Successful Appeal Against Sentence to the Crown Court (Road Traffic (New Drivers) Act 1995)
The driver in this appeal, represented by barrister, Harry Bowyer, had been sentenced for careless driving which involved the imposition of 7 penalty points. The driver had crashed into a car from behind whilst distracted by banging noises coming from his trailer. It was plain that the Magistrates had no intention of disqualifying the driver and said as much – the parties at the lower court had not realised that the two year period during which a new driver is at risk of the revocation of his/her licence runs from the date of the accident rather than conviction.
It was submitted to the Crown Court that the driver in this case was an exceptional young man who had acquired his C+E HGV licence before the age of 19. He had an entirely clean licence over what amounted to tens if not hundreds of thousands of kilometres both in Europe and the UK. The Judge and Justices agreed that the effect of 7 pp on the licence was disproportionate for a driver of this calibre. The appeal was allowed and 5pp were substituted.
Case Details
Case Name: Successful Appeal Against Sentence to the Crown Court (Road Traffic (New Drivers) Act 1995)Case Date: August 2019
Case Type (info): Magistrates Court