A businessman has admitted paying a man in a Perth pub £500 to take the blame for his speeding ticket.
Stirling Sheriff Court heard how Steven Stewart, 38, was facing his fourth speeding fine in three years when he made the approach.
His Range Rover was clocked doing 86mph in a 70mph limit on the A9 at Dunblane in March 2006.
He admitted attempting to pervert the course of justice and speeding.
His sentence was deferred for reports.
Perverting the course of justice? - 3 pts and £60 fine / ban looks a better bet now.
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Cheaper maybe, but preferable? 3pts and a £60 fine would more than likely see him banned under totting up.
Perverting the course of justice is not a motoring offence, so he won't get a licence endorsement and given the current prison climate, it's unlikely he'll get a custodial sentence as he presents no danger to the public (unless you are one of the speeders = child killers lot), so he'll probably get a fine and community service. Depends on how much you value your licence, but for may a (say) £500 fine and a few days painting fences is worth not losing your licence.
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It says he admitted speeding so he should still lose his license under totting-up.
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>>>Cheaper maybe, but preferable? 3pts and a £60 fine would more than likely see him banned under totting up.
Perverting the course of justice is not a motoring offence, so he won't get a licence endorsement and given the current prison climate, it's unlikely he'll get a custodial sentence as he presents no danger to the public (unless you are one of the speeders = child killers lot), so he'll probably get a fine and community service. Depends on how much you value your licence, but for may a (say) £500 fine and a few days painting fences is worth not losing your licence.<<<
Quinny, one major point you have missed is that he now has a conviction for perverting the course of justice and a criminal record that will stay with him for life.
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And, in the course of his lifetime it can effect employment, insurance, credit, etc. etc.
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Pervering the course of justice is a serious offence; a deterrent prison sentence, albeit perhaps supended, is a real possibility. It's not a slap on the wrist issue.
As an offence involving dishonesty it will cause all kinds of other problems in the areas Mal outlines as well.
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It's a serious offence under any circumstances, but the authorities seem particularly tough on those that commit this offence to avoid points, never mind a ban. I'd be surprised if he isn't jailed.
There have been a number of people jailed for this, although there was quite a high profile case in Manchester where a couple were given a very big fine instead. The guy was a Chartered Surveyor and he was set to lose that status too (don't know whether that happened in the end).
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Perverting the course of justice is not a motoring offence, so he won't get a licence endorsement.
He won't get points for perverting the course of justice - he will get fined or jailed or a combination of fines & Community Service.
On the Speeding he will still be guilty, he will have more than 12 pts and will be banned - his Insurance will rocket - A range Rover, Banned driver and a criminal conviction for PCJ!
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We all like to toe it now and again, and with speeding convictions it is a case of "There but for the grace of God" for most of us.
But I have to wonder at the mindset of someone who builds up 12 points for speeding in three years. Assuming it was his fourth three pointer, what the hell was the matter with him? The one I got years ago made me very careful about observing the limits, and that was before cameras. Surely anyone creeping towards maximum points would have the intelligence to moderate their driving, even if only for a limited period?
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I do know someone who was done three times on the same day.
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But I have to wonder at the mindset of someone who builds up 12 points for speeding in three years. Assuming it was his fourth three pointer, what the hell was the matter with him?
Indeed
anyone creeping towards maximum points would have the intelligence to moderate their driving, even if only for a limited period?
Obviously not, which makes you wonder if he is psychologically or intellectualy fit to drive ?
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Go on, get out of the car...
www.mikes-walks.co.uk
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it is because a lot of drivers are hopelessly unaware................. ride a motorcycle and you'll soon find out.
If you're 'just driving' and not taking into account all the hazards and potential hazards that are out there, then you'll be the sort that doesn't notice your speed rising and will certainlyy not notice speed cameras, camera vans or police cars...........or the kid crossing the road between parked cars or the layer of diesel on the floor at the roundabout or the ambulance coming up behind etc,etc
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How did he get caught ? Was the guy in the pub a cop ? £500 seems a good price for someone with a clean licence to take the rap.
Peter C
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If convicted he can forget visits to America ..... unless he applies for a visa, which may or may not be granted, as the visa waiver scheme excludes those with criminal records. Also applies to any flight that goes via the USA, even if a stopover to change aircraft etc.
