Legal news archive

DEC 03

NEW MEASURES TO TACKLE UNLICENSED DRIVING IN THE UK

The Government have revealed the results of an in depth investigation into the extent of unlicensed driving in the UK. There are thought to be around 1 million drivers on the road that have either no licence, road tax or insurance compared with 32 million law abiding car users.

Unlicensed drivers are up to nine times more likely to have an accident than a licensed driver and are involved in about 7,000 accidents involving personal injury every year.

To combat this menace the Government have introduced new technology aimed at identifying offenders more effectively than ever before. The system is called "Automatic Number Plate Recognition" (ANPR).

ANPR is basically camera technology consisting of image based scanning equipment linked to a police computer network. The car registration number is captured by the camera and information about the vehicle relayed to officers. The cameras are mobile and can be installed in police vehicles or cctv as well as being used independently on any road. Police officers will be able to identify unlicensed vehicles and act immediately  to deal with the perpetrators.

The Government hopes this technology will play a vital role in enforcing the laws on unlicensed driving. For more information on this subject click here and go to the "news releases" section for the Department of Transport report on the investigation. 

NOV 03

UPDATE ON THE LAW REGARDING THE USE OF MOBILE PHONES WHILST DRIVING

The following is an excerpt from the Department of Transport official website:

"In a new regulation due to come into force on 1 December 2003, it is a specific offence to use a hand-held phone, or similar device, when driving. The penalty is a £30 fixed penalty or up to £1,000 on conviction in court (£2,500 for drivers of goods vehicles, buses or coaches). Drivers still risk prosecution (for failure to have proper control) if they use hands-free phones when driving".

Read the full text available on the Governments official  website by clicking here.

OCT 03

FIXED FEES England & Wales

Rule 45 of the Civil Procedure rules will be introduced to England & Wales from October 2003 This rule incorporates an agreement of scale costs for RTA compensation claims settled where the value of the claim is less then £10,000.

The intention is to streamline simple accident claims and avoid unnecessary arguments on costs that have plagued the system for many years.

This rule change should allow for more focused less adversarial personal injury claim negotiations with both sides focusing on efficient processes rather than cost building or time wasting exercises. Personal injury victims should benefit with quicker settlements and a more effective all round service from the solicitors and the compensation insurer.

DRIVING USING MOBILE PHONES

In August this year the government announced moves to ban the use of mobile phones whilst driving. The Transport Minister David Jamieson announced a 12 week consultation followed by potentially swift implementation of the new laws.

The plans outlined included - fixed penalty fines of £30, up to £1,000 on conviction by a court, reinforced for the first time by penalty point licence endorsements. Text messaging will also be illegal.

The only exception, reluctantly granted because it cannot be enforced, will be hands -free systems where no manual control is needed.

There was some negativity from motorist organisations who believe that any new laws will be difficult to police. 

Official statistics do not record the cause of an accident, so no official figure can be put on the number of road accidents caused through the use of mobile phones while driving. But the number of drivers using mobiles is said to have risen from 1.5% to 2.2% in 18 months.

Transport officials predict that the changes could see the issuing of 100,000 fixed penalty notices a year, along with 5,000 prosecutions.