Introduction
In view of the fact that there are thousands of fixed penalty tickets issued each month then it is almost inevitable that an individual, limited company or an employee of the limited company will receive a notice requesting details of who was driving a vehicle.
Failure to give such information has resulted in a number of prosecutions. Repeated convictions could have an effect on the granting orretention of an operators licence. Therefore it is important to avoid such prosecutions.
There are different rules applying to individuals, limited companies and employees of limited companies.
The most common request for the giving of information as to the driver of a vehicle arises under Section 172 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 as amended.
This is the most common notice because it is used to ascertain details of a driver who has been caught breachingthe speed limit by a speed camera.

What action must be taken on receipt of a notice?
Check if the notice has been served under Section 172
Check that the offence referred to is not excluded under the Act because if it is an excluded offence then there is no duty to give information.
If it is an offence for which information is required to be given then that information should be given in accordance with the notice.

What then is the obligation of an individual keeper?

The Act requires that the person keeping the vehicle give such information as to the identity of the driver as may be required by or on behalf of the Chief Officer of Police.

When must this information be given?

There is usually a time limit in the notice as to when the information should be given. In essence if the request for information is reasonable as to how and when the information is provided then it will be lawful.

Does the form have to be completed?

The answer is yes, you should complete the form. It is designed in a way to be produced as acceptable evidence to a court and therefore it cannot be acceptable to respond by letter or other document as this would not comply with the requirement. The court have made it quite clear that police can require a response to be in writing on the form provided and for it to be signed.

It is also quite clear now that there is no need for there to be a caution against the person completing the form.

Is there a Defence?

There is a defence available to an individual, not a limited company, to failing to provide the information and that is where the person did not know and could not with, reasonable diligence, have ascertained who the driver of the vehicle was. This is going to be difficult to establish as the burden of establishing lack of knowledge would rest on the keeper/owner of the vehicle from whom the information has been requested.

What is the position with regards to a limited company?

The company will be guilty of the offence if it is unable to provide the information because there is an obligation to keep a record unless the company can establish that no record was kept of the person(s) who drove the vehicle and that the failure to keep a record was reasonable.

What about the person who should have the knowledge of who was driving the vehicles and their personal responsibility?

It is quite clear that an employee of a limited company can be guilty of an offence if it is proved that the original offence was committed with the consent or connivance or to be attributable to the neglect on the part of a director, manager, secretary or other similar officer of the limited company or a person who has purported to act in any such capacity. The person responsible, for example should keep the record of who drives the vehicle. The person who fails to keep a record clearly could be prosecuted as a result of being unable to furnish the information because it could possibly be attributable to his neglect.

Can anyone be asked to provide information?

The kind of person who would be required to give information can be quite extensive as it applies to any person who can give any information which is in their power to give. On one particular occasion it applied to a doctor who had gained information about the name and address of a driver following a professional consultation.

What is the position if a notice is not received by the limited company?

In order to be valid the notice must be served in accordance with the rules set out under Section 172 or such other legislation under which it is served.

Where the requirement is made by written notice served by post that has the effect of requiring the information to be received usually 28 days from the date of the notice being served.

Where the notice is required to be served on a limited company the notice will only be duly served if it is served upon the company secretary. For the purpose of service it must be the proper address of any person and in the case of the company secretary it must be a registered or principal office of that body or if the company is the registered keeper, the registered address or principal office or in any other case the last known address at the time of service.

In relation to a registered keeper of a vehicle the registered address means the address recorded under the Vehicle Excise Act, which appears to be different to the address required in respect of a company i.e what is on the Registration Document? Great care needs to be given to the address that appears on the Registration Document at the DVLA because that will normally be the address for service of the notice. If the Registration Document has an address that the company no longer uses then the notice will be served at that address and this in itself can cause problems with proving that that there was no service. Registration Documents must therefore be kept up to date.

What happens if there are proceedings against the company?

If the company fails to give the information requested on the basis that the company had failed to receive the notice then that will be a matter of evidence before the court as to whether or not the notice was duly received.

Invariably these notices are sent recorded delivery but the evidence before the Court generally does not include a signed receipt for the delivery of the document. Enquires can be made with the Post Office to establish whether or not the document was served.

If it is proved not to have been received then this would give a defence but a new notice can be re-served.

What if the notice is defective?

If the notice is not correctly served i.e. on the company secretary then it is arguable that the notice is invalid and can not be relied upon by the Prosecution. The notice must be addressed to and state "company secretary" and not just the company name.

What penalty can be expected if there is a failure to provide information?
If any person who fails to give information is convicted then not only will he receive a penalty by way of a fine up to £1,000 but his personal licence can be endorsed with penalty points and potential disqualification.

Points to Consider

• Make sure that there is a clear system for dealing with such notices and make sure it works.
• It is important that there is a record kept of all persons who drive the vehicle.
• It is important that those records are retained.
• If someone is designated the task of maintaining records then there should be audits carried out to make sure that the person is maintaining the records.
• There does not have to be an actual offence committed, if the police believe that an offence has been committed they can make the request even if subsequently the allegation is unfounded.
• A defective notice can be regularised by the submission of a further notice requesting the information.
• Make sure the Vehicle Registration Document is up to date.
• The information must be given in the way required by the notice.
• It is an offence to knowingly give false information, fail to give the information requested and which is in a person's power to give or pretend not to know the answers to the questions put.
• The information can be requested even after proceedings have been commenced against the driver.
• The onus of providing information is personal and cannot be discharged by a solicitor for example giving information on behalf of a client.