dieseldog999:
do yourself a favour …even if your daft enough to go to the plodshop voluntary,then the only,only reply is…no comment.even if you have nothing to hide,or even if you have…no comment,and let them do their own job yourself…otherwise you will only dig yourself a hole that will make it easier for them to bury you.
yep
Fatboy slimslow:
cliffstephens:
No way is it your problem …how many drivers on here ask to see insurance policy …guessing none.correct
I’ve only been named on one policy in 25 years
and took that copy with me. Named and only four of us on it! R730 V8 SCANIA thank you!
OP you’d be covered, I would say NOTHING TO SEE HERE " move on ! "
PLUS BIG 1, Fact Employed Driver cannot be held responsible Unless it can be proved that you drove vehicle with prior Knowledge that no insurance was in place,.,.
4aaaa4dd:
had a visit from the local police about insurance for a truck I was driving before xmas , it seems the company had no insurance for the truck and now the police want to take action against me because they say it was my responsibility to check the truck was legal ? the truck had an in date insurance document in the truck so what is my extent of responsibility do I have to phone the insurance company on the policy to make sure its insured , I have contacted the company and they insist it was insured but have failed to sent me a copy of the insurance and now I have to go to the local police station and be questioned under caution ?
Do not go to the Police station. Like they say.,.anything you say can and will be used… You say you’ve already had a visit, so i’d assume they’ve spoken to you already . What more they need to know ? You’ve been give good advice here already and generally as pointed out an employee is not liable.
(3)A person charged with using a motor vehicle in contravention of this section shall not be convicted if he proves—
(a)that the vehicle did not belong to him and was not in his possession under a contract of hiring or of loan,
(b)that he was using the vehicle in the course of his employment, and
(c)that he neither knew nor had reason to believe that there was not in force in relation to the vehicle such a policy of insurance
JUst be carefull that you don’t go telling them it was a crap firm, they never done anything right etc… and paint them in a bad light as that MAY infer that you knew everything might not be in order.(i’m not saying that is the case , but…) Keep schtum !!! Don’t go …
Oh, and one more thing…a visit to the Police station for an Interview under caution will entail them letting you know that you are entitled to a Duty Solicitor, you may ask for one only to be told it will take hours for one to get there and the interview will only take a few minutes. So don’t go. They can’t arrest you or force you to go. And another common thing they do is say they will pop round to your house for a few questions instead, which will also be an Interview under Caution, but one where they do NOT have to offer you a Duty Solicitor 
And of course in the comfort of your home you’re more inclined to be relaxed and open up like a singing Canary !! So again, refuse it.
4aaaa4dd:
they got my address from my passport
But your passport doesn’t have your address on it. Back to square 1.
m1cks:
4aaaa4dd:
they got my address from my passportBut your passport doesn’t have your address on it. Back to square 1.
But unless he has moved house since the passport was issued it will be linked to his address.
Never, ever seen a bosses insurance. No comment, no comment, ad nauseum.
Just remembered, when I was on the buses in Brisbane, one of the drivers walked out to get the bus that he’d been given and noticed the registration sticker was out of date. Oh what fun we had, 600 or more buses didn’t turn a wheel until we had it in writing from the cops that the buses were actually registered (taxed and insured), just that the stickers had been sent out late. 
AND ALSO " never accept a police caution! " NO COMMENT, NO COMMENT AD NAUSEUM
In all my professional driving career, Ive never seen any employers insurance certificates.
Just to add about the we’ll come to your house to take a statement. I do believe that once invited into the property that also gives a right to search without a warrant.
Hello, first post from a new member.
I started a reply thinking that the burden of proof rests with the company not the driver.
However…
I looked up the DVSA Enforcement Sanctions policy and that shows that a driver can be fined £300 for driving without a valid insurance policy with a follow up enquiry to the operator. So if I were you I would get hold of a solicitor with transport knowledge and work out what mitigation you can argue. It may well be that the ‘valid’ document you had was a fake and they are ramping up to stitch the operator to the floor but I would have thought the DVSA would have taken the lead on that rather than the police.
