Exact conditions of ban

Convicted Driver Insurance

new_pedestrian

Established Member
This may well be a stupid question, but I'm wondering about the exact conditions of a ban.

The scenario I'm thinking of is this: My car is on my drive, and I want to wash it and give it a good old clean out. I'm sitting in the driver's seat of the car with the key in the ignition so that I can listen to the radio. I have an air compressor which plugs into the cigar lighter, so I might even have the engine running.

Am I okay in that scenario, or could I be charged with being in charge of the vehicle while disqualified?
 
There is no such offence as being in charge of a vehicle whilst disqualified, only driving it. However, the second the car moves you would be driving and committing a serious, imprisonable offence.
 
Thanks for that swift reply. Just to clarify, even though it's on private land, I can't even move it forward or back a foot without committing an offence?

EDIT: What if I didn't start the engine but pushed it back a bit, does that still count? Sorry if this all sounds silly, I just want to make sure I don't get into trouble over something daft.
 
my driveway is quite long and far back from any road. I reguarly start mine up and move it up and down the diveway making sure the brakes aren`t sticking etc.

i also want to make sure my engine doesn`t have any problems when i am back on the road.

i also put this past a my solicitor who advised me as long as it was on private land where the public have no right to access then this was ok.

i could be wrong with the terminology but this is what i believe.
 
signman said:
my driveway is quite long and far back from any road. I reguarly start mine up and move it up and down the diveway making sure the brakes aren`t sticking etc.

i also want to make sure my engine doesn`t have any problems when i am back on the road.

i also put this past a my solicitor who advised me as long as it was on private land where the public have no right to access then this was ok.

i could be wrong with the terminology but this is what i believe.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't if I was you, unless the postman, milkman etc have no means or right of entry onto your property. You might thinks it's private land, but for the purposes you describe it probably isn't.
 
I think I'm going to wait until one of the two people I've just put on my insurance as named drivers comes round and get them to move the car.

Thanks for the replies; I think that the contentious nature of this problem suggests that the first reply from Stephenson's is the one to go with. If the law says any movement of a car under my control means getting into serious trouble, then I'll err on the side of caution.

Thanks again!
 
The offence of Disqualified Driving is only committed if the vehicle is driven on a "road", there is no mention of it having to be a public road (according to section 103 of the Road Traffic Act 1988).

However, the legal definition of a "road" is not necessarily what the average lay person might think. As is often the case with legal definitions, it is not the same as the ordinary every day use, dictionary definition and it depends on various factors. For example, is there a clearly definable right of way between two points and do the public have unfettered access? Bear in mind the public can have access to privately owned land and the fact the land is privately owned does not, necessarily, mean it is incapable of amounting to a "road". The definition of a "road" has been established over many years of case law and there are also various statutory definitions within road traffic law. Entire chapters of law books have been written on this subject and court cases can involved long and protracted arguments about whether something is a "road" or not.

Essentially, it will always be a matter of fact and degree whether a piece of land is a "road". Whilst the chances are that the solicitor you have spoken to is correct, I am reluctant to commit without seeing the driveway for myself.
 
"Whilst the chances are that the solicitor you have spoken to is correct,"

my solicitor was Julie Robertson of Stephensons. And the phrase she used was the one you just mentioned. "unfettered access"
 
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