NIP - Driving without due care and attention
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Update:
My wife received an offer for 3 points and a £100 fine for the careless driving offence. She called the number on the NIP and was told some very basic details although it didn't explain in full the reason why she was being prosecuted for the offence (i.e. there was no mention of the person stepping in to the road, only driving at excessive speed and it was mentioned in the statement that my wife made a gesture too). She didn't mention the gesture to me as she didn't think it was a big deal at the time, but it turned out to play an important part. Another option was for an officer to call her to talk through the allegation in more detail so she went for that option. My wife at this point had decided that having looked at the footage again that she'd take it on the chin and take the points and the fine.
We received a knock at the door over the weekend. It was the police, more specifically it was the individual in the dashcam footage. Obviously that explains that he was an off duty policeman at the time. We invited him in and he asked my wife if she knew why he was there.
Credit to my wife she said she was aware, she had reviewed the dashcam and concedes she was driving slightly faster than she should have been. Regarding the gesture, she was frustrated by him waving at her and shouldn't have made the gesture and was therefore sorry for doing so as it was unacceptable behavior. We had a bit of a laugh about it and how it was out of character for my wife.
The policeman explained she was actually lucky not to get charged with 2 offences: 1) driving without due care and attention as she took her hand off the wheel to make the gesture and 2) a public order offence for the gesture itself. The policeman said that even if the gesture hadn't been made, he thought she was driving too fast for the conditions and would have reported her anyway. He mentioned that he sees situations like this escalate out of control with road rage etc so feels this kind of education is important. Can't argue with that.
The policeman was very reasonable and said that because she admitted she was in the wrong and showed remorse he would drop the charge against her and to consider it a telling off and a warning. If she had played dumb or tried to justified her actions etc then he would not have dropped the charge.
I thought that was an incredibly effective way to deal with the situation. My wife said that even though she was relieved not to receive the points, it was more of a lesson/telling off as it was more personal. It also taught our son who was in the room at the time that honesty is the best policy and the best way to deal with situations like that. Sometimes these lessons are best coming from someone else so they actually take some notice.
A good outcome to a situation that probably should have been avoided. I'll have this in the back of my mind next time too
what a power trip top for that guy. Good that he let it go but taking a hand off the wheel is driving without due care? Lord help me next time I change gear! And making a gesture at someone who hasn’t identified themselves as an officer of the law? Hardly grounds for a oublic order offence and he only reported it to satisfy himself. What a knob.
Caporegime
Don't they need actual evidence to fine for excessive speed?
I agree and I'd be left in disbelief if this had happened to me.
I'd like to see how far a member of the public would get if they reported seeing a motorist they thought was driving too fast, gesturing at what they assumed to be them.
What an incredible waste of time and money.
I'm inclined to disagree, I thought it was a constructive way to deal with the offence. The officer was in our house for 7 minutes and the result was more worthwhile than her receiving points on her license and begrudgingly paying a fine.
She was in the wrong on both counts, both on her speed (@Burnsy2023 also said he thought she was driving faster than she should have been) and even though we've all done it many times, making a gesture probably isn't to be encouraged.
I can see where this thread may be headed so may I request it's closed now I've provided an update please?
She was in the wrong on both counts, both on her speed (@Burnsy2023 also said he thought she was driving faster than she should have been) and even though we've all done it many times, making a gesture probably isn't to be encouraged.
I can see where this thread may be headed so may I request it's closed now I've provided an update please?
I think it probably depends how excessive her speed was, there's no real reason it shouldn't be displayed on the dash cam though, especially if you're keeping the footage for any length of time.
I don't see how it could ever be proven by a bystander without your own footage being reviewed though.
I don't see how it could ever be proven by a bystander without your own footage being reviewed though.
This is a fair point, the speed would have been a useful addition. It's one of these (https://www.yitechnology.com/smart-dash-camera-c10/) which I bought a couple of years ago. The picture quality is fantastic but it is missing some of the advance features that would have been useful in this situation.
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