I never realised this and I’ve been both a driver and a Transport Manager for 15 years. (and before you all start sharpening the stakes and clearing the shelves in sainsbury’s of garlic, I’m now just the TM of one truck which I haven’t bought yet and I believe in treating drivers like people rather than cattle)
DeeBee:
I looked up the DVSA Enforcement Sanctions policy and that shows that a driver can be fined £300 for driving without a valid insurance policy with a follow up enquiry to the operator.
I’m pretty sure thats aimed at foreign drivers as we get 7 days to produce a document ?
DeeBee:
It may well be that the ‘valid’ document you had was a fake and they are ramping up to stitch the operator to the floor but I would have thought the DVSA would have taken the lead on that rather than the police.
I’d agree something more is going on. And the big clue is that this has not come from a roadside check, appears to be a paperwork trail ?
And welcome to Trucknet
papermonkey:
In all my professional driving career, Ive never seen any employers insurance certificates.
Youv’e done well to have never recieved a 7 day producer relating to driving a truck, I have had 3 in 26 years.
weeto:
papermonkey:
In all my professional driving career, Ive never seen any employers insurance certificates.Youv’e done well to have never recieved a 7 day producer relating to driving a truck, I have had 3 in 26 years.
i’ve never even had a producer!
weeto:
papermonkey:
In all my professional driving career, Ive never seen any employers insurance certificates.Youv’e done well to have never recieved a 7 day producer relating to driving a truck, I have had 3 in 26 years.
I’ve had 1 in 36 years of driving
DeeBee:
I looked up the DVSA Enforcement Sanctions policy and that shows that a driver can be fined £300 for driving without a valid insurance policy with a follow up enquiry to the operator.
The # at the side of the FP shows that the fine only applies to drivers of GB registered vehicles if the driver is culpable, which I would read as meaning the driver knowingly driving an uninsured vehicle, or an owner driver who should know whether his/her vehicle is insured or not.
Page 13 - Enforcement Sanctions Policy.
FP # - Drivers of GB registered vehicles will only be issued with the fixed penalty notice if they have culpability for this offence.
Conor:
You have to remember that it isn’t actually a requirement of the Police to know all of the law. It seems in this case that the police the OP has dealt with don’t know of the exemption in liability built into the RTA for employees driving a company vehicle.I would point that part shown out to them. If they want to let it proceed then when you get to court you just bring a copy of the RTA, your wageslips, point out the part of the RTA and that you were driving the vehicle in course of your duties as an employee.
It’s not an exemption from liability, it’s a statutory defence. As per the extracts quoted by others, it is down to the driver to show that it applies to him. The only practicable way he can do this is to answer questions (which, due to current rules on questioning of people supected of offences, must be done under caution).
The alternative of course is to follow the advice of the barrack-room lawyers hereabouts and decline to be interviewed or go “no comment” to everything. Then you get to take a day off work appear in court in person, plead Not Guilty and (hopefully) prove to the court that the defence applies in your case before walking out a free man and wondering why you didn’t simply answer the questions to start with.
nick2008:
Just to add about the we’ll come to your house to take a statement. I do believe that once invited into the property that also gives a right to search without a warrant.
Your belief is mistaken. The power to search your home without warrant only applies if you are arrested.
In a previous life i was a traffic rat, driving an ARV.
You do not have to attend the police station to answer questions. You are not under arrest. If you do attend then ask for a solicitor and remember when being questioned YOU can terminate the interview at any time and simply walk out of the station.
If the police attend your address, again you do not need to answer questions and they cannot search your house as you are not under arrest.
You could write a simple statement and hand it to the police or give a no comment interview.
The choice is yours.
And following on from ajs68, if you have details of who is dealing send them an email via the force contact address Making them aware of the statutory defence,
Its quite possible they may not know the defence exists.
Playing devils advocate, possibly the company have said something different, but as others have said consider getting legal advice if it goes to court. Also if it goes that way, make such you get disclosure of the evidence prior to trial as this will show how the offence has been made out.
