Poor postal services due to the pandemic are helping road traffic defendants
The pandemic has put a big strain on UK postal services. With staff members becoming ill and having to self-isolate this has led to reduced services across Royal Mail and other courier companies.
This has resulted in instances where post has been delivered days or even weeks after the date it was supposed to arrive.
How late arriving mail can help your road traffic defence?
The Interpretation Act governs this area of law. It states that properly addressed and prepaid letters are deemed to have been served at the time that the letter would have been delivered in the ordinary course of post. This has been interpreted as the second working day after the date it was posted. If evidence can be given to challenge the date of a letter’s actual delivery, it can result in certain types of road traffic prosecutions being contested.
We have had numerous decisions over the last year which have resulted in our clients avoiding prosecution for road traffic offences. They have been found not guilty because official correspondences have not been delivered to them in reasonable time by mail.
The law in relation to the requirement for Notices of Intended Prosecution is contained in Section 1 of the Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988 but it is complicated. If you believe you have not been given enough time to respond to your notice, or the chance to contest the notice has passed completely you should seek representation from a solicitor with experience of this issue immediately.
