19th November 2015
When anyone is convicted after a trial or pleads guilty to any criminal offence which includes a driving offence, they will have to pay (in most cases) a new charge to help pay for the administration of the criminal justice system.
Apart from the victim surcharge which was introduced by the labour government some years ago, which is levied at a minimum payment of £15.00 or 10% of any financial penalty imposed, whichever figure is higher; a second and more recent levy is the criminal court charge introduced for all offences committed since 13 April 2015. Upon conviction of a summary offence in a Magistrate’s Court the charge is £150.00. On conviction of a more serious either way offence in the magistrates court it increases to £180.00 and after a trial in the magistrates court increases to £520.00 (summary offence) or £1000.00 (either way offence).
In the Crown Court the minimum charge is £900.00 for a conviction after a guilty plea or £1200 after a trial. There are other circumstances in which a criminal court charge also arises. This course is offered to approximately 200 motorists per year. It covers all driving offences not just speeding whereas other counties only offer education courses in relation to speeding offences.
Many motorists convicted of a relatively minor driving offence such as speeding, for which they were not entitled to attend a driver awareness scheme or receive a fixed penalty, will not only have to pay a fine and the court costs but also the victim surcharge and the criminal court charge which can add substantially to the amount that they have to pay overall.
In many cases as opposed to paying a fixed penalty of about £120.00 a driver who earns a reasonable amount of income, can end up paying close to £750.00 to £1000.00 for relatively minor traffic offence as well as receiving penalty points.
For advice on all aspects of of road traffic offences and road traffic law please contact David Williams of Jordan Williams Law on 07793055104 or david@jwlaw.co.uk for a free consultation or assessment.
I am situated in Ferndown, but I am happy to see clients in Poole, Bournemouth, Wimborne and the surrounding and areas. Please see my Services page to see what sort offences can be defended.