Bit of a long newsletter this week, but I think you’ll like it, and you just might sleep a little better at night by knowing this…
When you get a Speeding Ticket, most people think that there is only one of three things that can happen:
1) You accept the points and fine;
2) You fight it (either pre-court or at court) and win;
3) You fight it and loose.
However, there is a fourth VERY IMPORTANT possibility:
4) You accept that the alleged offence happened and plead Mitigation.
What does this mean?
Many people inadvertently incriminate themselves before speaking to a Lawyer. This is one of our Lawyer Matthews pet hates, and it’s why we always ask DriveProtect Members to contact us the moment they receive a speeding ticket.
On another occasion, you might not actually want to contest that the alleged offence happened, but points on your licence would mean a ban due to the totting up process.
In these cases, your strategy should be Mitigation!
Here’s how it works:
Simply, you persuade the magistrates or District Judge (DJ) that you are a jolly decent chap (or lady) and that giving you a harsh sentence would not really be in the public interest.
Instead a little slap on the wrist should be just fine.
I’ve seen this in action and heard stories many times and it’s also worked wonderfully for me personally in the past (not on a speeding case but something else), as I mention below.
Imagine a 1 week ban and a £60 fine compared to a 6 month ban and a £775 fine.
These were two real cases in which the people involved had committed basically the same offence.
In one case the gentleman went in with an attitude of “screw you!”, and in the other the Lawyer talked to the Magistrates about how the man was an upstanding citizen, had done this charity work, belonged to that club and so on.
It reminded me of the time I first met our Lawyer Matthew.
He was representing me in a personal matter that I won’t bore you with, but was quite serious. He told the Magistrates about how I owned Talex and it was sold in Halfords (at the time), how I had seen someone get stabbed the week before and called an ambulance and so on.
Everything he told them was true but the point is that they lapped it up.
“Oh, he’s not an oike, no need to punish him too much”.
Whether this attitude is right of wrong is irrelevant.
The important fact is that *it works*!
So if you’ve dropped yourself in it, or are facing a ban, fear not. The success rate with Mitigation is really high :-)
And if you’re a Member at DriveProtect at the time of the alleged offence, it costs virtually nothing to be represented by us at Court.
All the best,
Adam
P.S. If you’ve got questions about DriveProtect you can request a call back from the Membership Team here.
I am a drive protect member and have a simple question that does not involve speeding or points on licence.
My question is “am I right in thinking that with a parking ticket on a public road, the owner or keeper is responsible for, whilst parking on private land i.e. retail park or supermarket car park it is the DRIVER who is responsible?”
Hi Jim, you are right in essence. The law on parking tickets/clamps on private land is more in our favour and is a purely civil matter. The issue is that they are much more wheel clamp happy on private land because it’s PURELY a commercial exercise, as apposed to councils who – in theory – are trying to keep their roads clear. If there is something specific we can help you with then can you drop an email to the Lawyers. The email address is in your Membership pack. Cheers, Adam
I am astounded by what I have read