An 89-year-old pensioner has been handed a criminal conviction and fined for not paying a few weeks of car insurance after his vehicle failed its MOT and sat unused on the drive.

The man from Hampshire was taken to court by the DVLA through the single justice procedure and convicted in a behind-closed-doors hearing last week.

The SJP system is under scrutiny thanks to an Evening Standard investigation into how elderly and vulnerable people are convicted using the controversial courts mechanism for minor mistakes.

The pensioner faced a charge of being the uninsured keeper of a vehicle in May, and a fixed penalty notice sent to his home was not paid.

“I apologise, I am now 89 and accidentally put the letter in a drawer without reading it properly,” he wrote to the court while pleading guilty. “The car failed the MOT and didn’t leave the drive until it was disposed of in June this year. Should I pay the original fine?”

A magistrate convicted the man and imposed a £62 fine plus a £25 victim surcharge, but spared him paying any costs from the case.

Analysis of court data shows cases at Barkingside magistrates’ court in north-east London — including claims of truancy — were dealt with in less than a minute during a SJP session in June, raising concerns that the full circumstances of an allegation had not been considered.

Magistrates can refer cases into open court if there are concerns, but it is usually the prosecutor’s decision whether to withdraw a case no longer considered in the public interest.

The single justice procedure is used for minor crimes like train fare evasion and speeding, but it has also been used to punish Covid rule-breaking.

Homeowners accused of not paying their TV licence are also prosecuted through the SJP system, with court papers showing they are not given an option of to pay a fine to avoid a criminal case.

In court papers seen by the Standard, a 71-year-old Newcastle woman was prosecuted last week for not getting a TV licence after just two weeks in her new home.

https://www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/driver-fined-single-justice-procedure-criminal-conviction-car-failed-mot-uninsured-b1102195.html

On 30/10/2023 06:38 pm, Simon Misogynist wrote:

> An 89-year-old pensioner has been handed a criminal conviction and fined for not paying a few weeks of car insurance after his vehicle failed its MOT and sat unused on the drive.
>
> The man from Hampshire was taken to court by the DVLA through the single justice procedure and convicted in a behind-closed-doors hearing last week.
>
> The SJP system is under scrutiny thanks to an Evening Standard investigation into how elderly and vulnerable people are convicted using the controversial courts mechanism for minor mistakes.
>
> The pensioner faced a charge of being the uninsured keeper of a vehicle in May, and a fixed penalty notice sent to his home was not paid.
>
> “I apologise, I am now 89 and accidentally put the letter in a drawer without reading it properly,” he wrote to the court while pleading guilty. “The car failed the MOT and didn’t leave the drive until it was disposed of in June this year. Should I pay the original fine?”
>
> A magistrate convicted the man and imposed a £62 fine plus a £25 victim surcharge, but spared him paying any costs from the case.
>
> Analysis of court data shows cases at Barkingside magistrates’ court in north-east London — including claims of truancy — were dealt with in less than a minute during a SJP session in June, raising concerns that the full circumstances of an allegation had not been considered.
>
> Magistrates can refer cases into open court if there are concerns, but it is usually the prosecutor’s decision whether to withdraw a case no longer considered in the public interest.
>
> The single justice procedure is used for minor crimes like train fare evasion and speeding, but it has also been used to punish Covid rule-breaking.
>
> Homeowners accused of not paying their TV licence are also prosecuted through the SJP system, with court papers showing they are not given an option of to pay a fine to avoid a criminal case.
>
> In court papers seen by the Standard, a 71-year-old Newcastle woman was prosecuted last week for not getting a TV licence after just two weeks in her new home.
>
> https://www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/driver-fined-single-justice-procedure-criminal-conviction-car-failed-mot-uninsured-b1102195.html

Motor vehicles only need to be insured against third party risks while
being used on the highway (that includes parking, of course).

A vehicle parked off-road (ie, on private land) does not need to be
insured (though it might be a good idea from the owner's point of view -
that depends on a number of things).

Given what is said above, there cannot have been any evidence of
uninsured use on a highway. So how could Barkingside Magistrates
therefore convict that man of nearly 90 years old of an offence which
had not been committed?

QUOTE: “I apologise, I am now 89 and accidentally put the letter in a drawer without reading it properly,”ENDS

What does your advance age have to do with it? Either you are capable of owning a car or you're not.
Stop looking for excuses.

