AIBU to wonder whether I should report an accidental offence?

[AccidentalCriminal]

So I recently found out that I unknowingly and unwittingly broke the law last year.

No victim involved and I honestly and truly didn't know I'd done it.

Would you report yourself or just accept you got away with it?

A criminal conviction would destroy my career. But I also feel terrible that I've done something illegal.

WWYD?

Do nothing.

None of this makes any sense.

Surely you've had to tell your insurance about your points and ban?

This isn’t true. NIP’s are only invalid if the person had their correct address registered and the police failed to issue it within 14 days. Having the wrong address on your v5 doesn’t mean they can’t action it, otherwise literally everyone would just register their car somewhere else.

Not responding to a NIP in itself is an offence that triggers a court date. If you fail to appear at court (which op did as the letter will have gone to the old address) then they will continue in your absence. The 3 points you would’ve got if you’d responded for just the speeding offence quickly becomes 9 when you don’t respond to the NIP, which then quickly becomes a ban if you’ve already got more than 3 points.

This is why it’s so important to update the address on your v5 when you move, as if you don’t then all of this can happen without you knowing and you only first become aware of it when an insurance company does a random check and calls wanting to know why they weren’t informed, or the police pull you over and you’re subject to further punishment.

You can also see what penalties you’ve got on a licence by checking here which I’m guessing is what op did: https://www.gov.uk/view-driving-licence

If you were convicted May 2025 usually the ban is instant… not starting a month later. That’s unusual.

Very apt username!!

I’ve had something very similar happen to me. I also have ADHD. Don’t worry about it now and if you didn’t know about it you would have grounds to reopen the original prosecution in any event. But just move on with your life and put it behind you.

I didn't when I didn't know.

I now have a new car and am insured with a different company (because they were cheaper and offered a better deal, not because I'm trying to hide anything. New company is aware of the ban.

No, speaking from experience this is not true. You get the conviction and the ban comes later. I managed to get the original conviction overturned so never did get banned but I got the convictions for failure to supply driver information (also due to moving house) then got a letter saying they were proposing to ban me a couple of months later.

You're very lucky you didn't have your insurance cancelled or voided then.

Just looked. Conviction was in May. Sentencing was in June when the ban started.

Yes, I am. I was also lucky not to have had an accident or to have been pulled over for a random check. Hence the reason I feel so guilty.

Say nothing.

Oh I see, they banned me instantly 😂 must have wanted me off the road

I totally get it but I really wouldn't worry about it now. You've been honest with your current insurers and that's all that matters :)

😂 maybe it depends from judge to judge.

OP just draw a line under it. I felt so crap when it happened to me (I found out about the points when a debt collector contacted me) and I didn’t want to drive again. However then I dealt with it, got the convictions cancelled (which you might be able to still do depending on when you found out about it) and got on with things. You didn’t do it on purpose and it happens and you didn’t drive drunk or kill someone.

I think they can do this in some cases depending on the nature of the offence, but in cases like OP’s where it’s a “totting up” ban it’s mostly common for the person to be allowed to continue up until sentencing. Kind of similar to a regular criminal offence where someone is held on remand vs out on bail until a trial

I’m confused why the 3 points for speeding were also added. They can’t give you those points because the person who was driving wasn’t disclosed. That’s why there is a 6 point tariff for not providing information, to stop people trying to avoid getting points by failing to provide information. Even in the event they did add the 3, they are part of the same offence so wouldn’t count under totting up.

Are you sure you didn’t have other points already there, or are you a new driver?

How about stop guessing and find out if what your licence states now is what it's meant to.

Have you actually been diagnosed with ADHD as mentioned in your earlier post

Even if there is a fine outstanding somewhere?

If there's a fine outstanding someone will be in touch, surely?

True. You wouldn’t get 3 additional points on top of the original 6.

Yes. Thats how I found out. It’s around £850 for failing to provide driver information. Expect to be contacted by a debt collection agency, as I was.

I make the points tally to be

Three on the licence already.
Three for speeding.
Six for not providing information related to the speeding, and not turning up for a court appearance.

Maybe I already had 6 points then. I can't tell- they're all gone now.

And a £20 postal order costs £22.50 not £20. It is ridiculous.