Fixed Charge Notice?

gjtonysoprano17

Hi

I was recently driving down a road and performed a u-turn, i was subsequently pulled over by a garda on foot (maybe she thought i was avoiding her which i wasnt). She expressed her concern at my manouver i had completed and the situation ended with her asking me to produce my nct and insurance in a garda station. Which i did.

2 weeks later i received a fixed penalty notice in the post for "crossing a continous single white line". Not once was this mentioned by the garda at the time i was stopped or that i would be receving anything in the post regarding to a fixed penalty notice.

So I was advised to write a letter to the superintendent of the station. I today received his response and he states that the garda in question claims she did inform me of the offence of crossing a continous single white line and that she told me i would be getting a fixed charge notice in the post.

This claim is 100% un-true, as i was absolutely never informed of this.

What im trying to find out is

1. Do I have any re-course here?
2. Should i write a 2nd letter rebuking this garda claims.
3. The fixed charge is still outstanding and is due for payment should i pay it or let a summons be issued.
4. Is it a case of me vs a Garda and the Garda will always win.
5. Any other advice.

Thanks in advance.

robtri

where you did the u turn.... was there a continous white line?

Henry Ford III

You've no chance

Sizzler

I'm sure someone else can confirm but if you want to challenge the Garda would have to attend the court

If she did, she could claim you were driving the car with your flute and playing an X-Box in the back seat and the judge would believe the Garda ahead of you. You are only joe public!

sogood

I touched upon this sort of thing recently, regarding your rights, if any, in any sort of discussion/debate/disagreement etc. with a Guard and it appears that any rights you may have in law are entirely negated by the fact that you are Joe public and he/she is a Guard. It's a totally no win situation as far as I'm concerned. Perhaps there is room for a new thread devoted to "injustices" dealt to individuals by the unfortunate section of the police force who forget that their job is to enforce the law, as opposed to believing that they are in fact, the law?

Mr Benevolent

Simple question OP. Did you perform an u-turn across a continuous single white line? Just yes or no will do.

Incidentally, what would you do in the case of a hit and run? If you hit a car, panicked and tore off into the distance, would you assume what you did was perfectly legal because no Garda specifically told you it was illegal and that you would be charged for it?

Same logic imo. Bit of an unreliable highhorse!

Saruman

Hang on a sec... If he had simply turned right, in to a side road or entrance on a single white line would that not be "crossing and continuous single white line?"
I am just curious what the difference between that and a U turn, say because you missed your turn earlier and is it covered in the rules of the road?

Also if a fixed charge is given by a Garda, should they not be given a receipt at the time? Seems to me that the Garda should have to take the signature of anyone they issue a fixed notice to so that it can be proven that they did in fact give such a notice and not just decided to do it later in the day.