Simon Mason <swldxer1958@gmail.com> wrote:
> QUOTE: “I apologise, I am now 89 and accidentally put the letter in a
> drawer without reading it properly,”ENDS
>
> What does your advance age have to do with it? Either you are capable of
> owning a car or you're not.
> Stop looking for excuses.

There’s definitely something wrong here.

It wouldn’t be the first time someone was convicted of something that
wasn’t a crime.

--
Spike

QUOTE: “The car failed the MOT and didn’t leave the drive until it was disposed of in June this year. ”

How did you drive it home?

Simon Mason <swldxer1958@gmail.com> wrote:
> QUOTE: “The car failed the MOT and didn’t leave the drive until it was
> disposed of in June this year. ”
>
> How did you drive it home?

Legally?

--
Spike

QUOTE: An 89-year-old pensioner has been handed a criminal conviction and fined for not paying a few weeks of car insurance after his vehicle failed its MOT and sat unused on the drive. ENDS

One of UKIP's stormtroopers?

Simon Mason <swldxer1958@gmail.com> wrote:

> The SJP system is under scrutiny thanks to an Evening Standard
> investigation into how elderly and vulnerable people are convicted using
> the controversial courts mechanism for minor mistakes.

‘Elderly and vulnerable’, eh? Couldn’t go for easier targets, could they?

Welcome to the Soviet Union, UK style.

> https://www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/driver-fined-single-justice-procedure-criminal-conviction-car-failed-mot-uninsured-b1102195.html

--
Spike

On 31/10/2023 04:19 am, Simon Mason wrote:
> QUOTE: “I apologise, I am now 89 and accidentally put the letter in a drawer without reading it properly,”ENDS
>
> What does your advance age have to do with it? Either you are capable of owning a car or you're not.
> Stop looking for excuses.

Why and how does a motor vehicle not in use on the highway need to have
third-party insurance?

Take your time.
>

On 31/10/2023 11:14 am, Simon Mason wrote:

> QUOTE: “The car failed the MOT and didn’t leave the drive until it was disposed of in June this year. ”
>
> How did you drive it home?

How do you know he did?

Were you there?

Come to that, how do you know it wasn't insured at the time of the MOT test?

Come on, clever dick... Spill the beans.

QUOTE: The SJP system is under scrutiny thanks to an Evening Standard investigation into how elderly and vulnerable people are convicted using the controversial courts mechanism for minor mistakes. ENDS

REMEMBER THIS?

A 96-year-old driver killed a pedestrian as he crossed the road after refusing to give up driving despite suffering from deteriorating vision. The 84-year-old victim was declared dead at the scene after being run down by the driver's Peugeot 208.

William Beer was suffering with bilateral cataracts and wet macular degeneration when he hit Illtyd Morgan in Caerphilly on April 6, 2021. He had been advised by an optician in March 2019 to give up driving.

Simon Mason <swldxer1958@gmail.com> wrote:
> QUOTE: The SJP system is under scrutiny thanks to an Evening Standard
> investigation into how elderly and vulnerable people are convicted using
> the controversial courts mechanism for minor mistakes. ENDS
>
> REMEMBER THIS?
>
> A 96-year-old driver killed a pedestrian as he crossed the road after
> refusing to give up driving despite suffering from deteriorating vision.
> The 84-year-old victim was declared dead at the scene after being run
> down by the driver's Peugeot 208.
>
> William Beer was suffering with bilateral cataracts and wet macular
> degeneration when he hit Illtyd Morgan in Caerphilly on April 6, 2021. He
> had been advised by an optician in March 2019 to give up driving.

JFTR, could you join the dots here?

--
Spike

On Tuesday, 31 October 2023 at 15:42:30 UTC, Simon Mason wrote:
> QUOTE: The SJP system is under scrutiny thanks to an Evening Standard investigation into how elderly and vulnerable people are convicted using the controversial courts mechanism for minor mistakes. ENDS
>
> REMEMBER THIS?
>
> A 96-year-old driver killed a pedestrian as he crossed the road after refusing to give up driving despite suffering from deteriorating vision. The 84-year-old victim was declared dead at the scene after being run down by the driver's Peugeot 208.
>
> William Beer was suffering with bilateral cataracts and wet macular degeneration when he hit Illtyd Morgan in Caerphilly on April 6, 2021. He had been advised by an optician in March 2019 to give up driving.
A Mr Magoo incarnate who should NOT have been driving at all.

