
> I read on google that if you have more than 9 NIPs, you should
seek the advice of a motor offence solicitor.
--- End Quote ---
I wonder why that would be?
He must respond to all the “requests for driver’s details” he
receives. Failing to do so will see him commit more serious
offences.
If he is likely to get five or more notices he will probably
receive the offer of a course for one and offers of fixed
penalties for the others (provided the alleged speed is not more
than 34mph). He will not be able to accept the fourth of these
because he will face a “totting up” ban (facing the receipt of
twelve points within three years).
He can avoid such a ban if he can show that he or others will
suffer “exceptional hardship” (EH) if he is disqualified.
However, before he does this he should ensure that all he NIPs
he is likely to receive have been served and that all the
offences are dealt with. This is because he can only make one EH
argument (using he same reasons) within three years. What he
must avoid is to make a successful EH plea and then see further
charges follow.
Since there are so many offences he may well decide not to
accept a course and keep that option until after this is all
done.
Not that it matters, but I find it hard to believe that he was
so attentive to his satnav that he missed the ‘20’ signs on so
many successive journeys.
Is there any reason why your friend cannot post on here himself?
#Post#: 115619--------------------------------------------------
Re: Several NIPs
DIR By: Speed
Date: April 11, 2026, 11:11 am
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--- Quote from: NewJudge link ---
>
> [quote]I read on google that if you have more than 9 NIPs, you
should seek the advice of a motor offence solicitor.
--- End Quote ---
I wonder why that would be?
He must respond to all the “requests for driver’s details” he
receives. Failing to do so will see him commit more serious
offences.
If he is likely to get five or more notices he will probably
receive the offer of a course for one and offers of fixed
penalties for the others (provided the alleged speed is not more
than 34mph). He will not be able to accept the fourth of these
because he will face a “totting up” ban (facing the receipt of
twelve points within three years).
He can avoid such a ban if he can show that he or others will
suffer “exceptional hardship” (EH) if he is disqualified.
However, before he does this he should ensure that all he NIPs
he is likely to receive have been served and that all the
offences are dealt with. This is because he can only make one EH
argument (using he same reasons) within three years. What he
must avoid is to make a successful EH plea and then see further
charges follow.
Since there are so many offences he may well decide not to
accept a course and keep that option until after this is all
done.
Not that it matters, but I find it hard to believe that he was
so attentive to his satnav that he missed the ‘20’ signs on so
many successive journeys.
Is there any reason why your friend cannot post on here himself?
[/quote]
should he reply to each NIPs as they arrive or should he wait
for them all to come and send them all off in one go? It is a
two weeks journey and he realised the mistake when he received
the first one and so stopped doing it. So I am not sure how
many that will be but I will ask him! It is likely to be more
than 3 as he said he has 3 already and expects more! He could
end up with 10!
should he complete the NIPs as required and sort the "EH" plea
out later in due course when it comes to that process so should
he write a cover letter with the NIPs return pleading the "EH"?
He has asked me for advice so I am looking into all the possible
ways to deal with this.
he has never had a speeding ticket before so this is the first
time that this has happened and he has a HGV driving licence and
I am told that would be looked upon as even worse as HGV drivers
are meant to be better drivers!
I have no idea how he managed to miss the speed limit signs on
so many days and he says he can't understand himself. This
reason is not going to be acceptable to anyone as it does not
seem feasible that you could continue to miss the signs so many
times so it may not even work as a reason as no one will believe
it!
#Post#: 115621--------------------------------------------------
Re: Several NIPs
DIR By: 666
Date: April 11, 2026, 12:14 pm
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There is absolutely no point in your friend sending a covering
letter: the police will process the (alleged) offences according
to their normal procedures. The time for an EH plea is when - as
seems likely - the matter proceeds to court and he faces
disqualification.
BTW any "explanation" which involves looking at a screen rather
than the road, or suggests inattention, would be unwise. Anyway,
no explanation is necessary.
#Post#: 115623--------------------------------------------------
Re: Several NIPs
DIR By: Speed
Date: April 11, 2026, 12:36 pm
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--- Quote from: 666 link ---
>
> There is absolutely no point in your friend sending a covering
letter: the police will process the (alleged) offences according
to their normal procedures. The time for an EH plea is when - as
seems likely - the matter proceeds to court and he faces
disqualification.
>
> BTW any "explanation" which involves looking at a screen
rather than the road, or suggests inattention, would be unwise.
Anyway, no explanation is necessary.
>
--- End Quote ---
Thank you. I have never had a speeding ticket before so I don't
know the process. The NIPs don't ask for any explanation or
admission of guilt. The form just ask to confirm if he is the
driver and whether the address is correct. So you are right,
the covering letter won't be of any relevance as I did think
that the process will follow a due course and it isn't at the
stage where anyone is looking into mitigating circumstances. At
the moment, they just want to identify who the driver is and
that is that.
