Our client, a professional HGV driver, appeared at court for a trial involving three separate offences: careless driving, failing to stop, and failing to report an accident. While manoeuvring a 26-tonne lorry, he had accidentally collided with a parked car. Although he followed company policy by logging the incident and ensuring the owner’s insurance was settled within weeks, he still faced prosecution. As a commercial driver whose livelihood relied entirely on his licence, a conviction on all three counts risked a severe “totting-up” driving ban.
The position was that the client accepted his driving on that day fell below the standard, but he firmly contested the charges of failing to stop and report. Our team negotiated with the Crown Prosecution Service, presenting evidence of the prompt insurance pay out and the client’s compliance with his company’s accident policy. We successfully convinced the prosecution to drop the contested charges entirely. Our client entered a guilty plea to careless driving alone, and no evidence was offered on the remaining failure to stop and report counts.
Following our mitigation highlighting his previously clean driving record and his personal responsibilities as the registered driver for his disabled mother-in-law, the Magistrates gave him maximum credit. Instead of a ban, his licence was endorsed with just 3 penalty points alongside a managed financial penalty, keeping a dedicated professional on the road.