What should I do about my court summons?

I have received a court summons for ‘not being in proper control of my motorcycle’ and ‘driving without due care and attention’.  I wasn’t stopped and reported at the time – apparently, I was recorded pulling two wheelies on the same road by police who were parked nearby. The summons refers to two counts of each offence; presumably one for each wheelie. Is there anything I can do to defend the charges or should I just accept guilt? I accept that I did the wheelies.

Alex, Rochester, by e-mail

Answer

You are fortunate that you are being charged with driving without due care and attention. A wheelie is a specified example of the offence of “dangerous driving”. That is a more serious offence which they could have charged you with and the consequences would be more severe.

An early guilty plea could reduce the penalty. You could also try to persuade them that you will plead guilty to just one of the offences as they were so close in time it is arguable they constituted the same act. This is known as a “same occasion offence” defence. This defence can be found at section 28 of the Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988. The court may or may not agree with you but it is definitely worth arguing.

If you have anything to argue in mitigation, for example that is was a dry, quiet road with no pedestrians about, then this would be worth doing.