The team here at Caines Law is made up of specialist motoring law experts, with extensive experience in handling all types of driving offence cases, delivering the highest standards of representation for all our clients.
Most recently, we took on a case where the defendant was facing prosecution for dangerous driving after a member of the public saw a livestream on TikTok of them behind the wheel and reported it to the police.
The police then succeeded in accessing the live stream, alleging that they had identified multiple instances of dangerous driving as a result and were able to monitor our client’s whereabouts. He was then arrested at the roadside for dangerous driving.
A not guilty plea was entered and the matter went to court for trial, with the defendant willing to accept the lesser charge of careless driving. This was refused by the prosecution, however, believing there was sufficient evidence for a dangerous driving conviction.
As such, the matter went to court. Attempts were made to have the TikTok footage excluded from the evidence on the grounds that it contained hearsay. Although this was accepted by the court, it was advised that the footage itself would be made the focus, with all hearsay elements duly ignored.
The defence argued that the speedometer was only visible in the video for a short amount of time, there was no loss of vehicular control, there was no accident and there was no evidence of racing.
Furthermore, there was sufficient room for the manoeuvres taken by the defendant, with no other vehicles seen in the video having to take excessive corrective angles to avoid impact.
And the video footage also showed the defendant slowing down near roundabouts and roadworks, indicating that he was in control of the vehicle and able to take some degree of corrective action as appropriate.
An attempt to rebut this was made by the prosecution but the court found the defendant not guilty of dangerous driving, choosing instead to impose the lesser charge of careless driving, an outcome that the defendant was extremely happy with.
Commenting on the case, Caines Law solicitor Feroz Bhimani said: “Just because the police say it’s dangerous doesn’t mean it is dangerous driving. Often the police misapply the legal tests in overcharging unsuspecting motorists where a careless driving charge would be more appropriate. The differences in penalties are remarkable and often life changing.”
We defend all types of driving offences including drink driving, speeding, failure to report, failure to stop, failure to identify the driver, driving without insurance and more.
If you’ve been charged, summoned or are under investigation for a motoring offence of any kind, get in touch with the team today for a free consultation and we’ll be able to tell you if you have a defence.