When a driver is alleged to have driven over the limit, he or she will receive a notice of intended prosecution (section 172 notice). This notice requires the registered keeper of the vehicle to identify the driver at the time of the alleged offence. The registered keeper has 28 days to respond to this notice, failing to do so could lead to a further offence being committed of failing to furnish information which could result in 6 penalty points and a financial penalty.
If the vehicle is registered to a company or leased by a company the s172 notice will be sent to the registered address of the company. If the company fails to identify the driver the company are likely to receive a Court summons and a large financial penalty if found guilty of failing to name the driver.
There are defences to this offence if the company can show that it did not receive the request or it can demonstrate that it used reasonable diligence to identify the driver.
It is therefore important for a company to have in place a good system of record keeping so that the driver can be identified if requested by a s172 notice. If the company is unable to name the driver they will be unable to run the defence.
We often represent companies who have been accused of this offence, it is important if you have received a court summons to contact us so that we can talk through your company’s record keeping and to explore whether there is a defence to raise.
We are also able to meet in person or meet virtually to look at your record keeping processes and what you have in place to reply to section 172 notices so that reduce the chances that you will be summonsed to Court.
