Don't read this if you haven't time for a rant!!

We'll start an online petition for you Steve :icon_biggrin:

Free the Herefordshire One!!

[nattydread]

no.. dont save him..
lock him up..
throw away the key..


What about the innocent telegraph pole...?
Who's going to fight for him..





(only kddingStevey)
I bet there is a branch of the do gooders thats into protecting telegraph poles though...
Bastards!!

Pardon the french!!

[Welshgirl]

:046: @ Craig's comment......... very true about telegraph poles probably being a protected species though!

[MotherBear]

I don?t know if you?ve written the letter yet Stevey. It certainly wouldn?t hurt to say that you are quite willing to undertake the driving course for the general betterment of your driving skills, but you resent having to do it as a punishment for something you don?t consider you did wrong. I can see their concern that they think you lost control, but I?m not sure how they think this is an offence in itself. Once upon a time I used to work in the Magistrates? Court and frequently in the road traffic courts. Usually ?driving without due care and attention? comes about when you have been neglectful or careless in your driving and I don?t see hitting a large puddle and consequently aquaplaning as a result as being either neglectful or careless unless you had deliberately raced into the puddle for a bit of fun (which, no doubt, you hadn?t). I don?t know how deep the puddle appeared to be, but perhaps the police interpretation would be that you should have slowed to a crawl to get through it. If it wasn?t at all obvious just how deep it was (thereby causing more of a problem) then it would have been considered reasonable to have motored on as normal.

Here?s a link which explains about aquaplaning so that, if they come back to you on the matter, you are well armed.

http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/aquaplaning

[SteveyC]

Awww thanks motherbear your so supportive. (Can I have you mum Taff). Yeah was gonna put about being more than willing to improve my driving but not as an acceptance of blame.
I went round the same corner on saturday and noticed it's an adverse camber as well. It wasn't a huge puddle at all but may have been a dip in the road making the rivlet deeper at that spot not to mention the possibility of petrol or oil on the road.
That's why I was so baffled at first, as the situation was by no means obvious to carelessness. I've got my wife and kids in the car, the road is awefully wet and I was in no hurry whatsoever. I think they've just seen young driver, drives sporty(ish) car, drives/spins off road in 30mph zone, must have been going too fast and I wouldn't really dispute the first impression. But with so many other possible causes and so little evidence to any of them how can they possibly charge me with a crime. They didn't even examine the car or anything to see if tyres were bald or it was road legal.
Hey Ho, will write letter tomorrow I'm sure it will be fine, I know how often I have driven carelessly (in there eyes) so I know for sure how 'uncarelessly' I was driving this time. If the worse comes to the worse, I will just take it, my conscience is clear and that's the main thing.

[moggy]

It happens to us all. I was driving in a 60 limit on a country road that I didn't know. I wasn't driving particularly fast as it was raining heavily. I went into a bend that proved tighter that I thought, the road was wet and there were wet leaves on the road. I went into a skid, skidded over the other side of the road. There were two cars coming, the first I missed, the second, well I have no idea how he got out of my way, I and my passenger, were waiting for the bang... it never came. I ended on the verge and then back eventually onto my side of the road. I pulled up, shaking like a leaf, but no damage was done, how, I don't know. I think I may have gone into that corner at 40mph.
I would hate to think that I could have got done for it.

[skybluearmy]

If it helps the TW*T that knocked me off my bike :icon_evil: was offered one of those courses(for dangerous driving/due care and attention) but declined and the police were going to prosecute but the CPS threw it out, so you might want to try and brave it and decline their kind offer :icon_idea:

[MotherBear]

They will try it on Stevey. If I remember rightly, when I worked for them (yes, the police as well as the courts) they had quotas to fill and your incident would have fitted the bill nicely. The only way to overcome it is to write your letter, not condemning but just setting down everything you?ve said in here: road conditions were bad and you were driving accordingly with your family on board, you did nothing untoward to cause the accident, it came totally out of the blue (then give some blurb about aquaplaning and how if affects the control of the car) and that, whereas a freak accident did occur, you don?t understand why you are being charged with driving without due care when you feel you actually were driving as carefully as you thought fit, given the difficult conditions. If you include the bit about considering taking the advanced driving course off your own back anyway, that might be seen as your being a safety-conscious driver and would go down well.

Do you know what the other driver has said in his evidence regarding your driving prior to the incident? If he hasn?t said anything derogatory, I don?t know where the prosecution will draw their evidence from that you were driving badly.

[img:c09d6b351a]http://www.my-smileys.de/generator/signs2/eca9addab168df7d0637dfb2bce62fd8.png[/img:c09d6b351a]

[SteveyC]

[i:01e31679bc]"Dear Mr Cargill, I refer to your letter of 19 Septermber 2005 that was passed to the decision maker for her consideration. She has now cancelled her request for the driver improvement course. There will be no further police action with regard to this incident."[/i:01e31679bc]

Woo Hoo!!! Finally something went right, hope it's the first of many things to start working.

Gave me a written caution but although still a bit batty, there's no conditions attached so think it was just a formality. Made me feel a bit better anyway. :icon_biggrin:

[nattydread]

common sense prevailed in the end..

Hope thats the corner of goodluck turned and all will start to fall into place for you from here on in..