driving without business insurance

[Rapunzelsplait]

My 19 year old DS was stopped by police for delivering for a well known fast food outlet and did not have the business insurance on the car (does have personal insurance)

He had wrongly assumed that there was a bolt on policy in place - as this had been the case when he had worked for a different company the previous year.

He has been given 6 points and a fine, or can take it to court. If he gets 6 points, I believe he will lose his driving licence for a time (?) as he's had it for less than 2 years.

My DH thinks it best to take it to court and have my son read out a statement saying how he lives in a rural area and needs transport for work etc (without representation). My question is - is that a good idea? Or should we pay the fine and take the consequences as is?

I have no experience with courts etc and neither does my DH.

Any thoughts from legal people gratefully received.

hopeful bump

If he wants this to go to court it may be best to plead guilty and provide a statement setting out mitigating circumstances (e.g. the fact he genuinely believed there was insurance in place) and the reasons he thinks he should be punished less severely. He can do this by post without actually attending court.

He may be able to get a reduced fine and/or avoid a ban by going to court but there is also a risk it could go the other way - a larger fine and/or more points. I would strongly recommend consulting a solicitor.

Thanks for that - will do

It may be worth talking to the employer to establish whether they do in fact have insurance. If not they should have advised your son of the need to add business insurance before he started work. If he can prove that he genuinely believed insurance was provided by the employer he may have a case for pleading not guilty, but best to get legal advice. If he does get 6 points his licence will be revoked and he will have to retake his test.

The guidelines magistrates follow for sentencing strongly guide them to the six points instead of a short ban, specifically to prevent new drivers keeping their license.

The DVLA are the ones who revoke the license once notified but the courts that six points have been given. The court can not interfere in this process.

Once revoked, your son can apply for his test again. Insurance will be expensive.

Losing his job wouldn't normally be seen as a reason not to follow sentencing guidelines - the argument being if his job was so important to him he'd have checked he had the right insurance.