The message does not seem to have got through to quite a few Jaguar drivers ( including a friend of mine).
They seem to think it looks trendy to put them on the leading edge of the bonnet to guarantee maximum damage to anyone they hit.
e.g.
farm3.static.flickr.com/2008/2486319345_f96e8a1551...g

No, as soon as they get their breath back they will claim they have been victimised!

Children have rights, you know :)

Pat

As you will see, it can easily be applied to drink/driving cases:




Sections143 of the Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000 allows the courts to order the forfeiture by a convicted person of property used. It states:-
143(1) Where a person is convicted of an offence and the court by or before which he is convicted is satisfied that any property which has been lawfully seized from him, or which was in his possession or under his control at the time when he was apprehended for the offence or when a summons in respect of it was issued-

(a) has been used for the purpose of committing, or facilitating the commission of, any offence, or
(b) was intended by him to for that purpose,

the court may (subject to subsection (5) below) make an order under this section in respect of that property.

143(2) Where a person is convicted of an offence and the offence, or an offence which the court has taken into consideration in determining his sentence, consists of unlawful possession of property which-

(a) has been lawfully seized from him, or
(b) was in his possession or under his control at the time when he was apprehended for the offence of which he has been convicted or when a summons in respect of that offence was issued,

the court may (subject to subsection (5) below) make an order under this section in respect of that property.

143 (3) An order under this section shall operate to deprive the offender of his rights, if any, in the property to which it relates, and the property shall (if not already in their possession) be taken into the possession of the police.

NOTE:
An intention to use for the purposes of crime, or is in the unlawful possession of the defendant will suffice and includes the forfeiture of any vehicle used to commit serious traffic offences.

143(4) Any power conferred on a court by subsection (1) or (2) above may be exercised-

(a) whether or not the court also deals with the offender in any other way in respect of the offence of which he has been convicted; and
(b) without regard to any restrictions on forfeiture in any enactment contained in an Act passed before 29th July 1988.

143(5) In considering whether to make an order under this section in respect of any property, a court shall have regard-

(a) to the value of the property; and
(b) to the likely financial and other effects on the offender of the making of the order (taken together with any other order that the court contemplates making).

143(6) Where a person commits an offence to which this subsection applies by-

(a) driving, attempting to drive, or being in charge of a vehicle, or
(b) failing to comply with a requirement made under section 7 or 7A of the Road Traffic Act 1988 (failure to provide specimen for analysis or laboratory test or to give permission for such a test) in the course of an investigation into whether the offender had committed an offence while driving, attempting to drive or being in charge of a vehicle, or
(c) failing, as the driver of a vehicle, to comply with subsection (2) or (3) of section 170 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 (duty to stop and give information or report accident),

the vehicle shall be regarded for the purposes of subsection (1) above (and section 144(1)(b) as used for the purpose of committing the offence (and for the purpose of committing any offence of aiding, abetting, counselling or procuring the commission of the offence).

143(7) Subsection (6) above applies to

a) an offence under the Road Traffic Act 1988 which is punishable with imprisonment;
(b) an offence of manslaughter; and
(c) an offence under section 35 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861 (wanton and furious driving).

143(8) Facilitating the commission of an offence shall be taken for the purposes of subsection (1) above to include the taking of any steps after it has been committed for the purpose of disposing of any property to which it relates or of avoiding apprehension or detection.

NOTE:
In a case where there were three defendants, one had his Land Rover seized (as well as being given 12 months probation just like the others). He appealed on the grounds that his punishment was much greater than that for the other two. The Court of Appeal stated that although there must not be an unacceptable disparity in the sentences, that did not exclude seizure from one defendant where there was a joint venture (R v Burgess Times 2/11/00). Note that this case was based on the older (but identical) legislation which preceded section 143.

SOURCE(S) Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000

RELATED MATERIAL 143 Forfeiture of proceeds of crime

RELATED CASES Webb v CC Merseyside and Potter v CC of Merseyside 1999
If no legal authority police must usually return property

Your accountant would find it simpler to write the car's cost off equally over the estimate of its 'useful life' - i.e. the length of time you expect to keep it. This charges each year's profit and loss account with the benefit your business gets from the car, which is presumably much the same each year.

Thus if your car cost £20,000 and you expect to keep it for 4 years, charge £5,000 depreciation each year. If you sell it after 3 years, the book value would be £5,000, probably not too far off what you'd actually get for it - any difference being profit or loss on disposal.

This is known as 'straight line' depreciation.

Don;t worry about the tax implications - the Inland Robbers (sorry, HMRC) have their own rules for capital allowances.