Initially the driver, from Gloucestershire, faced charges of driving on moorland or common land but the magistrate’s court has now reviewed the evidence and he faces the additional charge of dangerous driving.

The court felt that there was a “real danger to individuals and a substantial risk of damage to property, in particular, the track of the Snowdon Mountain Railway”

Covering all areas of Barnet, London and the Home Counties we can advise you on any road traffic offence that you may have. Our solicitors have a specialiaty and years of experience of dealing with speeding, careless and dangerous driving, drink driving and causing death by dangerous driving. We can represent you in court if you have a summons to a magistrates or crown court.

Barnet EN5 including Arkley, Barnet, East Barnet, Hertfordshire, High Barnet, High Barnet Station, New Barnet, New Barnet Station, Oakleigh, Oakleigh Park Station, Potters Bar Parkfield, Shenley and Underhill. Dancers Hill, Bentley Heath, Dyrham Park, Wrotham Park, Kitts End, Saffron Green, Rowley Green and Barnet Gate.

The court heard how officers used the plane to photograph the road markings at a junction on the A55 to provide evidence against a driver who was prosecuted for going over the white lines whilst using his mobile phone. The estimated cost to the tax payer of using the plane is in the region of £1500. The court had dismissed the mobile phone offence and the driver had appealed the road marking offence where the Judge overturned the allegation, commenting on the “serious waste of public monies”.

This surcharge will be added whether or not any other form of punishment is imposed. The reasoning for introducing this surcharge is for the money raised to be used for the purpose of adding to funds made available for victim and witness support services.  At present the surcharge will only be used in circumstances where a fine can be ordered as part of the punishment for the offence.

There is no great legal or conceptual reason for only imposing this surcharge on offences where a fine is an available punishment; rather, until a new computer/accounting system can be developed it all needs to run through the fines system already in place.

Once new accounting/computer systems are in place, it appears likely that this surcharge will be introduced for all offences.  Best predictions suggest this will be in 2008/9.

There may be scope for arguing that this surcharge should not apply to road traffic offences and the lawyers in Motor Defence Team are best placed to advise you on those arguments. The surcharge can range from nil to the £15 and is subject to the defendant’s means.

How will this affect me?

That on making the Statutory Declaration your record is cleared of any punishment etc and the fine is also removed.

What does that mean?

That means that the prosecution authority (CPS/DVLA etc) would have a further six months, from the date of the Statutory Declaration, to investigate and re-issue the summons. Therefore, the authorities have another go at prosecuting you; an important note is that part of making the Statutory Declaration is that you have to give your correct name and address to the Court.

How does this affect me?

Even if you do all that is required of you but the case against you is still adjourned, your costs will still continue to rise. This is important to note especially if you are in the majority of the population and would have to pay for your legal assistance privately. However if the case against you is discontinued (dropped) or you win the case, then you can apply for your reasonable costs to be refunded.

What does that mean?

Having your reasonable costs refunded means that you are likely to recover most, but not always all, of your outlay.  The level of recovery, as it is termed, is set by the Court. Our Cost Recovery Team could be able to assist you in this matter.

The cyclist was on a training run in Croatia when Police pulled him over claiming that he was holding up the traffic and had therefore committed an offence. At court the cyclist informed them that he was travelling faster than the cars around him, with an average speed of 20mph.

The plan is to equip drivers with cameras to survey households and see if they are littering their lawns, if photo evidence proves that a rubbish violation has occurred the image will be downloaded to the central ticketing office and an automated letter sent out requesting payment of a fine within 15 days. If left unpaid, the matter will be taken to court.