On 31/10/2023 04:56 pm, Simon Misogynist wrote:

> On Tuesday, 31 October 2023 at 15:42:30 UTC, Simon Mason wrote:
>> QUOTE: The SJP system is under scrutiny thanks to an Evening Standard investigation into how elderly and vulnerable people are convicted using the controversial courts mechanism for minor mistakes. ENDS
>>
>> REMEMBER THIS?
>>
>> A 96-year-old driver killed a pedestrian as he crossed the road after refusing to give up driving despite suffering from deteriorating vision. The 84-year-old victim was declared dead at the scene after being run down by the driver's Peugeot 208.
>>
>> William Beer was suffering with bilateral cataracts and wet macular degeneration when he hit Illtyd Morgan in Caerphilly on April 6, 2021. He had been advised by an optician in March 2019 to give up driving.
> A Mr Magoo incarnate who should NOT have been driving at all.

LOL!

"incarnate"!

Del Boy and his misunderstanding of *English* words this time!

QUOTE: A 96-year-old driver killed a pedestrian as he crossed the road after refusing to give up driving despite suffering from deteriorating vision. The 84-year-old victim was declared dead at the scene after being run down by the driver's Peugeot 208. ENDS

"WILLIAM BEER" IS THE NAME OF THIS PEDESTRIAN KILLER - REMEMBER IT WELL.

Simon Mason <swldxer1958@gmail.com> wrote:
> QUOTE: A 96-year-old driver killed a pedestrian as he crossed the road
> after refusing to give up driving despite suffering from deteriorating
> vision. The 84-year-old victim was declared dead at the scene after being
> run down by the driver's Peugeot 208. ENDS
>
> "WILLIAM BEER" IS THE NAME OF THIS PEDESTRIAN KILLER - REMEMBER IT WELL.

You’re familiar with beer, aren’t you?

Charlie Alliston is also a pedestrian killer, but one suspects that you’d
rather we all forgot it.

Why the double standards?

--
Spike

Pinkcrush, Poole, United Kingdom, 9 months ago

Advised not to drive but continued to do so???? Is that not manslaughter? Does the optician/doctor not have any responsibility to notify the DVLA if a person is advised not to drive? Sincere condolences to Mr. Morgans family.

Damocles666, London, United Kingdom, 9 months ago

What can you say - looks like he ran over him on the zebra crossing. Must have had poor eyesight for years.

Simon Mason <swldxer1958@gmail.com> wrote:
> Pinkcrush, Poole, United Kingdom, 9 months ago

> Advised not to drive but continued to do so???? Is that not manslaughter?

No.

Keep in mind that cyclists whine for this or for that to happen under the
law, without having the slightest idea of what the law says or how it is
operated.

> Does the optician/doctor not have any responsibility to notify the DVLA
> if a person is advised not to drive?

No.

> Sincere condolences to Mr. Morgans family.

> Damocles666, London, United Kingdom, 9 months ago

> What can you say - looks like he ran over him on the zebra crossing. Must
> have had poor eyesight for years.

Nothing quite like supposition to support a mistaken position, is there?

--
Spike

A 96-year-old man thought to be 'Britain's oldest killer driver' has been jailed after knocking down an elderly pensioner crossing the road with his Zimmer frame.

William Beer, of Llanbradach, South Wales, admitted causing the death by dangerous driving of 84-year-old Illtyd Morgan, who was described by family as a 'hard-working' and 'lovely' man.

The fatal incident happened just after midday on April 6, 2021 in Caerphilly.

Judge Williams sentenced Beer to two years and four months, also banning him from driving for six years and two months.

Police officers made the pensioner, who had been driving his blue Peugeot 206, do a roadside eye test at the scene of the collision and discovered he could not read a license plate from more than seven metres away.

Drivers in the UK are required to be able to read a registration number from a distance of at least 20 metres.

Two years earlier in March 2019, Beer had been cautioned by an optician against driving after being diagnosed with bilateral cataracts and macular degeneration.

The former coal miner who worked in the pits during the Second World War and was described as a 'gentleman' of 'impeccable good character' said he had stopped driving but started back up again due to having to care for his wife who suffered from dementia.

