How long do VOSA have to raise a prosecution from the date of an alleged offence? I’m sure there’s a statute of limitations which applies to them, but I don’t know what it is.
Ta in advance
mungrymatt:
How long do VOSA have to raise a prosecution from the date of an alleged offence? I’m sure there’s a statute of limitations which applies to them, but I don’t know what it is.Ta in advance
With a few exceptions, the ‘Information’ must be laid before a Court within 6 months of the commission of the offence.
Krankee:
mungrymatt:
How long do VOSA have to raise a prosecution from the date of an alleged offence? I’m sure there’s a statute of limitations which applies to them, but I don’t know what it is.Ta in advance
With a few exceptions, the ‘Information’ must be laid before a Court within 6 months of the commission of the offence.
I am going to stir up a hornests here, simply because , this may be a myth or driver hear say, and i honestly dont know the truth, but I have always been led to beliveve that you can be charged with a drivers hours offence at any point if the records can be found, so even if the statutory period of keeping records has passed and your employer has chosen not to throw them away/destroy them and VOSA check and find those records then you can still be prosecuted. My understanding is that it is not from the time of the offence, but from the time they find evidence of the offence/or an allegation of an offence being committed that the 6 month rule comes into effect.
Now please prove me wrong because I would love to know the facts on this one…
This post by geebee45 may help
geebee45:
Statute Barred for hours offences is 6 months. However, a pattern of offences that is older than that could be drawn to the attention of the TC, especially if they are reoccurring. Hence, one of the reasons charts / records have to be kept for 12 months.
False records; stat bar is two years.
Put it this way, if the maximum sentance for the alleged offence is over 6 months in jail and/or a £2000 fine then the offence can be dealt with in crown court as an indictable offence, and does not have any time limit upon bringing a prosecution. If the maximum sentance is less than this, then the offence becomes a summary only offence and the information has to be laid before a magistrate within 6 months of the date of the alleged offence. Thats the most non-legal way I can think of explaining it!
I’ll agree with Rikki as I specifically recall TDG’s training officer saying that as soon as the tacho chart is 1 yr and 1 day old it should be ripped to shreds as Vosa can still prosecute you if they came across a tacho chart showing you had broken the law.
Graham stated that he ensured the legal 1 year period was adhered to then he disposed of them as soon as the legal period had elapsed.
Rikki-UK:
My understanding is that it is not from the time of the offence, but from the time they find evidence of the offence/or an allegation of an offence being committed that the 6 month rule comes into effect.
That applies to “No Insurance” - definate.
As to whether it applies to other summary offences relating to Insurance, i.e. False declaration to obtain, etc, I’m unsure but, if it was falsely obtained then it would be invalid anyway, so the former still applies. 
There may be a few others but they are few and far between.