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

The risk is that you may give away info/government secure secrets for money.

I’m a bit concerned about your bias. You ALWAYS ban even though the guidelines start with points?! And you don’t care how dangerous it is, it’s just because it’s illegal - even though the aggravating factors are all around danger? (And the rest of your bench always agree with you?!).

I hope we never sit in the same court.

that was in reply to a post further down suggesting it wasn’t so bad.
yyp. I always suggest banning over 100 unless mitigation. Don’t be a twit.

I’ve started lessons but I’m super nervous so it won’t be a quick fix and doesn’t fix that I feel I don’t trust him anymore

Get him to speak with Andrew Thompson http://www.counsel.direct/ he’s the only person I’d engage in similar circumstances. With a bit of luck he may get away with a short ban and a hefty fine.

I’ve started lessons but I’m super nervous so it won’t be a quick fix and doesn’t fix that I feel I don’t trust him anymore

All the more reason to learn to drive and be independent.

Have you thought of working on your confidence?

The instructor I’ve got specialises in nervous drivers and it’s going well so far, it’s only driving I’m this nervous about, I don’t know why really but I hate it, getting there though 😊

To say again, under the sentencing guidelines the maximum he can get is 56 days ban or 6 points, and a fine of 125%-175% of his relevant weekly earnings. He doesn't need a barrister to achieve that. And if he pleads guilty, he should get a lower penalty.

I completely agree. It's so easy to get to that speed on a clear motorway. Is it safe or smart? No. I wouldn't end a relationship over it though.
@Kwbe Please make sure he explains go the judge the repercussions of losing his licence on your childcare and thus on work. I've only known one person in this situation and they were able to keep driving as they'd otherwise have no work. They had no previous driving convictions or points. However be prepared for insurance to be astronomical, as it's likely his current one will be voided.

This.

It's easy if you are somebody who doesn't actually care about speeding. Let's be honest. I never find myself driving at 100 mph when the road is clear, because I know the speed limit and I'm mindful of doing the right thing. People will say all sorts to justify their speeding and bad driving.

@uhOhOP It may not be for you and that's great, good on you. I don't justify it at all, it is dangerous, selfish and reckless, just like many other things in life that imperfect people inevitably do. I do care about speeding, me saying it's easy to speed doesn't mean I don't care about it, what a stupid conclusion to jump to. I find it so easy to speed I've set a speed limit on my car. It's extremely quiet and smooth and when there's an empty motor way it's super easy to cruise into way past 70. Esp when there's no other cars for context.
You don't win brownie points because it is harder for you to speed although I am grateful for your safe driving. I also hope you're not an unsafely slow driver.
Don't you think it's pretty reckless to break up a family because someone was speeding once? Why would you leave your children's father because an otherwise good dad got caught going 100 on a motorway one time. The advice on this site is insane sometimes.

Like @VeggieSalsa & @KarlWrenbury , I’m also a magistrate.

In my experience, it would be more usual to have a ban of a couple of weeks for 104mph. Obviously there are exceptions where mitigation might bring that to 6 points but I have rarely seen sufficient mitigation to do that. Personally I find the fact there was a child in the car to be a sufficiently aggravating factor to feel a disqualification is justified. The idea is that it’s a punishment and 2-3 weeks is enough to be a serious inconvenience but rarely enough to have an impact on your job as can be covered by holiday or unpaid leave.

The longer term implication of being banned from driving is the hike in insurance costs for a few years.

Points or a disqualification are ancillary orders and do not carry a reduction for a guilty plea, that only applies to the fine.

i am concerned though that @VeggieSalsa has referred to exceptional hardship more than once which would not be applicable to this case. An exceptional hardship application is only available for a ‘totting’ disqualification where a person has reached 12 points on their license.
https://www.sentencingcouncil.org.uk/explanatory-material/magistrates-court/item/road-traffic-offences-disqualification/3-totting-up-disqualification/

There is no such thing as an exceptional hardship application for any other potential ban for an individual offence.

By the way OP I wouldn’t spend hundreds on a solicitor, magistrates are very used to people representing themselves for speeding matters. A solicitor won’t ‘get him off’. I would go in and ask to speak to the legal adviser (aka court clerk) first who will help him say what he wants.

