What is being used to accuse you of the offence. Was it from a video, were you stopped by the police?
The NIP has to state the offence as well as the date and place so there must be evidence somewhere, and careless driving covers a very broad range of offences;
An NIP is just as it says on the tin "A Notice"
It is not saying that anyone will be prosecuted, it is in effect advising that further enquiries are being made an d that someone "May" be prosecuted for the alleged offence as stated. There is no requirement for any evidence to be disclosed at this stage because there may be no evidence, it comes down to the fact that there is an allegation and the driver is being notified that a prosecution may follow. It is called procedure and it must be followed for any subsequent prosecution to have any success of a conviction.
The offences that require and NIP are
- dangerous driving.
- careless and inconsiderate driving.
- failing to stop after an accident and/or to report an accident.
- speeding.
- Failing to conform to an obligatory traffic sign
- Careless or dangerous cycling
If the NIP is not given verbally at the time of the alleged offence, then a written NIP is required and this is where people spout myths and misinformation.
The time limit for a written warning is 14 days from the date of the offence.
It is important to note, however, that it is only the registered keeper that is required to receive such a warning within 14 days. For example, if a vehicle is leased, the leasing company (lessor) will be the registered keeper or in the event it is a company vehicle than it is they who must receive the warning within 14 days.
The lessor or company should then identify the driver (lessee or employee) and so it is common, therefore, for the driver to receive his own warning after the 14 days has elapsed, but this does not invalidate the warning. If, however, the driver is the registered keeper and receives a written Section 1 warning after 14 days have elapsed then the prosecution against the driver may be fatally flawed.
The NIP must be sent with sufficient time for it to have a reasonable chance of arriving within 14 days of the alleged offence (hence why I said in my earlier post that the postmark is as important as the date on the NIP itself) Once it is posted, it is deemed as having been served, so provided it is sent within this reasonable time period, even it arrives several weeks later because of a failure by the post office, it remains valid.
If the date shows that it was unlikely or incapable of being delivered within the 14 days, then there is the statutory defence.
Undertaking is not an offence therefore no NIP is required unless..... It constitutes a section 2 or section 3 offence (dangerous or carless) which very often is insufficient on its own to fall into that category (on a Motorway for example)
