Failure to nominate the driver of a motor vehicle

(also sometimes called failure to provide information, failure to nominate, failure to furnish)

Section 172 of the 1988 Road Traffic Act places a burden on the owner of a motor vehicle to give information as to the identity of the driver of the vehicle at the time of an alleged offence, such as speeding.

The offence of failing to nominate a driver at the time of an alleged offence used to carry a maximum of three-penalty points and a £1000 fine.

However, in response to the increased number of motorists using this penalty as an effective method of capping liability, the government has introduced new legislation to increase the number of penalty points to six for the same offence. This legislation came into force on 1 October 2007.

The law states that you are required to identify the driver of a vehicle when it the driver is alleged to have committed an offence.

This is a paperwork offence, and it is a shock to many drivers that it can carry a greater penalty than the speeding offence, especially when police letter may have been just lost or misplaced, and this is the only blameworthy thing. Our motoring solicitors have an excellent record in being able to convince courts that our clients should not be found guilty of this offence, and we expect to win these cases if we are instructed early enough. For more information call one of our motoring solicitors on freephone 0808 139 4880.

What if I do not know who was driving the vehicle?

If this is the case, then the law states that the owner or keeper of the vehicle must have exercised ‘reasonable diligence’ to find out the identity of the driver. Reasonable diligence just means making a real effort to find out who was driving.

If all the above checks, enquiries and investigations have been made into all the possible drivers and still there is no way in which the identity of the driver can be found out, the keeper of the vehicle and any potential drivers will usually be cross-examined by the prosecution solicitor or barrister.

If cross-examination has taken place and there is still no way to say for sure who was driving the vehicle, then the law says that the keeper of the vehicle cannot be held responsible. This will only be possible if the court is satisfied that the keeper has been diligent in trying to find out who was driving.

Strategy in Failure to Give Information Cases

One of the most frustrating aspects of this offence is that it has the potential of criminalising a bad memory. People who are law-abiding and respectful find themselves in the criminal courts. However, the fact that people accused of this offence often have no previous convictions often makes it easier to defend them. This can be done in a number of ways:

1. Character witnesses. Where truthfulness is an issue, we will normally ask motoring law clients to suggest friends or associates who may be prepared to come to court. We will talk through the suggestions and select the most suitable people to attend.
2. Character letters – where character witnesses cannot attend, the right type of character reference letter should be presented to the magistrates. This works best when used alongside ‘live’ character witnesses who attend in person.
3. Presenting background information about the defendant’s respectability to the court, both in court and in document form – i.e. employment, qualifications, etc.

Defence costs orders

Orders for the court to pay back at least the majority of defence costs are normal in cases of failure to give information cases, if the case is dropped, or the defendant receives a not guilty verdict. This happens after the case, and we submit the file back to the court for them to assess exactly how much to pay.

If you have received a summons for failure to give information as to the identity of the driver, or any other motoring offence, contact us to discuss your options.

If you wish to speak to one of our specialist solicitors, please contact us on freephone 0808 139 4880. We have offices in London, Manchester, Salford & Birmingham and operate nationally.