Bad driving!!

[Carol.H]

I am being prosecuted by police for driving without due care & attention.

The car I ‘endangered’ has footage on their dash cam. of my bad driving. Apparently I was driving in a haphazard way & forced the other car to mount the pavement to avoid an accident with me..
I have asked to see the footage but police refuse. They said I can only see it if I go to court & they advised me to pay a fine instead.
Are the police within their rights not to show me footage of my 'bad' driving or am I entitled to see it.

I remember nothing of the incident but I do remember sneezing due to a heavy cold - maybe that made me swerve a little but I saw nothing of any other car mounting the pavement.

Whether I allow myself to be prosecuted or whether I go on a course I just want to see the video of this incident.

[EXC]

I suspect the police are under no obligation to disclose the footage but I'll ask HandyAndy and islandgirl

[Manxman]

You say you are "being prosecuted" but haven't really explained what stage of the process you are at.

First stage is you receive a Notice of Intended Prosecution (NIP) and a s172 request to identify the driver.

Second stage - if eligible - is that either (a) you will be offered a driver education course with no points, or (b) you will get a Conditional Offer of a Fixed Penalty (COFP) with three points.

If you decline to accept either (a) or (b) at stage two, you will be charged with driving without due care and attention and the matter will go to court.

From the little you have told us I assume you are at the point where you have received a COFP or the offer of a course, and you have yet to decide whether to accept it or decline it. Yes?

If that is where you are then you have not yet been charged with anything and you are not yet being prosecuted - it is simply alleged that you have committed an offence.

What the police have told you is basically correct. Until you are charged you are not legally entitled to see any of the evidence they will rely on to prosecute you. And you won't be charged until after you have declined to accept their COFP (or what you've called a "fine").

Whether to accept the offer of a course or a COFP (without having seen the evidence against you) or to decline both and go to court (but see the evidence against you) is a decision for you alone. How you approach it depends largely on how confident you are that your driving was perfectly OK despite the allegation, and how risk averse you are. If you go to court and are found guilty it will end up being significantly more expensive than either a course or a COFP.


NB1 - If you do accept the COFP make sure you read very carefully what you have to do in order to accept it. Read all the accompanying instructions.

NB2 - Many people don't like the idea of courses because they mistakenly believe they will be criticised or talked down to. I attended a speed awareness course 20 months ago and I found it really helpful and quite interesting. It avoided points on my licence and was a lot cheaper than turning it down

[Carol.H]

From the little you have told us I assume you are at the point where you have received a COFP or the offer of a course, and you have yet to decide whether to accept it or decline it. Yes?

Yes.

[islandgirl]

https://www.sentencingcouncil.org.uk...and-attention/
Here are the guidelines for sentencing. I do not know what you have been offered. The choice is down to you as above

[Manxman]

Yes.

So you have a choice between:

(a) a driver education course costing about £100(?) and no penalty points; or

(b) a COFP costing about £100(?) plus 3 or more points; or

(c) declining both (a) and (b) and go to court where - if you lose - it will cost you perhaps up to £1000 or more (fine plus costs) plus 3 or more penalty points.

How confident are you that the prosecution would not be able to prove their case?