I will advise him to return the NIPs as requested and await
further results. If it gets to the court stage, he can then
instruct a solicitor to help him plea his case. Thanks for your
advice, and yeah, saying that he was oblivious to the signs and
cameras is only going to be an additional offence of driving
without due care and attention on top of the speeding as there
is obviously an issue with his attention if he is not seeing
these signs over the whole two weeks! He obviously needs to
stop driving to be fair as he isn't seeing where he is going!
#Post#: 115631--------------------------------------------------
Re: Several NIPs
DIR By: andy_foster
Date: April 11, 2026, 3:39 pm
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--- Quote from: Speed link ---
>
> My friend started to use a road
--- End Quote ---
Assuming that you don't mean "friend" in the same sense as "my
friend has a rash", my first question would be what value you
are adding to the process by acting as an intermediary, rather
than your friend posting himself first hand.
--- Quote ---
> I read on google that if you have more than 9 NIPs, you should
seek the advice of a motor offence solicitor. I wonder if it is
best he do that straightaway?
--- End Quote ---
I'm going to go ahead and say that you never read that anywhere.
You probably read that if you have 9 or more points and are one
conviction away from a totting ban, that you should seek the
advice of a motoring offence solicitor. 9 points is a
significant number. 9 NIPs simply means that you are royally
screwed. From a clean licence, 5 NIPs (when you were the driver)
would result in a minimum of 12 points (unless you had a viable
defence), if you were offered and took an SAC for one of them.
So, presumably your attention to detail and ability to
accurately convey what you read somewhere is the value you are
adding to the process...
Legal professionals will variously tell you that you don't need
a lawyer or do need a lawyer, based largely on whether or not
they are charging for their time.
--- Quote ---
> What is the best course of action? Complete the forms and
return them as requested to confirm that he is the driver but
should he include a cover letter to explain why he missed the
speed limit signs, or will that make it worse?
--- End Quote ---
Speeding is a strict liability offence - if you exceed the speed
limit, you commit the offence, regardless of whether or not you
intended to break the law. On the face of it, a covering letter
explaining that you didn't intentionally broke the law, but you
committed the offences due to committing a separate offence of
driving below the standard expected of a careful and competent
driver, is not the most cunning plan ever devised.
He has 27 days from date of service of each NIP (28 days
beginning with...) to name the driver. N.B. The response must be
served (delivered) within that timescale, not merely posted
within the 27 days. Absent the most contrived Royal mail delays,
he should probably have received all the NIPs he's going to
receive well before he needs to send the first response. How
many NIPs he actually receives would affect aspects of the best
courses of action. Unless
The FPSU/CTO is mostly a sausage machine, and there is no formal
process to appeal or otherwise attempt to persuade them not to
proceed - BUT, in the past there have been cases where a human
has exercised discretion in response to a covering letter
regarding the potential consequences of what was essentially a
single mistake being repeated, and due to the offences all being
committed before the first NIP was received, being unaware of
the error and the need to raise the standard of driving. Not
many, but if you don't ask, you don't get. We have also had
posters asking us if it was worthwhile sending a covering letter
- which translates to "I know I'm facing a 6 month totting up
ban, but I really can't be bothered in trying to do anything for
myself to try to avoid the ban, unless there's a good chance of
it working". In my own experience, if you phone the FPSU/CTO and
speak to them nicely, once they get over the shock, they can be
quite helpful and human.
Regardless, it is generally advantageous to send all the
responses together in the same envelope if you can.
For multiple alleged offences in the same 20 limit, I would also
suggest obtaining a copy of the Traffic Regulation Order (TRO)
from the relevant authority, and checking that it is valid (or
posting it up here and asking us to see if we can pick any holes
in it). The chances of the Order being defective are small, but
if the Order is defective, there never was a 20 limit.
As damage limitation, *if* he ends up getting say 10 NIPs (or 9
NIPs which apparently is a significant number) and all pleas for
clemency fall on deaf ears, he would want all the charges to be
heard at the same time (other than possibly accepting 3 COFPs to
keep the fines down). If he is going to get more than 12 points,
he wants to get the additional points at the same time -
reaching 12 or more points triggers a totting up ban (subject to
Exceptional Hardship). If he tots up to 12 or 30 points at that
hearing, it is the same process. He either gets a totting ban
and those points are wiped, or his exceptional hardship argument
succeeds. If this happens when he has more offences still
hanging over him, the points go on his licence, and/or he can't
use the same exceptional hardship argument a second time within
3 years.
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