At Newport Crown Court on Friday, Beer told the judge he believed his eyesight had improved following specialist treatment

However, in an application to renew his licence submitted in November 2019 he did not declare any medical conditions.

Thomas Stanway, prosecuting, said there was CCTV footage that showed Mr Morgan crossing into the middle of Bedwas Road, a residential street in Caerphilly, with a walking aid seconds before Beer braked late and hit him.

In a statement read to the court by Mr Stanway, the victim's widow, Hazel Morgan, said: 'I still cannot believe that he will not be coming home to me. He was not only my husband but my friend and companion.

'I miss so many things we used to do together. We were lucky to have 58 years together, and they were 58 happy years.

'I miss us chatting and laughing together and watching TV.' Mr Morgan's son, Gareth, said: 'My father was a very hard-working man and I wish I had his determination and strength of will.

My father voluntarily gave up his licence due to his failing eyesight despite the inconvenience of losing his independence and his limited physical mobility - but that was my father for you. He would do the right thing, regardless of the impact that this would cause.'

He added that Beer's 'actions of putting [his] independence before the safety of others has caused so much unnecessary pain and suffering'.

Malcolm Galloway, for the defence, asked the judge to take into account Beer's advanced years - stating he would shortly be turning 97 - his previously clean driving record, and guilty plea.

He also asked that his client's situation at the time of the crash, as full-time carer for his wife of 40 years, be considered. And he told the court Beer was in mourning having only recently lost his wife, whose funeral took place 10 days ago.

Mr Galloway said: 'Mr Beer is a man of impeccable character who lived his life as a gentleman who cared for others and put them before himself and is the most sought after and loved member of his large extended family.'

He added that Beer had shown 'genuine remorse' for his actions.

Judge Richard Williams said: 'It was noted in your optician's record at that time that you were unable to drive due to visual standards.

'You say that for a time afterwards you accepted that advice and your wife took over driving duties for the time being until her advancing dementia led her to stop driving.

'In 2019, you began treatment intended to stabilise your condition. Despite this, you renewed your licence.

'I don't think that you were being truthful when you claimed that you thought your eyesight had improved to the extent that you can take up driving again.

'The best that might be said about it is that you may have felt that you were obliged to drive despite your poor eyesight because you were devoted to your wife, and you were determined to look after her yourself.

'There is considerable personal mitigation in your case and the court is entitled to show a degree of mercy to an offender of advanced years in any event.'

Judge Williams sentenced Beer to two years and four months, also banning him from driving for six years and two months. His family could be heard crying from the public gallery as he was taken down to the cells.

Anthony Clarke, of the CPS, said: 'William Beer's decision to drive, ignoring medical advice, resulted in the worst possible consequences; the loss of life.

'This case is a tragic reminder that motorists must ensure they are fit to drive safely, for their own safety and the safety of all other road users.

'Mr Morgan's family have endured a heart-breaking loss and our thoughts remain with them.'

On 01/11/2023 04:05 am, Simon Mason wrote:

> Pinkcrush, Poole, United Kingdom, 9 months ago
> Advised not to drive but continued to do so???? Is that not manslaughter?

No.

But you knew that (or ought to have), meaning that your question, as is
so often the case with your remarks and queries, was sheer nonsense.

> Does the optician/doctor not have any responsibility to notify the DVLA if a person is advised not to drive?

No.

In any event, the patient is not under any duty to furnish the operative
with his or her correct name and address. The customer is always right.
And nether does every adult have a driving licence.

> Sincere condolences to Mr. Morgans [sic] family.

Indeed.

> Damocles666, London, United Kingdom, 9 months ago
>
> What can you say - looks like he ran over him on the zebra crossing. Must have had poor eyesight for years.

So you're a qualified opthalmologist now, as well as a High Court Judge
and expert night-shift floor-swabber?

And do chavs-on-bikes such as your good self also have poor eyesight?
That would explain the reluctance of chav-cyclists to stop at red
traffic lights, their propensity to race along FOOTways and their
extreme reluctance (inability?) to give way to pedestrians on pedestrian
crossings of all types.

QUOTE: A 96-year-old man thought to be 'Britain's oldest killer driver' has been jailed after knocking down an elderly pensioner crossing the road with his Zimmer frame.ENDS

Can't see that record ever getting beaten unless that other geezer passes another test at age 104.