Advice on Motoring Office Summon.

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darowan0

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Hi Everyone,

On the 31st July 2022, I was stopped at a checkpoint by the Garda and was asked to produce my license, I checked and noticed I had left it in my scanner at home. I had a learners permit at the time that was issued on the 26th of July 2022 and yes I was driving unaccompanied at the time.

The officer informed me of my car seizure and I pleaded with him and he took my personal details and issued an €80 fine + 2 penalty points. That was all.

I received the fine notification via post and made the payment for the fine at the end of August 2022 (before the 28day grace period).

Yesterday Morning, the 19th of February 2024 I received 3 summons via post:

- Fail to Produce Driving License
- Driving Without License General Offence (No Disqualification)
- Fail to Produce Driving License/Learners Permit (Within 10 days)

The issue date on my learners permit show I did have a license (learners Permit) on the day it happened but did not have it on me. The Officer did not ask me to bring it in to any station (nothing of such was discussed) I was just given a fine and I was on my way.

I’m a bit worried here on how this could affect me or how serious this could be for me as I live in Ireland on a work permit. I’ve contacted a solicitor and they stated that “I would be hopeful that your attendance would not be required on the Court date and we can attend in your place to deal with the matter.”

Is it advisable to let the solicitor handle this on my behalf? Is this going to affect me getting jobs? I really don’t know what to expect, if I was told to present the license at a station, I would have no stress.

P.S: I now have a Full Driving License.

Any advise would be appreciated.
 
Last edited:
OP,
Did you have a driving licence as well as a learner permit on the date of the alleged offences? Your post is muddled in that regard.
 
I'm very surprised that the guard did not request you to present your licence. I would have thought the penalty would be different between having no licence and having a learner one. I've found the guards very easy to deal with if there is an honest mistake.
I would pop into the station local to where you were stopped and explain what happened and see can they assist.
 
Hi again OP,

You have already accepted that you were driving unaccompanied on a learner permit by paying the fixed charge in Aug '22.

It is a point of contention between you and the issuing Garda as to whether a demand was made to produce or not, but I'd be slow to try and rely on that if contesting the alleged offences. After all, it must have been obvious to the Garda that you were not in possession of a licence at the time, considering the fixed charge (s)he did issue to you. Also, you must have been under stress at the time and may have simply forgotten that the demand was made.

I would try and speak again to the issuing Garda in advance of the court date and see what they might say to you.

If you choose to use a solicitor that will cost you, and if convicted you will have a fine to deal with on top of your solicitor's fee. Of course a solicitor might identify a reason, technical or other, that could result in non-conviction.

With regard to your concerns about future employment and being on a work permit - I don't believe a couple of driving convictions should impact greatly, unless you're seeking employment in the driving industry.

Also you need to bear in mind that as a novice driver you cannot carry more than 6 penalty points before being disqualified from driving for 6 months.
 
darowan0 said:
The issue date on my learners permit show I did have a license (learners Permit) on the day it happened but did not have it on me.
Click to expand...
The learner's permit is not a driving license, so the charge is valid.

darowan0 said:
Is it advisable to let the solicitor handle this on my behalf? Is this going to affect me getting jobs?
Click to expand...
While solicitors are best placed to advise, I would have thought it would be best attend the court along with your solicitor. Judges can perceive just sending the solicitor in your place as not treating them with the respect they feel due.

As above, it would be very unusual for a Garda not to request you to produce your license, so there may have been a misunderstanding. Being able to show you have the full license and paid the initial charge on time should go in your favour.
 
usually there is an initial hearing where you can plead guilty, explain the reasons, show you paid the fine and also show your new full license.

Judges can be very lenient when they see there is ambiguity especially as you can show you paid the fine in a timely manner and the fine was for one of the offences listed.

Most likely they will strike it out.

The garda is rarely in attendance at that hearing. If you plead not guilty the case is then scheduled for a hearing about 6 months later where the garda does attend. You have to attend unless you know it is being struck out. A solicitor cannot represent you without your attendance. At best they can ask for an adjournment.

I'd go to the court on the date stated. Accept that you committed the offences and show you paid the fine and state that there was no request to produce the license and show your full license. Unless you get a very cranky judge on a very bad day, it will likely be struck out.
 
I would produce both licences at your local Garda station right away and they will record that you did. It can be any Garda station.

Then you can say that the first notification you got to produce your licence was when you got the summons and you produced them straight away.
 
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