And now from the Ministry of Stupidity

background:

The world has given us automatic speed cameras.

Vehicles that are detected as exceeding the speed limit are photographed.

The policing authority in which the offence took place checks the vehicle registration details with DVLA.

The policing authority send the registered keeper/owner a fixed penalty notice that:

Asks if the registered keeper/owner was driving the vehicle at the time of the offence (and therefore, admit to the offence and receive a light-ish fine and a three penality point endorsement on their driving licence).

The fixed penalty notice also asks – if the registered keeper/owner wasn’t the driver at the time of the offence – for the details of that person, so the fine and penalty points may be awarded to them.

A flaw in this system came to light: supposing the registered keeper/owner didn’t know who was driving the vehicle at the time of the offence? What would happen to the fine and the penalty points?

This situation isn’t impossible, as a logical person in our government should have been able to determine.

Suppose there’s a vehicle – might be a minibus, might be a van – filled with building contractors - on a long journey, the driving being shared between a number of folk.

The problem is compounded by the fact that it can take up to a month for the fixed penalty notice to arrive at the address of the registered keeper/owner.

Would a gang of people driving somewhere over a month ago remember who was behind the wheel at a specific time or place?

Another situation might be even more common: a husband and wife have one car between them and they too share the driving; who is going to remember whether the husband or the wife drove home from that family visit or that shopping trip almost a month ago?

In these situations the court has – up until now – decided that they can’t award any penalties because they don’t know who to award the penalties to.

Very good logic – given that the legal system was designed to go for the driver and not the registered keeper/owner.

and now today:

In an attempt to close this loophole the admin section of UK PLC have decided that where the registered keeper/owner of the vehicle is unable to identify who the driver at the time of the offence was (you can almost guess what’s coming, can’t you?)…

The penalty points should be applied to the driving licence of the registered keeper/owner.

That’s brilliant Ted (as Father Dougal would exclaim).

But sadly it isn’t  brilliant.

In fact, it’s quite stupid.

Supposing - just humour me for a few seconds – just supposing that the registered keeper/owner of the vehicle didn’t have a licence?

Oh dear, that’s buggered it.

But that would never happen, would it?

Well yes, it happens all the time.

Supposing the registered keeper/owner of that vehicle over there is a Ltd company?

Like, say, Hertz, or Europcar, or Easy?

Suppose the registered keeper/owner of that vanfull of contractors was His & Hers Building Contractors Ltd.

Or the owner of that minibus was King David School?

Sigh.

Humanity: so much potential, but outweighed by so much stupidity.

B.