A Blackburn woman was fined and given five points on her licence for driving without due care and attention.

Sonia Ahmed, 22, was forced to pay £80 at Bradford and Keighley Magistrates’ Court for the offence in Brow Road, Keighley, West Yorkshire, on March 20 of this year.

Ahmed, of Wilton Close, Blackburn, pleaded guilty through the single justice procedure and did not attend court.

She was also ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £32 and costs of £90. The total of £202 must be paid by September 26.

https://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/news/23787655.blackburn-woman-fined-careless-driving-keighley/

On 15/11/2023 09:56 pm, Simon Mason wrote:
> A Blackburn woman was fined and given five points on her licence for driving without due care and attention.
>
> Sonia Ahmed, 22, was forced to pay £80 at Bradford and Keighley Magistrates’ Court for the offence in Brow Road, Keighley, West Yorkshire, on March 20 of this year.
>
> Ahmed, of Wilton Close, Blackburn, pleaded guilty through the single justice procedure and did not attend court.
>
> She was also ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £32 and costs of £90. The total of £202 must be paid by September 26.
>
> https://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/news/23787655.blackburn-woman-fined-careless-driving-keighley/

Was it the chairman of the bench who was on the chav-bike?

QUOTE: Ahmed, of Wilton Close, Blackburn, pleaded guilty through the single justice procedure and did not attend court. ENDS

Courts take a very dim view of drivers who can't be arsed to even show up in court.

Simon Mason <swldxer1958@gmail.com> wrote:

> QUOTE: Ahmed, of Wilton Close, Blackburn, pleaded guilty through the
> single justice procedure and did not attend court. ENDS

> Courts take a very dim view of drivers who can't be arsed to even show up in court.

The SJP is designed to be a straightforward system, if you plead guilty
there’s no need to extend the proceedings at greater cost. They are
probably glad one doesn’t turn up - perhaps one should get a discount for
not doing so.

--
Spike

QUOTE: A Blackburn woman was fined and given five points on her licence for driving without due care and attention. ENDS

Drivers who kill cyclists get away with less than that penalty.

Simon Mason <swldxer1958@gmail.com> wrote:
> QUOTE: A Blackburn woman was fined and given five points on her licence
> for driving without due care and attention. ENDS

> Drivers who kill cyclists get away with less than that penalty.

Cyclists who kill don’t even have a licence to put points on.

--
Spike

QUOTE: A Blackburn woman was fined and given five points on her licence for driving without due care and attention. ENDS

No wonder the fine was too low - she wriggled out of a dangerous driving charge.

On 16/11/2023 08:06 am, Simon Mason wrote:

> QUOTE: Ahmed, of Wilton Close, Blackburn, pleaded guilty through the single justice procedure and did not attend court. ENDS
>
> Courts take a very dim view of drivers who can't be arsed to even show up in court.

Actually, they don't, at least not at the summary level.

Any person summonsed (not arrested) for a minor offence and who knows
and accepts that they are guilty is perfectly entitled to plead guilty
by letter. It saves time and money for the police and saves the time of
the court.

A guilty-by-letter plea is always taken positively into account.

That's the way that it works at the magistrates' level, M'Lud.

Of course, at your elevated circles (Court of Appeal, High Court,
Supreme Court, etc), it's different. But you don't deal with many
summonses day to day, I expect. Too far beneath you.

On Thursday, November 16, 2023 at 4:12:00 PM UTC, Simon Mason wrote:
> QUOTE: A Blackburn woman was fined and given five points on her licence for driving without due care and attention. ENDS
>
> No wonder the fine was too low - she wriggled out of a dangerous driving charge.

It was not even "careless driving"!

On 16/11/2023 05:58 pm, Simon Mason wrote:

> On Thursday, November 16, 2023 at 4:12:00 PM UTC, Simon Mason wrote:

>> QUOTE: A Blackburn woman was fined and given five points on her licence for driving without due care and attention. ENDS

>> No wonder the fine was too low - she wriggled out of a dangerous driving charge.
>
> It was not even "careless driving"!

"Careless driving" is an alternative (layman's) way of describing the
Section 3* offence of "[driving] without due care and attention".

One is somewhat surprised that you, M'Lud - such a senior member of the
judiciary and internationally-respected expert on janitorial studies -
didn't know that.

[* Section of the 1988 Road Traffic Act:

3 Careless, and inconsiderate, driving.

If a person drives a mechanically propelled vehicle on a road or other
public place without due care and attention, or without reasonable
consideration for other persons using the road or place, he is guilty of
an offence.]

What a stunning transformation by Ms Ahmed. Well done!

QUOTE: A £200,000 tea and snack shop in the heart of a Blackburn shopping district looks set to be able to turn its outside decking area into an extended part of its enclosed cafe.

The new Mi Chaii outlet in Whalley Range opened in September able to accommodate 38 diners inside and a further 21 outside on a specially built terrace.

But now owner Sonia Ahmed and her family-run Divine Patisseries Ltd wants to cover over the decking to extend the main cafe.

The Mi Chaii brand offers a range of signature street food snacks and drinks across a UK footprint.

Miss Ahmed has applied to Blackburn with Darwen Council for planning permission for the change.

It will be debated by the borough's planning committee on Thursday night following an objection from a resident forwarded to the authority by Blackburn MP Kate Hollern.

This claims the move would be detrimental to the area and the character; that it is part of an over-concentration of food outlets; would have a damaging effect on road safety and on the health of young people; and constitutes overdevelopment.

But a report to Thursday meeting by planning office Tom Wiggans recommending approval with six conditions says: "This application seeks permission for a single-storey side extension to the Mi Chaii café/restaurant where there is an approved outdoor decking / seating area in situ.

"The application site is located on Whalley Range and was formerly part of the Brookhouse Business Centre.

"This application seeks to extend the building to replace the outdoor seating area with a single-storey side extension so that all of the café/restaurant space would be indoors.

"The intention is to provide customers with a better overall experience at all times of the day and seasons of the year and enable the opening hours to be equalised throughout the premises.

"The proposal to bring the decking area inside would enclose the existing decking area to minimise noise.

"Hours of operation would match those attached to the rest of the café/restaurant (09:00hrs to 23:00hrs Monday to Friday, and 10:00hrs to 23:00hrs Saturdays, Sundays and Bank Holidays).

"The decking area presently has an hours of use restriction to 20:00hrs, but given this would become a fully-enclosed area as part of the main café/restaurant, the 23:00hrs restriction would then apply to the whole premises.

"It is accepted that the maximum number of people who could visit the café/restaurant during inclement weather and/or during the evening (after 20:00hrs) would slightly increase.

"The proposed enclosure would only be small scale and would result in an active, modern addition that would be in keeping with the existing building." ENDS