Failure to furnish information / Failure to identify the driver

It may come as a surprise (until it’s too late!) that you can be prosecuted and receive 6 penalty points on your licence for failing to identify the driver of your vehicle when requested to do so by the police.

If you’ve received a notice of intended prosecution, then the following information should be of great value to you, and could lead to the prevention of 6 points being endorsed onto your licence. If however you have found this page at a stage where you have received a summons to answer an allegation of failing to identify the driver then don’t worry; there is still a great deal that our expert failure to furnish information solicitors can do for you.

Call our free motoring law helpline on 0330 33 22 770 to discuss your case with an expert motoring law solicitor who specialises in failure to furnish information cases.

The law on Failure to Furnish Information

In most instances, when a motoring offence (such as speeding) is committed, a notice of intended prosecution is sent to the registered keeper of the vehicle. The notice is usually sent to the keeper of the vehicle within 14 days of the offence being committed (however there are some exceptions).

If the requirement is addressed to you, then you have 28 days to respond to it. If you fail to name the person who was driving the vehicle at the time of the alleged offence within 28 days then you will be guilty of failing to furnish information.

A conviction for failing to furnish information will land you with an automatic penalty of 6 points onto your driving licence, along with a fine of up to £1000. Even worse, those extra points on your licence could result in you totting up leading to a six month ban from driving as a result.

***A word of caution:  if you have received a notice of intended Prosecution and are considering attempting to avoid the penalty even though you were actually driving the car when the offence was committed……. don’t!  – identifying someone who was not in fact driving at the relevant time could result in the Crown Prosecution Service pursuing you for attempting to pervert the course of justice which is a far more serious offence and could result in a prison sentence. Why run the risk when there are many honest and legal defences for failing to identify the driver available?***

How our Specialist Driving Offence Solicitors can help you:

Factual defences for failure to furnish information offences:

If you absolutely cannot be sure who was driving the vehicle at the time of the alleged offence then It may be that you have a defence of reasonable diligence. The evidential requirements for this defence are relatively high, however if you can show (through reference to diaries etc) that it was not reasonably possible for you to identify who was driving at the relevant time then you should plead not guilty to this offence. If your evidence is accepted at Court then you will be found not guilty.

It might be that receiving a summons for this offence is the first piece of documentation which you have received. If you did not receive the original notice then it is likely that you should plead not guilty to this offence. Our expert motoring law solicitors have extensive expertise in defending allegations of failing to furnish information where the original notice was never received. It may be that the notice was lost in the post, or never even sent out to you in the first place. Either way, if you did not received the notice through no fault of your own then how could you possibly have been expected to furnish the information in the first place?

Factual defences to failure to furnish information offences typically involve gathering additional evidence (such as obtaining witness statements from neighbours and relatives), and cross-examining prosecution witnesses in court, along with giving an evidence-in-chief (a controlled way of explaining your evidence) in the witness box. Engaging an expert motoring lawyer who knows the courts and motoring laws as we do to conduct this process can massively increase your chances of success.

If you’re thinking of pleading Not Guilty to failing to furnish information on factual grounds and would like to discuss the possibility of our involvement on your case, then call our motoring law helpline 0330 33 22 770 to speak to one of our expert failure to furnish information solicitors today. 

If during your call you like what you hear and would like us to defend you, we’ll be able to commence immediate legal work on your behalf. We will also consider combining your factual defence with a number of proven technical defences to strengthen your case.

Failure to furnish information technicalities and legal “loopholes”

At Ashworth Motoring Law, we know that mistakes can happen! Letters can be misplaced or forgotten about, and some people choose to bury their head in the sand, hoping that the offence will go away. There may still be a way out of this mess, even if the failure to respond to the notice is as a result of your inaction.

The time limits and procedures that surround requiring information from drivers are very stringent and if breached could result in the Prosecution withdrawing their case against you.

In every failure to furnish information case which we act on, we will consider the application of these motoring loopholes to your case, and could likely win your case if one is identified. Our motoring law experts have won many cases solely as a a result of identifying these technicalities.

Pleading Guilty to a Failing to identify the driver offence? Damage limitation

If the worst comes to worst, and being convicted of this offence could mean that you ” tot up” and face a six month ban from driving, then we urge you to contact one of our expert motoring law solicitors as soon as possible. There is a great deal that we can still to save your driving licence.

Please take a look at our “totting up” page for further information or call one of our specialist driving offence solicitors today on 0330 33 22 770 to find out how we can save your driving licence.

Caution for new drivers who are charged with a failure to furnish information offence!

A conviction for this offence will almost certainly lead to the revocation of your driving licence by the DVLA unless you act now.  Please take a look our special section for new drivers who have passed their test within the last two years to see how a failure to furnish information offence could affect you, or call one of our specialist motoring law solicitors today on 0330 33 22 770 to find out how we can help.

Call our Motoring Law Helpline for Free Legal Advice on your Failure to Furnish Information Offence from one of our Expert Motoring Law Solicitors

Our failure to furnish information experts are always happy to talk through your options and provide expert advice and guidance which could secure a phenomenal result in your case.