EE1W .Ssir119 1-110H DRIVING LICENCES Drivers falling foul of wrongful
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convictions Photo finished Drivers are being wrongly convicted of offences under the Road Traffic Act when their photo ID has expired Words: Chris Tindall LAWYERS ARE WARNING that incorrect prosecutions are becoming widespread, with an increasing number of drivers falling foul of offences under the Road Traffic Act as old-style licences are abolished.
A problem over the interpretation of the law emerged earlier this year when a motorist appeared at Lincoln Magistrates' Court accused of having no insurance, after police said her licence had expired because her photo ID was out of date.
She was incorrectly prosecuted under section 87 of the act, which relates to possessing no licence. Her lawyer discovered the mistake and she was acquitted.
Lincoln-based transport law specialist Michael Page says a prosecution should have been brought under sec tion 99 of the act: failing to update information on a licence (see box), and he is concerned that thousands of other wrongful prosecutions have already been brought.
"Even if the photo has passed the 10-year [expiry] date, and more than that, even if the address is out of date because you have moved, you still have a valid driver licence," he says.
Specialist training Page thinks the problem has arisen because of a lack of specialist training among the police, Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and magistrates' courts, and he says hauliers are also affected. "We act for a very large retailer whose lorries run into Europe and back. One of their drivers was stopped at Dover docks and his photo was out of date."
The LGV driver was delayed while his employer had to demonstrate to port authorities that he was still insured. "The worse thing for a truck driver is being pulled over, producing the plastic LGV licence and [being accused of] not having insurance," he says.
"A lot of people have been wrongly convicted. They need to get it set aside, or appealed. People need to be more aware of it. If they are stopped and the police talk about seizing their vehicle, they can't."
Anton Balkitis, a partner at Rothera Dowson solicitors, says the planned abolition of paper licences by 2015 means many more drivers could unwittingly breach section 99 of the act and must therefore keep an eye on expiry dates.
Unlike breaching section 87, it is a non-endorsable offence, but there are still fines involved. "It is fundamentally important that prosecutions, if they are to be brought, are under the correct sec