Partner caught driving on provisional licence, no mot

[Eveh13]

I am currently lost and fuming at this situation. I apologise for the long post.. I am currently 7 months pregnant and my partner was caught driving alone on a provisional and without MOT (the appointment was on a same day but daytime, and he was caught at 2 a.m.). He has 3 charges against him and obviously needed to be removed from the policy. We want to plead guilty without attending a court but we Don't know how to explain himself, to try and lower a sentence. He was caught coming back from work at around 2 am but the officers did not include this in the report (to where he was going). He said to the officers that he needed the car to get into work. The police officer on the report quoted, ""I cautioned the driver who made no reply to caution". What does this actually means? I'm so confused. 🤔 He had shown the police officer his provisional licence and on the report says, quote "the vehicle was not displaying any L plates and the driver was unsupervised. The driver identified himself and the police checked it and he was free to leave walking. (Car was seized and under my name, I have full licence).
The thing is, how do we plead guilty and so can he explain himself? He wants to tell the court that he took the car to "help" me because I'm 7 months pregnant and we have a disabled child at home. We just don't know how to write it officially. I will be giving birth soon and I am dreaded and exhausted from pregnancy and this situation. Thank you

I am not a lawyer but I would think any attempt to explain or make excuses such as ‘he was helping pregnant wife by driving a car without MOT or valid driving licence or insurance’ is going to dig him a deeper hole. The main problem he (and you) seem to have is the genuine belief that this is somehow in any way acceptable. Unless there’s something else you’re not saying, ie it was a one off and an emergency I think you need to both accept that he will get points and a fine. Hopefully he will also have to do the DVLA awareness course.

Most solicitors don't have a clue about how road traffic law is applied by the police and courts. Your best bet at this stage is to post on http://www.pepipoo.com/ in the 'Speeding and other Criminal Offences' forum, where you will get practical advice on what happens next and what likely outcomes are.

@Eveh13 If you knew what he was doing, and let him do it anyway, I'm sorry to tell you that you can be charged and suffer the same penalties as him.

So any attempt to say he was doing it to help you, will only land you in very hot water as well ( plus no way could that be a mitigating circumstance at that time in the morning). If asked, you will need to say you didn't know - which may land him in even hotter water for taking the car without permission - but if you admit to allowing him to do so, you could lose your own licence, which would be worse for you

You may want to see a lawyer asap to get proper legal advice, but other than that, as others have said, plead guilty and apologise/grovel in the form that they send him. He can't argue that he needs to be able to drive due to your pregnancy/ disabled child at home because he hasn't even passed his test, so that simply won't wash because you or someone else would need to be with him, which defeats the purpose!

I'm so sorry you are so stressed while you are 7 months pregnant, but it is what it is

There isn't an excuse for driving without the required licence or MOT. It's extremely stupid and dangerous. The lack of an MOT would probably invalidate your insurance too, so basically you've both been driving illegally and uninsured. Be thankful he got caught before something much worse happened.

All you can do now is speak to a solicitor. And stop making excuses for your dangerous and illegal driving.

Good job he got caught before he hurt someone. It’s an awful thing to do, both him and his car are potentially dangerous.
I managed without a car for years people do.
he’s not special or above the law, he’s an entitled dickhead.

How was committing these offences to help you?

So that you could have a break from driving him/being with him whilst he drives?

Are you likely to be penalised also because he drove your car without insurance?

Don't try to make excuses-there are none!

The thing is, how do we plead guilty and so can he explain himself?

There is no explanation for this. Literally none.

You being pregnant. Not an excuse.
You having a disabled child. Not an excuse.
Where he was going/coming from. Not an excuse.

The time of day doesn't matter. The only thing that matters is that he broke the law on three counts (driving without a MOT and driving without a valid licence and therefore driving without valid insurance).

He's a scumbag and I (personally) am very glad the police caught him. People without full licences shouldn't be driving alone for a reason. People without a valid MOT shouldn't be driving. People without valid insurance shouldn't be driving. He did all three of the above and probably not for the first time.

The fact he and you want to 'explain' the situation says a lot about both of you.

Did you know he was doing this? Is this a regular occurrence?

He'll probably be sent the paperwork in the post, which you just fill out and return, you can tick the guilty plea box - unlikely he will need to appear in court for this and you really don't need a solicitor, not for something this minor (I'm sure it doesn't feel minor to you but magistrates will deal with hundreds of these in a day so it'll be routine for them!) There's not really any mitigation he can give that will have an effect, it wasn't an emergency situation, but the penalty for no insurance is a Band C fine (150% of weekly earnings, reduced by a third for a guilty plea) plus 6-8 points, so no need to panic. He's likely to get no separate penalty for the other charges, which means no extra fines or points on his licence.

Also, might be worth checking your insurance documents - driving not in accordance with your licence doesn't automatically mean your insurance is cancelled, I have seen cases where it's still been in force despite this.

What has being pregnant and having disabled child have to do with his driving offences! He has broken the law as simple as that and needs to pay the consequences.

So did you know that he was driving your car with no licence and therefore no insurance? Had he done it before? If you did know then imo you are both as guilty as each other. Suppose he had crashed and your car was a write off? Supposed he had crashed and injured someone, or for that matter himself. He is a stupid chancer, and if you knew he was taking your car and driving unsupervised (and I am not sure how you would NOT know) then you are a stupid chancer too.

