DP Speeding 104mph - what happens next?

[Kwbe]

My partner got caught speeding (104 on a motorway) with our child in the car (I wasn’t there).
He’s had a court summons for the magistrates but no date yet.
As far as I know it’s just a summons for speeding.

I’m so so angry with him, it was so dangerous and stupid and selfish. And basically it’s made me question our entire relationship and the sort of person/father he is.

so what can I expect to happen next from a legal/repercussions stand point?

As far as google says he could (very likely) face a driving ban, maybe lose his job (he’s a civil servant) and a hefty fine.
Is that about right?
can he drive until he goes to court?

he’s been in touch with a solicitor, well a few, and they’ve all been a bit vague, said get back in touch when he has a court date, it’s been 3 weeks now and no letter/date as yet.

any advice/personal experiences would be really appreciated. I’m so anxious about it all and can’t but think the worst of the worst.

thanks so much x

Are you planning to stay with him after this?

I’m not sure to be perfectly honest, I posted more about the relationship side of it in the relationship board, someone there suggested I post here for legal advice stuff.

Yes, he can drive until he goes to court. Wouldn’t be a good idea for him to drive himself to court though.

This page has good advice.

https://www.majlaw.co.uk/tools/news/speeding/will-you-get-banned-for-driving-over-100mph-free-legal-advice/

He'll lose his licence (almost certainly)

I can't imagine how you must feel relationship wise though. That's an insanely high speed with your child.

Also how will him driving impact the relationship - can he still do his job? It'll put a lot of strain on you to do all the driving (if you do drive)

I can’t drive and we rely on him driving our child to my mums for childcare during the week, she doesn’t live on a bus route and she can’t drive so he is the only way to get her there. so yeah a big impact.
He doesn’t drive for work and doesn’t need to drive for his commute.

He will be banned hopefully, I would advise him to contact his union or acas regarding his job. I don’t think I could get past him driving like that even without your child in the car because he so was inconsiderate of other users. I thankfully don't know anyone who has ever been in a serious car accident but I have friends that work in emergency services and deal with the aftermath.

This isn’t going to happen anymore - can you or your mum afford to do an intensive driving course? If not, I’d start researching what walkable childcare options you’ve got.

I’m sorry. Aside from everything else, he’s obliterated life as you know it.

I think some of these replies are quite hysterical. Most jobs aren't impacted by a driving ban unless driving is a job requirement. He's likely to get a ban and a hefty fine but no reason to lose his job.

I would start looking into alternatives to getting to your mums or maybe look to take driving lessons OP so you can drive?

100MPH is fast but on a clear, open motorway in good conditions, in a modern vehicle in good repair, it's not particularly dangerous. I drive the M6 regularly and the police cruise at 75-80MPH when conditions allow. I'm not condoning the speeding but relationship ending? No.

If you can learn to drive I would do so ASAP, as you will need to.

Op already has a thread going in relationships where she and others are busy catastrophising about divorce.

If any posters have legal advice and expertise on what actually happens in court/legal consequences rather than ramping up the anxiety it would probably be appreciated.

I wouldn't want him to ever drive my child again and I'd be questioning whether I could possibly stay with someone this selfish/stupid.

You need to learn to drive so that you don't rely on him driving.

The stopping distance when travelling at 70mph is 96 metres. This is generally safe on a motorway because the roads are straight and flat so you can see 100m ahead.

The stopping distance travelling at 104mph is 196 metres. Basically at 104mph there is no room for other drivers to err whatsoever because your DP is driving so fast that he can't possibly see the hazard ahead and stop in time. If he does crash he will very likely kill himself, your child and probably some other drivers.

Don't you already have a thread about this?

100MPH is fast but on a clear, open motorway in good conditions, in a modern vehicle in good repair, it's not particularly dangerous. I drive the M6 regularly and the police cruise at 75-80MPH when conditions allow.

As per my post, there is a huge difference in how long it takes to stop and how much road ahead you need to be able to see in order to drive safely at 104mph in comparison to 75–80mph.

Stopping distance at 80mph = 120 metres. Stopping distance at 104mph - 196 metres. Huge difference!

Yes in relationships, someone there advises I post here for legal advice on the situation

Not legal advice

He was a total idiot but we all make mistakes. I’m sure he feels bad enough and will learn his lesson.

You need to learn to drive, it’s very unfortunate that all of that is currently on him. I certainly wouldn’t leave him over this.

He will lose his license, I’d be pretty certain of that. I know of 3 other such idiots (all men, funnily enough) and all lost their licenses. Fines between 1-3k I think.

Not legal advice

Argh I failed to notice that this thread was in Legal. Sorry - I quite agree I shouldn't have replied.

I often forget to look at what topic we're in when something comes up in Trending.

He will receive a ban, length to be determined by the magistrates court. If there weren't many vehicles on the road, conditions were good, then the ban may not be to severe.

Hopefully, a wake up call for him, but we are all guilty of speeding at some point.

All crimes have sentencing guidelines but each Court will have a sentencing culture which may differ from other Courts.

In my experience any speeding over 100 would be an automatic ban.

If his job relies on him being able to drive, he can claim "exceptional hardship". This means that losing his license will cause the him and his family exceptional loss in income.

He needs a good lawyer to advocate for him.

Hi OP please see sentencing guidelines, having a passenger is an agg factor https://www.sentencingcouncil.org.uk/offences/magistrates-court/item/speeding-revised-2017/
He will be looking at a ban between 7-56 days, it does say or 6 points however having child in car is an agg factor.
a band C fine is ;

Fine Band C 150% of relevant weekly income 125 – 175% of relevant weekly income

A friend of mine got caught doing 110mph on the motorway. He got 6 points and £800 fine. I always thought it was an automatic ban if you were doing over 100mph.

Likely ban - he MAY have got away with that if he didn't have a passenger, but that is an aggravating factor.

Time to learn to drive and reconsider your relationship - good luck, OP.

The sentencing guidelines are here.

I'd try and plead exceptional hardship (only usually works once though I have known it work twice) and take the 6 points.

I would imagine that his insurance will go up massively after the hearing. He'll have to inform them what has happened, obviously once it's dealt with.

If you can drive, ie you are medically allowed to, I would start to learn now.

It is highly likely he will lose his licence and be fined. Fine will be a percentage of salary.
He can make a statutory declaration to the court and there may be a v v v slim chance they will allow him to keep it but award 12 points. However, this is usually if there is genuine threat of loss of livelihood, medical need or huge financial loss whereby in turn mortgage not paid etc. This as I've said is v slim and v rarely accepted.
The fact that he had a child with him will not be taken lightly either.