In order to convict a person of any offence, the prosecution must be able to prove beyond reasonable doubt that the accused person committed the offence. In the case of vehicle based offences, the keeper of the vehicle should always be able to identify who was in control of the vehicle. Failure to furnish these details is governed by the section 172 of the Road Traffic Act of 1988.
When a motorist is believed to have committed road traffic offences, such as speeding or dangerous driving, they may be issued with a Notice of Intended Prosecution. If the driver is not stopped by the police at the time that the offence was committed, then the Notice of Intended Prosecution will actually be sent to the registered keeper of the vehicle that was involved in the offence. This notice includes a requirement for information to be sent to the Prosecutor within 14 days of issuance of the Notice of Intended Prosecution.
Identifying the driver of the vehicle can actually hinge on a number of technicalities, so it may be possible to launch a technical defence if it is not possible to identify who was driving the vehicle. There are a number of discrepancies surrounding the terms “keeper of the vehicle” and “registered keeper”. Your legal assistant will be able to help you to understand these discrepancies and they will talk to you about how the discrepancies may help or hinder your case.
If a keeper chooses to dispute who was driving at the time that the alleged offence was committed, the burden of proof then falls to the defendant. The Defence must seek to show that they have acted with ‘reasonable diligence’ to identify who the driver was at the time that the offence was committed. If the keeper is able to provide information about the person who was driving the vehicle, then they may be prosecuted for the offence instead.
A keeper who is not able to show that they have acted with reasonable diligence to identify the driver of the vehicle may be liable to prosecution for a Failure to Furnish Information. This offence is punishable by an endorsement of 6 penalty points on the licence of the keeper. A fine may also be issued.