Criminal Defence Lawyers Edinburgh

In a recent Europe-wide operation involving 24 European countries, over 100,000 people were caught not wearing seatbelts in their motor vehicles.

A nurse who left a 15-year-old boy dying in the road after hitting him with her car when under the influence of alcohol, has been sentenced to five years in prison, reported the Telegraph this week.

Recent research carried out on behalf of Halifax Car Insurance has found that a fifth of those surveyed admitted to driving without a valid MOT.

Millions of UK motorists have unwittingly driven without insurance, risking penalty points, a fine or a driving ban if caught by the police.

A motorcyclist from Hampshire has been disqualified from driving for 12 months after being caught speeding at 152mph, reports the Daily Mail.

The U.S. Department of Transportation has called for a complete ban on cell phone (including smartphones) use by drivers, reports FindLaw.com.

AXA car insurance research has found the most and least respectful drivers in the UK, with drivers in the West Midlands being the least respectful on Britain’s roads.

The Institute of Advanced Motoring (IAM) has called for authorities to make drink-driving enforcement a top priority after the latest road casualty figures revealed an increase in drink related deaths and injuries.

Uninsured cars face being crushed and drivers fined during a new campaign being run by Strathclyde Police. Operation Revoke will also target motorists who drive without a licence.

Radical measures, such as a minimum one year learning period, restrictions on night time driving and lowering the alcohol limit for driving are now needed to reduce the high crash risk young drivers face, according to a new report from the Association of British Insurers (ABI).

Keir Starmer QC, Director of Public Prosecutions, has launched a public consultation in England and Wales on guidance about the most serious driving offences, including death by careless or dangerous driving.

The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) is urging greater collaboration with Government on road safety following the publication of annual casualty figures which show the first increase in road deaths since 2003.

The vast majority of drivers want to see much higher fines and tougher enforcement to tackle the subculture of drivers who repeatedly flout laws and get away with it.

The Scottish Government has published proposals seeking views on lowering the drink driving limit in Scotland.

The Scottish Government has outlined its legislative priorities for 2012-13, in which Scottish Ministers aim to create a safer and stronger Scotland.

Eighty-two per cent of people now think it is acceptable for authorities to use speed cameras, however 45% think that raising income is still a main reason for their use, according to the results of the IAM’s annual speed camera survey.

The results show that people think speed cameras are beneficial to road safety. Eighty-five per cent of people think that speed cameras have helped to contribute to the fall in road deaths since 1990s.

Speed cameras are least popular in Wales where 32% of people think their use is not acceptable. The survey also shows that Wales has the highest rate of people caught speeding – In the last three years 27% of people were caught speeding or knew someone in the household who was caught speeding.

In contrast, cameras are most popular in Scotland where only 15% think they are unacceptable. According to the survey, only 14% of Scottish were caught speeding or knew someone in the household who was.

Generally, people find that speed cameras are more acceptable than five years ago. In 2007, 30% of respondents said speed cameras were not acceptable, a figure which has reduced every year to 16% this year.

Police in Birmingham have seized the millionth vehicle for no insurance in an operation to disrupt criminal activity in an area of the UK which is identified as one of the worst hotspots for uninsured driving.

Bordesley (B9) in Birmingham continues to dominate the hotspot ranks and means that it has eight times the number of motorists driving vehicles without insurance compared to the national average.

The police have sustained operations since they were granted powers to seize uninsured vehicles in 2005 and of the 500 vehicles seized each day, it is estimated that 30% are crushed.

New research undertaken amongst communities in the West Midlands and West Yorkshire highlights that a third of people still do not understand the current laws on car insurance, so are risking fines of up to £5,000; points on their licence and having their cars seized by police.

Some of the reasons cited by motorists living in these hotspot areas, include: the cost of motor insurance, not understanding the law and penalties, and a belief that they’ll get away with it.

Across the UK, there are currently an estimated 1.2 million uninsured drivers and the West Midlands makes up more than 60% of the top 20 worst postcodes in the country, followed by West Yorkshire making up 25%.

Uninsured motoring is being tackled by police on-road patrolling, combined with the introduction in June 2011 of the Continuous Insurance Enforcement law, which is the systematic comparison of the Motor Insurance Database (MID) and the DVLA registered keeper records. Vehicles being kept without insurance are being systematically identified and the keeper is sent an early warning letter, which will result in fines of up to £1,000 and penalties if no action is taken.

Police forces across Scotland have taken part in a three day campaign, coordinated by the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland, to target unlicensed and uninsured drivers.

The campaign, which ran from 14th to 16th August, is the second such campaign in the ACPOS Road Policing National Campaign Strategy for 2012/13 designed to remove irresponsible and potentially dangerous drivers and vehicles from Scotland’s roads.

During the first campaign in April this year police detected a total of 207 driving offences, 146 in relation to uninsured drivers and 61 in relation to driving licence offences, as well as seizing 84 vehicles for consideration of forfeiture by the courts.

Uninsured driving is a serious offence punishable with a maximum fine of £5,000, and the automatic endorsement of an offender’s licence with six to eight penalty points. The courts can also order the immediate disqualification of the offender.

Driving without insurance will result in the driver being issued with a £200 endorsable conditional offer of fixed penalty and six penalty points on their licence. The police also have the power to seize, and in some cases, destroy the vehicle that is being driven uninsured. Any vehicle seized under these powers will only be released on payment of the fixed penalty and presentation of a valid insurance certificate.

The Department of Transport has published statistics on personal injury accidents in 2011 in Great Britain that involved drink driving.

Provisional 2011 drink drive estimates show:

A man was arrested in Kirkcaldy after stealing a car while its owner was a guest at a wedding, reports the Scotsman. He was caught by police three days later when he crashed the car, and was found to be over the drink drive limit.

The 35-year-old already had a number of convictions for driving while disqualified and for drink driving, and was out on bail when the incident occurred.

According to the Scotsman, he pleaded guilty to charges of theft, driving while disqualified, driving without insurance and drink driving.

He received a life-long driving ban at the Sheriff Court and was jailed for twelve months.