The defendant appealed by case stated against conviction under section 172 of failing to provide appropriate driver details. The notices had been received at his address, but he had been unaware of them. He was at the time working regularly in the far East for week at a time.
Held: The reference to due diligence rather than reasonable practicability was an unfortunate error, but not one which made a significant difference. The questions were answered: ‘(i) The offence created by section 172(3) does not require knowledge on the defendant’s part that he is under an obligation to provide the specified information;
(ii) The notice was properly served on the defendant notwithstanding that it was not actually received by him;
(iii) The defendant does not have a defence under section 172(7)(b) merely by virtue of the fact that he has no knowledge that the Notices were sent. However, in an appropriate case a defendant may be able to show in such circumstances that it was not reasonably practicable for him to have been aware of the Notice, in which case the defence will apply.’
Judges:
Elias LJ, King J
Citations:
[2011] EWHC 3471 (Admin)
Links:
Statutes:
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Citing:
Cited – Harding v Price KBD 1948
Section 22 of the 1930 Act obliged a driver in certain circumstances to report an accident causing damage to another vehicle, person or animal. The defendant failed to do so because he was unaware that he had been involved in an accident. He claimed . .
Cited – Sweet v Parsley HL 23-Jan-1969
Mens Rea essential element of statutory Offence
The appellant had been convicted under the Act 1965 of having been concerned in the management of premises used for smoking cannabis. This was a farmhouse which she visited infrequently. The prosecutor had conceded that she was unaware that the . .
Cited – Selby v Chief Constable of Avon and Somerset QBD 1988
The defendant lorry driver was interviewed to discover his involvement in a road traffic accident in whch damage was caused to a stationery vehicle. He said that he had been unaware of any such collision, though he had been driving at that location . .
Cited – Purnell, Regina (on The Application of) v Snaresbrook Crown Court Admn 30-Mar-2011
The claimant sought judicial review of a dismissal of his appeal against conviction for failing to provide information as to the identity of a driver. The appeal court had found that he had not received the notices requiring him to provide the . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Road Traffic
Updated: 23 May 2022; Ref: scu.459745