Having a major stress over a notice of intended prosecution

[ThePerkyCoralPoet]

Last week my dad was in hospital and had an endoscopy for suspected cancer. I was lost and in an area I didn’t know and slowed down to exit the junction I nearly missed. No accidents happened hwpbwr it wasn’t safe I know this and also I have no idea if it was that or even something else.

I’ve sent the form back and tried to get some legal advice. They’re stressing me out even more at this point saying well at the moment the hospital is irrelevant it depends on the severity and it’s in the hands of the police.

help?

Did the notice not give any details of the incident? Time, location etc?

Surely the notice of prosecution tells you what the offence was?

I received one last month for speeding. Sent the form back and will do a 3 hour course on zoom. Stop panicking. The letter always sounds scarier and more sinister then it is.

It should say on the letter what the offence is. You haven't committed anything wrong by slowing down so it can't be that unless you stopped in a yellow box or were speeding prior to that.

You don't need legal advice at this point. The first letter is just to ascertain who was driving as it may well not be the registered keeper.

The notice will tell you what you are being prosecuted for, they don’t send cryptic messages. Even a speeding fine says, “Notice of intended prosecution”, so chances are you’ll just have to pay a fine and take some points. Unless you’re being done for dangerous driving, or something, I wouldn’t worry.

The hospital and your personal circumstances are irrelevant. What’s relevant is the driving offence you committed.

The letter you were sent should have included the offence, the time and date. But maybe they want to know first if you were driving the car?

Just do what the form says.

@DappledThings - if OP slowed down dangerously to leave the motorway at the last minute, it could well be that.

Yes all is on the letter. I was heading towards the wrong exit and had to move into another lane to get off probably slowing someone down. I’m panicking bwvause my father’s health was an issue and now this.

Yes. I slowed down.

Lack of care and attention. That’s the notice info. Contacted a solicitor and he said “well if it gets to the stage you’re prosecuted xyz could happen” I’m in a very honest profession and that is very frightening for me.

Yes, it could be that. Or crossing hatchings to take an exit too late.

Driving without due care and attention. Which I think was due to a lane drift. I know I exited the motorway and potentially slowed another vehicle down. But my worry is my dads health and now this stress i literally can’t even eat today out of worry. Phoned the solicitor they said well if you’re prosecuted xyz could happen. So now my mind is catastrophising

If you have a Dashcam, you may want to save any footage including metadata, as it may help clarify what happened.

P.S. Whilst not wishing to sound unsympathetic, the circumstances around the incident aren't relevant at this stage.

So your dad was having a planned procedure? You weren't rushing to the hospital because he'd been admitted with a life threatening emergency?

Surely if you're heading off on the wrong exit you take that exit rather than endanger your fellow motorists? Then you work your way back onto the motorway.

What is the alleged offence? From your description it doesn't sound as though you've got any defence.

I was exiting and slowed down to not miss the exit. Probably slowing a vehicle behind me down. It was caught on someone else’s dash cam.

Just says driving without due care and attention.

It honestly sounds as though you are guilty of that. But I'm not a lawyer.

If what you say is true then you were driving in a manner which could easily have caused an accident, and if the police have footage from someone else’s dashcam as their evidence then there’s really nothing you can do. It is irrelevant where you were going, why or what for.

All you can do is wait and see what comes of it.

Seems a little surprising they would consider charging you with "Driving without due care and attention" unless it was excessive and perhaps a large vehicle.

Regardless, respond and hope for the best.

So it's a NIP rather than a court summons.

From what I can gather it'll be a fine up to £2.5k and can range from 3-9 points or disqualification. The fact it's a NIP I'd assume it'll be a fine and points.

am I not correct in thinking that at nip stage you just admit you’re the driver and then they can send court summons after?

What’s the size of the vehicle she’s driving got to do with anything?? You can drive without due care and attention in a tiny car or a lorry.

And if the police are proceeding with a NIP from dashcam footage, the OP must have cut across lanes dangerously.

Well, you catastrophising and not eating won’t help anything, or your dad.

try to calm down. All you can do is fill the forms in, and be honest.

if you have a clean driving licence, that will help.

I have come to hate driving. Last week I had to drop my sewing machine off for a service at a little business I’ve used loads of times. Two days later I picked it up. I turned off the main road where there was parking, which I have done countless times before, and have received two penalty notices with fines of £160 each. The rules must have changed since I last went there and the signage wasn’t enough to alert me that I can no longer turn left from the left hand side of the road, which seems ridiculous. I didn’t even have to cross traffic to do so.
Consequently, I won’t be able to use that small business again for fear of fines if I go down other nearby roads.
I wasn’t speeding, wasn’t causing a blockage in the road or any other nuisance. To me, this is a legal form of extortion, just as your ticket sounds it is.

My exh got a notice for driving without due care and attention. He overtook a vehicle dangerously or something. He had to do a “safe driving course”, I guess the equivalent of a speeding awareness course. He didn’t get a fine or points, I’m assuming because it was his first offence.

I think it's more serious than just 'legal extortion'. The OP has admitted forcing another vehicle to slow down and presumably someone was concerned enough about their driving to report them with dashcam footage. There's no excuse for putting other road users in danger and no mitigating circumstances for doing so.

Accept you did it and you'll be offered a "safe and considerate driving" course or similar I think. Then you won't get points or a fine (but the course costs to complete I believe)