Safe Speed Forums

I wonder if anyone has any ideas where I stand on this as its been sort of hanging over me...

About 5/6 years ago someone else was driving my car and got flashed by a speed camera. I got sent the NIP and was asked to give driver details. I didn't return it within the time and i think I then either got another letter saying that as I hadn't done so they were assuming the driver was me and therefore I needed to send my licence and the money for the fine.

I'd recently moved and couldnt find my licence, so kept waiting while I looked for it. Eventually other events overtook this in priority ( a VERY difficult time in my life ) and I forgot about it for some time. However I continued to live at that address for another 2 years and didn't receive anything else about it.

I have since applied for a replacement licence 3 years ago which came back with no points on it (I fully expected it to come back with 3 from this! ) and still heard nothing. Although I am now at a new address this is the address on my licence. I have also been checked by the criminal records bureau in respect of my job twice in the last 5 years and nothing has come up as an issue.

I'm therefore wondering if somehow this has just been written off? Or if I'm still likely to face consequences. I know it seems ok but it is sort of hanging over me unresolved. I'm happy to pay and accept points if necessary but don't really know how to do so!

Any views or knowledge on the law regarding this?

Hi Barnicle.

I think you, or that someone else, got lucky. Court proceedings have to commence within about 6 months of the offence, so if your registered address was indeed correct for the 2 years afterwards and you didn't hear anything then I guess your case must have been dropped.

However,

Don't be tempted to rely on not replying to NIPs you get these days. The SCP are a focussed, well-oiled, money making machine; there's now a specialised legal team which helps the SCPs with their cases. Not replying to today's NIPs is much more likely to result with a court summons.

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Views expressed are personal opinions and are not necessarily shared by the Safe Speed campaign

hI barnicle.


Steve ist quite right in reply to you.


One thing though. You must inform DVLA of change of address. You can get fine for not doing so.

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Indeed Wildy.
To add to that, those who don't keep their registrations details up to date and get NIPs or summons which they subsequently don't respond to, will nowadays be detected and pulled over by real police (using ANPR technology) and all those outstanding issues will be dealt with, but in a harsher manner.
It's not worth trying it on (I'm saying this just in case anyone is tempted by your luck Barny).

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Views expressed are personal opinions and are not necessarily shared by the Safe Speed campaign

Thanks for the help

I think the address on my old licence (the one I lost may have been wrong at the time (having just moved there)) but they were able to find me from the vehicle reg to send the NIP so I'm sure they'd have sent the court summons to the same address and I continued to live there for at least 2 years.

Feel slightly better if there is a 6 month limit on it, although I wonder why they didn't take it further...?!

While I'm here, what are the SCP? just so I know!

For quite a while many SCPs were overloaded and left themselves too little time to process stragglers... victims of their own success. Back in the late nineties and early noughties brazening it out - simply noty responding to any motoring-related NIP from an SCP was the most successful method of license preservation and revenue loss minimisation. It was typically double bubble on points and fine if it made it to court but far fewer than half of non-returns ever did at that time. As Steve says though, that particular avenue has been well and truly closed.


SCP = Speed Camera Partnership / Safety Camera Partnership (the latter name is clearly a misnomer as you will gather if you read this board in depth). Affectionately known here collectively as the Scamerati.