Sorry am not a magistrate but there is a reason why the speed limit is 70 ! It not just about the driver and the car they are driving, people pull out onto an A road and make their decision on distance not the fucking stupid speed that some people feel entitled to . If my children had been a passenger in a car where the driver thought 100 was ok I would never forgive the driver !

Oh, no! No brownie points? Gosh, what will I do now? And no, I'm not an "unsafely slow driver"; I just drive at the speed limit, conditions permitting. Not being willing to speed isn't the opposite of driving slowly, you know.

Maybe you need more experience of actually driving at 70 mph for long periods if you can't even tell when you've reached that speed without "other cars for context". You people are funny. What would you do without the tech on your car 🤣

And I didn't even say anything about whether or not OP should leave the man or not, so that last paragraph of yours must not be addressed to me.

@uhOhOP You really sound lovely. You quoted my comment in which I said it's not something to leave someone over. That's why I repeated that.
Maybe I do need more experience, you're probably right. I'm sure I'm not the best driver which is why I drive the safest car I can afford. That's also to protect me from other drivers some of whom are probably far worse than me. I'm thankful for the tech that helps me to do that. I have no shame in that. I also don't patronise people online because they don't have some innate speed limit built within them.
Finding going above 70 easy, is not the same thing as not caring about speeding, you know.

Thank you, that’s really informative. Just to check in case I’ve misread, when you say ban and disqualification are they the same thing? Or would the disqualification be like he loses his licence entirely, has to retake his test etc? And a ban is like he can’t drive for a certain length of time?
Thanks for the advice on the exceptional hardship, I wasn’t sure if it would meet it or not, I thought perhaps if it was a long ban, like 6-1year as some people had suggested he might get, then it may be applicable as of course it has a huge impact on our childcare for that length of time.

thanks again

I know that, I’m not condoning what he’s done in the slightest, I’m furious with him and not sure if I can forgive him or continue with the relationship, I couldn’t be more pissed off with him. And I think he deserves to be punished for it, I just want to know what to expect as that punishment won’t only affect him.

Because it was so dangerous, and reckless, he could have liked someone or our dc, I think it’s a really big deal, I know others don’t seem to but personally I do.

OP I hope you are taking on board what people with actual knowledge have posted that the sentencing guidelines are ( you can also check these out yourself online ) rather than posters randomly throwing in “ it’s deffo a 12 month ban “ based on absolutely nothing

the sentencing is surprisingly lenient to me but it is what it is so try not to worry because it will likely be a very short amount of time he will be unable to drive

I’d also suggest not wasting thousands on a solicitor either because it seems this is pretty clear cut the punishment he will get based on pretty clear guidelines and not sure having a solicitor will change that , that is of course only based on my opinion and hopefully someone in the know can advise you further on that point

Yes, ban and disqualification are the same thing. Sorry for any confusion. The official word is disqualification.

it will just mean he cannot drive for the length of the disqualification with no other consequences. He won’t need to retake his test, there are occasions when a re-test can be ordered (such as dangerous driving) but not for speeding.

So if he got a 14 day disqualification, it would literally mean that he cannot drive for 2 weeks and then the next day can drive as normal provided he has sorted insurance.

While he won’t be stupid enough i’m sure, make sure he doesn’t drive for even 100 metres whilst he is disqualified. Driving while disqualified is taken very seriously.

i would be very surprised if the outcome is not a disqualification of 2-3 weeks. So not ideal at all, but not the end of the world.

Or would the disqualification be like he loses his licence entirely, has to retake his test etc? And a ban is like he can’t drive for a certain length of time?

As others have said, a ban and disqualification are the same thing.

If he is disqualified for 56 days (which is unlikely given that is the maximum and there aren't enough aggravating factors to push him there), he would have to apply for a new licence, but he would not have to take a new driving test unless the court ordered it (which isn't going to happen). If it is a shorter disqualification, he can drive again as soon as it is over.

Thanks, I am really trying to focus on those responses (which are super helpful) 😊

I think the service will wait to hear the outcome of the court case - they won't make any decisions that preempt their actions

He'll likely have a disciplinary process and get a written warning, if convicted (which he will be)
It's the catch all bringing the service into disrepute