The Road Traffic Offenders (Northern Ireland) Order 1996

Fixed penalty notice mistakenly given: exclusion of fixed penalty procedures

66.—(1) This Article applies where, on inspection of a licence and its counterpart sent to him under Article 60(7), it appears to the fixed penalty clerk that the person whose licence it is would be liable to be disqualified under Article 40 if he were convicted of the offence in respect of which the fixed penalty notice was given.

(2) The fixed penalty clerk must not endorse the counterpart of the licence under Article 63 but must instead send it together with the licence to the Chief Constable.

(3) Nothing in this Part prevents proceedings being brought in respect of the offence in respect of which the fixed penalty notice was given where those proceedings are commenced before the end of the period of 6 months beginning with the date on which that notice was given.

(4) Where proceedings in respect of that offence are commenced before the end of that period, the case is from then on to be treated in all respects as if no fixed penalty notice had been given in respect of the offence.

(5) Accordingly, where proceedings in respect of that offence are so commenced, any action taken in pursuance of any provision of this Part by reference to that fixed penalty notice shall be void (including, but without prejudice to the generality of the preceding provision—

(a) the registration under Article 76 of any sum, determined by reference to the fixed penalty for that offence, for enforcement against the person whose licence it is as a fine, and

(b) any proceedings for enforcing payment of any such sum within the meaning of Articles 78 and 79 (defined in Article 79(5))).

(6) In determining for the purposes of paragraph (1) whether a person convicted of an offence would be liable to disqualification under Article 40, it shall be assumed, in the case of an offence in relation to which a range of numbers is shown in the last column of Part I or Part II of Schedule 1, that the number of penalty points to be attributed to the offence would be the lowest in the range.