Having caught by over-speeding regardless of the reasons can be stressful. Not only that it’ll cost you some couple of bucks, but it’ll add up to your driving history through your driver’s license.
When that happens, to lessen the stress and to maximize your time, you’d be thinking that maybe, you’ll be needing a solicitor for speeding offences. But sometimes, not all offenses will require you to hire a solicitor. Some offenses involve possible fines and no other major penalties, if possible fines are the only problem, then probably you don’t need to have a solicitor. Generally speaking, it’s not a money-wiser move to pay for a solicitor’s legal advice to make an appeal if the offenses are light enough that you’ll be needing to pay for the possible fines.
Should you go to the court by yourself? Or should you spend some bucks for a piece of legal advice? Well, it depends on the severity of the offenses you have committed. Below are some important notes you need to know before hiring a solicitor.
When to Contact a Solicitor
There are three factors you need to remember before hiring a solicitor if you commit any motoring offenses:
- Offenses that have penalty points
- Offenses that are equivalent to your driver’s license disqualification
- Offenses that might involve imprisonment
With the following factors mentioned above, you should always hire a solicitor with you if the offenses involve imprisonment. The same scenarios also apply if the offenses involve driving disqualification or revoking your driver’s license forever. It is highly recommended to hire a solicitor for speeding offences if the over-speeding offense you commit involves another party, or someone’s hurt because of the offense.
When to Face It Alone
Remember this, if your offense is non-endorsable, fixed-penalty only issues, then it is best for you to conduct research and go to the court alone. There are several offenses that involve a fine up to £500-£1000 and above, but no driving penalty points:
- Failure to follow a box junction indicators – besides from allowing an emergency vehicle to pass-through, if an officer caught you right in the middle of the box, then you don’t need to worry, just pay the fixed-fine only and you’re good.
- A sudden stop of the vehicle on the side of the road (the hard shoulder) – hard shoulders are reserved for temporary vehicle’s malfunction and not just you want to stop or halt.
- Sounding Your Horn Without a Reason – horn is there to give a warning sign to other vehicles that you are present on the road while your vehicle is moving. It is also stated in the Highway Code that an individual should not blow their horn aggressively. In addition, you are also not allowed to blow your horn while driving in certain areas and time. If your vehicle is not moving, avoid blowing your horn. If you’re driving in a certain area between 11:30 pm onwards until 7 am, you should also avoid blowing your horn unless there’s another vehicle that imposes danger.
Sample light offenses that mentioned above will not require you to hire a solicitor. But if you feel that you really need a piece of legal advice for your peace of mind, then contact a law firm right away.