I doubt a disqualification gives the same problem.
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>>But I have to wonder at the mindset of someone who builds up 12 points for speeding in three years. Assuming it was his fourth three pointer, what the hell was the matter with him?
I know someone who managed to get 11 points. She drove for a living and it certainly changed the way she drove - never exceeding the speed limit from the sign. She found other drivers were most impatient as she carefully maintained her speed within the posted limit. The good news is she has now lost some of those points, but her new driving style has not.
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Roger
I read frequently, but only post when I have something useful to say.
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I know someone who managed to get 11 points. She drove for a living and it certainly changed the way she drove - never exceeding the speed limit from the sign. She found other drivers were most impatient as she carefully maintained her speed within the posted limit. The good news is she has now lost some of those points, but her new driving style has not.
don't you think that's sad...... and a show of how poor some people's awareness is..
if she went on and advanced driving course through IAM or similar, she would become a lot more aware of what is going on around her.......may get an insurance discount........would be a considerably safer driver......and could 'drive for the conditions'...... rather than a rigid regime of absolutely on the limit (no doubt still blissfully unaware of the hazards)
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I drove home last night from London to Manchester through two or three sets of contraflows with average speed cameras. I simply set the cruise on an indicated 41/42mph and glide through. What i don't understand are those people, usually in cars more expensive than mine who just blast through or the lorries who want to overtake. Why risk your licence when you know you are being watched?
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60 days instead of £60 & 3 points for speeding
The other story of the day is that Prisoners in Barlinnie do not get their own underwear - they get any pair that is available & not necessarily the right size!!
A plumbing company boss who paid a man £500 to take the blame for a speeding ticket has been jailed for 60 days.
Steven Stewart was caught on a speed camera on the A9 in Stirlingshire travelling at 86mph in a 70 limit.
When the 38-year-old realised he could not be recognised, he arranged for someone else to claim they were driving the Range Rover.
He was jailed at Stirling Sheriff Court after admitting speeding and attempting to pervert the course of justice.
Stewart, who faced a driving ban after he was caught speeding at Dunblane last March, met a man at a pub in Perth and paid him £500 plus £60 for the speeding fine to take the blame.
Police suspicions were aroused and the man confessed under interview.
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Hilarious story.
If you must recruit toerags in pubs to lie to the authorities on your behalf, you have the problem of ensuring, on brief acquaintance, that they are solid, reliable, trustworthy toerags.
How on earth would you do that? Murder the barman together perhaps?
Hilarious.
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Apologies if this has been discussed before.
Regarding letting A.N. Other take your points, why don't the authorities check that the person driving the car at the time was insured to drive it? Surely there's even more money to be made for GB's coffers there, and with all the computing power at their fingertips, it should be easy....
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Regarding letting A.N. Other take your points, why don't the authorities check that the person driving the car at the time was insured to drive it?
Northants SCP/Police do exactly that if you claim a non UK licence holder was driving.
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From the BBC website: 'Mr Dalling added: "He is the rainmaker for his company, travelling thousands of miles a year to bring in business, and the carrot was too much for him." '
Talk about speaking in clichés!
It's reasonably acceptable these days for wives to accept points for husbands who are close to a ban.
From my training as an auditor, I would invite all people with 9 points and a NIP on their car and a third party taking the blame in to a police statement to swear the truth of the third party's blame. It's one thing to tick a box on a form; quite another to swear on the bible in a police station.
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From my training as an auditor, I would invite all people with 9 points and a NIP on their car and a third party taking the blame in to a police statement to swear the truth of the third party's blame. It's one thing to tick a box on a form; quite another to swear on the bible in a police station.
OOOOH! aren't you a one!
Did you mean Police Station??
MD
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Regarding letting A.N. Other take your points, why don't the authorities check that the person driving the car at the time was insured to drive it? Surely there's even more money to be made for GB's coffers there, and with all the computing power at their fingertips, it should be easy....
because, at the Camera Partnership level (rather than the 'proper' Police, all they're interested in is getting the 60 quid. Any other checking would slow down their ability / efficiency at collecting the penalty tax.
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