Ok so we are due back on Monday, solicitor has advised to stick with unable to identify, or wife admits to offence. However it is now reasonably certain I was driving so how do you think that will go down. We worked it out by retracing the route and we can now work out where we stopped to swap and that it seems was after the lights in question. According to a few locals the lights in question are notorious for changing quickly and catching a lot of people out but the law is the law

I am not asking if you believe me or not. I may or may not be trying to evade the points, neither of us deny the offense we ask that clear evidence be shown as to who was driving at the time. Anyway for the sake of aggravation I may admit to the motoring offense as long as the fail to identify is dropped, the prosecution then gets the result..

Thanks Ray, we have used reasonable diligence to try and ascertain the driver, we did swap but can't be 100% certain which of us was the driver at that point. The 15 year old can not say either way(she was asleep) and we have checked phone records in case one of us had made a call around that period but again no joy.

Well it seems Lady Luck was on our side.. The legal adviser noticed an irregularity from the court with regard our original submitted plea and as such had all the charges rescinded. Mr prosecutor still wants his result and a new date has been set which gives us a month to get a more qualified person than me to deal with. I gave the court the opportunity to allocate the points for the offence to me however they seemed to ignore the fact I said there was a 70% chance I was driving at the time. The only witness we have is our 15 year old daughter who they won't call as she is a minor. I will need to seek legal representation however I would argue this surely our legal system follows the guidelines that a person is innocent of a crime unless PROVEN guilty? No one is denying the offence took place however the prosecution is reliant on admission of liability from the NIP., Which hasn't been filled out. The only physical evidence is a very unclear photo taken from behind.

Aretnap Thank you for your excellent response. 1. We honestly can't remember who was driving as we switched drivers, however as we did a loop and went through the same set of lights within a couple of minutes of each other it is difficult to ascertain. We have checked our phone records in case we used them at the time but that hasn't helped I don't know what else we can do to prove or disprove hence asking for the photo. This wasn't meant to shirk the responsibility of the driving offense either one of us are happy to accept the punishment if it can be proved who committed the offense. 2. But i could plead guilty as it is reasonable to assume I could have been driving, how is that handled? This is the third hearing where she has to attend to answer the charges, as far as I can read from the summons the case hasn't been decided they just want to see her in court. Do I need to inform the court I am acting as a McKenzie friend? The other 6 points were from a speeding offense and failure to identify however she is going to do a statement of declaration on Monday we weren't in the country for 5 weeks when the NIP was posted(2 days after we left) and never received a court date. She admits the speeding offense and is willing to accept the original offense and fine. Any how if she gets a ban she gets a ban we can work around that, it may be a good learning exercise for her with regard safe driving.

Hi Thanks in anticipation for your help. To be brief my wife's vehicle was photographed going through a red light in May this is not in question the offense happened. The issue here is it was at a time we were both in the car and neither one of us could have been driving. When the NIP came through I requested the photo evidence which duly arrived and proved inconclusive. The number plate and offence were clear from the rear of the vehicle however occupants could only be seen as smudgy silhouettes with no clear identification. The form that requests she identifies the driver was duly returned with a letter stating that we had both done all possible to help identify the driver but alas we can not. We offered to pay the fine but obviously were unable to accept the points. The court set a date and we sent a recorded letter of defense stating the same. The court then set another date!! but my wife failed to attend and as such had the police serve notice of a new date, THIS FRIDAY 18th January. My wife is worried sick about what to do. I have contacted the magistrate court and they have stated she must attend, I offered to represent and/or send a letter of defense but this has been declined. Can i still speak on her behalf, after all i am a co-defendant, as long as she is present in court? She has already got 9 points, I have a clean license. We are trying to appeal against 6 as there were mitigating circumstances but that is another issue I am reasonably confident we can sort. Thanks Wylie.