Figures released in July 2020 showed that, in 2019, there were 1,748 reported road deaths and 153,315 casualties of all severities. While these figures may be alarming, careful driving can help to reduce the amount of accidents on the UK’s roads. If you are unfortunate enough to be involved in some form of road accident or charged with a motoring offence, then it is always beneficial to have specialist legal support on hand.
What to do if you are charged with a motoring offence
There are a number of reasons why you might be found to have committed a driving offence. If you are facing penalties or a driving disqualification, then road traffic solicitors may be able to assist you during your case. They will be able to:
- Assist you at the police station
- Represent you at the Magistrates Courts
- Represent you at the Crown Courts
- Make an application for Legal Aid to cover the costs of the defence
Specialist motoring offence solicitors will be able to help you with:
- Disqualification
- Speeding offences
- Drink or drug driving
- Driving without insurance
- Driving without a driving licence
- Dangerous driving
- Driving without due care and attention
Disqualification can be the result of a serious road traffic offence, but more often than not a person is disqualified for reaching 12 penalty points within a three-year period. This is called a ‘totting-up’ disqualification. However, you can usually argue against a disqualification if you can persuade the Court that you or someone else may suffer ‘Exceptional hardship.’
There are unfortunately many ways in which you can receive points on your licence and ultimately face the loss of your driver’s licence. These include:
- Failing to stop after an accident
- Driving while disqualified by order of court
- Driving without due care and attention
- Failing to provide a specimen for breath tests
- Using a vehicle uninsured against third party risks
- Failure to provide identification
- Racing or exceeding the speed limit
- Failing to comply with traffic light signals and/or traffic signs
What to do if you’re involved in a road traffic accident
Road traffic accidents are unfortunately still quite common in the UK. The road traffic accident claims process can seem complicated, but the right legal help is always invaluable in helping you. You can claim for an accident even if you weren’t driving a car. It doesn’t matter if you were a passenger, pedestrian or cyclist at the time of the incident – if you were injured unfairly, you deserve compensation. The process of claiming compensation for a road traffic accident includes:
- Attending a free consultation
- Gathering information to build your case
- Rehabilitation
- Calculating compensation
Getting started sooner than later will make things easier.
Specialist road traffic solicitors will often be able to offer a 24-hour service for anyone that has been involved in an accident and therefore needs assistance. Additionally, they can also help in scenarios in which you have purchased a car with outstanding finance.