@DaveWatts no licence, no MOT, no insurance, several previous offences. I would be surprised if it’s a slap on the wrist.

He will definitely get his name in the paper too.

Why did the police pull him over? Was he not driving safely?

It seems very odd he'd be caught the first time doing this, or was it not the first time...

I remember being full term pregnant with our second baby. We had a disabled child already too. My husband couldn't drive then as hadn't passed his test yet. We lived 10 miles away from his workplace, he worked til the wee small hours and we couldn't afford taxis at the time.
Do you know what he did? He cycled or walked the 10 miles every single day- there and back- so that we could still afford our rent etc. He would never have dreamed of taking my car.
@LadyBird1973 there is absolutely no excuse whatsoever and to everyone saying people are being harsh, no they're not. They're being realistic which OP and her 'partner' are failing to do. OP clearly wasn't bothered at all until police caught the prat behind the wheel, I doubt it was his first time doing this.

He has chosen to do something that will likely leave him with a criminal record, less money due to a fine, and will publicly shame and humiliate you and therefore your kids. He's supposed to be solid and there for you as you carry his child, instead he's put your futures at massive risk, he's a scumbag.

There is no mitigation or excuse, he was driving outside of the conditions of the provisional licence, thats that.

The magistrate will almost certainly revoke the driving licence completely, which is what the DVLA state is appropriate if the licence conditions are broken (which they are able to do, and should do in this case) there will then be a period until he can re-apply for another licence.

He will likely face fines as well.

Just plead guilty on the form, to be honest making excuses will just make the magistrate punish harder.

OP, I'm not going to pile on because others have made it clear enough the reality of the situation but, if you're absolutely determined to try and tell your story to the court, you might want to get it into a better shape than this.

You said your husband told the police he needed the car for work and then later, you say he took the car to help you because you're 7 months pregnant. Which is it?

Did he drive home urgently to help you with a specific incident? Even if that was something that could be taken into account, he still drove TO work with no good reason.

At the moment, it sounds like excuses - and not very good ones. Have a damn good think about what you tell the court.

If the excuse is that he commutes illegally in the car daily in case he needs to get home and help you and, in this instance, he did then please don't even try that with the court. Just let him take the punishment and move on.

Even the wording of "He wants to tell the court that he took the car to "help" me because I'm 7 months pregnant and we have a disabled child at home" makes it sound like this this is some excuse he came up with after the fact given that it's different from what he told the police. Don't make claims you won't be able to stick to under scrutiny. The courts will have heard every excuse under the sun.

You'd do well to have a solicitor for any charges though. It just makes the process easier.

F*ing Idiot!

Sorry, but he deserves everything he gets and more! I actually despise people like this who think of no one but them self.

Just imagine if he'd have hit/killed someone? No license, no insurance, no MOT and he's commuting to/from work!!! No way it would have been the first time!

I seriously hope he gets a serious fine and ban! Ideally I'd like him to get a sentence as well, but that's not going to happen!

@Eveh13 Do please come back and tell us what he got...

On a side note, I actually think there's going to be a significant increase in the number of uninsured drivers on the road now with the way insurance rates are rising. And this is despite most police cars being fitted with ANPR.

And what was he stopped for - speeding? Because I can’t imagine the officer knew he was provisional or not on MOT

im afraid that he needed to for work is no excuse there are plenty of other ways to do so that don’t involve driving on a provisional

Sorry op but there is no excuse. He cannot drive legally, isn’t insured and the car may not be roadworthy. Why on earth does he think that is okay?

My friends old but well kept, low mileage car was written off by some twat who was uninsured. She was on a low income and that incident and not being able to get to work, pay another couple of grand to get a half decent replacement (on top of insurance payout). Plus replace her child seats immediately. It could have put her and her kids into financial straits because some bloke couldn’t be arsed to walk or cycle or get a bus. Entitled twat.

Why is it okay for him to lie and be above the law? When people like my friend above scrimp and save to ensure they do their MOT and insure their car on time.

It’s a him problem, not a we problem. He lacks honesty and integrity - and he doesn’t take responsibility for his poor choices.

He wants to tell the court that he took the car to "help" me because I'm 7 months pregnant and we have a disabled child at home

That's patently untrue. I wouldn't go down that route

Sounds like he regularly drives to / from work alone, therefore uninsured

Did you say the car has been impounded? If so they will not let you drive it away without an MoT unless you are going dirctly to a prebooked MoT.
You have to solve that one.

Your excuses make it worse not better, as it highlights he’s willing to regularly put others at risk. I can’t imagine a judge would view that very positively. He needs to accept responsibility without excuses.

@Littlegoth the OP didn't say he has previous?

But it's not a "slap on the wrist", those are the sentencing guidelines for that particular offence of no insurance. It would be very unusual for someone to receive separate points and fines for these three offences committed at the same time, usually only the most serious is used.

Yes, he could get disqualified for the no insurance, but he would have to meet the criteria for greater harm/higher culpability (eg causing an accident), or have significant previous, which it doesn't sound like he does.

And his licence won't necessarily get revoked either - lots of people hold points on a provisional which will then get transferred onto their main licence (when they get it). If you have a new licence and get points, you may have to take your test again but that doesn't apply here.

Of course he pleads guilty - there's no mitigation to this and nothing to lower the sentence. What an idiot.