Anyone been to court for this

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steve312, Aug 6, 5:44pm
Stop beating around the bush and tell them what you really think :o)
smac, Aug 6, 6:00pm
beno as above the info you need is in the link I gave. It seems you've decided to represent yourself in court, so if you are intimidated or confused by the legislation in the link, then you've made a bad call. Get a statement in writing from the workshop explaining that you were booked in, at the very least.
nightsky1, Aug 6, 6:04pm
It's where you get to look stupid in front of everybody
and you get fined.
You should have got the WOF when you said you were going to get it.
Now the JP's will know you were telling big porkies.

When / where is it
We want to come and laugh
thejazzpianoma, Aug 6, 6:11pm
Of the cop not the one being pulled over. Some are just nasty little power trippers, others are fair and reasonable. I am always nice and polite to them but I have seen both.
loonee-dial-111, Aug 6, 6:16pm
It's a 2 stage process.
Stage 1 pre hearing
You plead guilty or not guilty
You can discuss the case with the prosecutor but this can disadvantage you later on if you have a flimsy case. They will take what you said to the police officer who ticketed you and the police officer may agree to drop the charge. What you say will be used against you! If you have proof this could persuade them to drop the case.
You can also plead guilty and hope to get a reduced sentence, but this only applies to dangerous or careless driving, or driving while suspended. Otherwise there is no possibility of sentence reduction.
Ask to see the duty solicitor on the day and/or go to the Citizens Advice Bureau before hand if you need help from a real lawyer.

If they don't drop the case then you get.

Stage 2 defended hearing
This is where a lawyer is helpful (as the process isn't as straightforward). The police officer gets called as a witness and you can cross examine them. This is where you win or lose the case. If it is your word against theirs, all they need to do is lie and they will win (yes they do lie). You need some evidence to prove your case. Having the car repaired and/or a letter or some receipts with dates would help. A lawyer will know the correct order of presenting the evidence and asking the right questions. And again, what you say will be used against you.
thejazzpianoma, Aug 6, 6:18pm
Good on you for fighting this OP. The Cop's play dirty on this part of the law.

Having been caught in past I rang the local cop shop before I was going to drop a car down for a WOF. I politely asked them if they would mind noting the reg and the date/time it would be on the road so it would save everyone hassle if I was pulled over.

Instead of a polite response I was first told that it was against the law and couldn't be used on the road. When I pointed out that this was untrue (politely) they just blathered on and tole me they would not note any details.

Some of them are just nasty scum with no interest in being fair and reasonable let alone road safety. If everyone takes action and dosn't just cough up for an unfair fine they will get the message and stop trying it on.

Best of luck to you.

Oh, and don't be put off by the WOF not being done yet. The law just says that you are allowed the car on the road for purposes of obtaining a WOF. Work takes as long as work takes, don't be bullied into paying an unfair ticket.

If what you are doing is legitimate then its legitimate. The Cops are known to try and bully you into "their" interpretation of the law which is often completely absurd. Just as it was in my case, apparently driving to the wof garage for a wof was not "on the road for the purposes of obtaining a wof" in their interpretation. goodness knows what they think it means.

Again, good on you and good luck!
steve312, Aug 6, 6:18pm
And of course no one uses the excuse of being on the way to have a WOF done when caught breaking the law.

FFS.The original poster gets ticketed for no WOF or Rego and claims to be taking the vehicle for pre-WOf repairs yet has now decided that it will be better to not have any repairs done or WOF check completed.

Seems highly unlikely to me and I would love to be a fly on the wall at the hearing.

Guilty.Pay the man.
thejazzpianoma, Aug 6, 6:21pm
BTW, since many Cop's are incapable of being fair and reasonable I think its time that there is a clear process under the law. Some sort of system where you can go online and register the vehicle movement before hand sounds fair and reasonable to me and much easier for all involved.

Its easy enough to limit how many times a vehicle can be moved under this system to stop abuse.
aragorn2003, Aug 6, 6:24pm
Could have atleast given you 21 days , that's what happened to me the last time I had no wof and rego.
fryan1962, Aug 6, 6:25pm
I was with you when you said you were going to get it fixed, now forget it,and cop made the right choice
smac, Aug 6, 6:41pm
Jazz your memory is failing you again.remember you used to whinge about this, but then the Police announced they were going to trial the EXACT system you said they should, and yet you STILL whinged about their motives and the way it would work. Now you're back to saying they should do it.make up your mind!
msigg, Aug 6, 7:07pm
They are not stupid, they have heard it all before,Take responsibility for yourself. Stop waisting police time on stupid things. YEA your correct smac, too many whingers.
thejazzpianoma, Aug 6, 7:12pm
Actually my memory is a bit iffy since I got crook (seriously). I am remembering something about it now though.but what happened!
I have heard nothing in the press about it, was there a trial in the end or not!

BTW, I am not sure why everyone is so eager to be the lobster in the pot with regard to road Policing. It should be abundantly clear by now that the rules are being over policed to the point of absurdity. Yet until people are personally caught out first hand, they seem to be really eager to lap up whatever they are served.
beno, Aug 6, 9:01pm
the hearing is on sept 6th in Auckland. feel free to come along everybody. If land transport say that you can take your car to the workshop for repairs to get a wof then the law should stand on its own merit regardlesss of what any cop might say. or am i niaive.
So my next Q is : Do i need legal representation! ITS ONLY A $300 ticket but this is about being within the law. and i feel somewhat wronged by the police.
pauldw, Aug 6, 9:24pm
You haven't been wronged by anyone yet. The cop caught you without a warrant, his job is to give you the ticket. Your job is to send in an explanation that you were delivering the car to the garage as permitted. If the WOF and Reg have been expired for months they may say you've had plenty of time to sort this already. Then you could feel wronged (unless you've been driving it all the time :)
fryan1962, Aug 6, 9:59pm
they should have duty lawyer at courthouse he can advise you on the day,someone else may confirm this he is free. not 100% on kiwi system
snoopy221, Aug 6, 10:03pm
Ya juss 4got ta tellz us dat ya warrant and rego was lyke only 6 mnths outa date!
Like YOUR DEFENCE!
Is SIMPLY THE WARRANT WAS BOOKED A DAY PAST IT'S EXPIRY AS THE GARAGE WAS BUSY!
1coppertone, Aug 7, 4:58am
Did you ever bother to write a letter of explanation before all of this got to this stage! At the same time you wrote in asking for a defended hearing it would have been a good time to push pen to paper and add and explain what your true intentions were for that day ( name of garage, the route you needed to take to get there, etc etc. ) and there's a good chance the whole thing would have been waived long before it got to this mess. if you didn't do any of the above or only did things partial Im afraid you may have just dug your own hole. you mite just have to take it on the chin this time but hopefully your be able to walk away knowing you've learnt a great deal from the whole experience ;-)good luck anyway!
arandomusername, Aug 7, 6:10am
Your attitude towards police makes you incapable of reasonable discussion.

Remember the time police introduced a warning system for traffic offenses where there was no fines involved and you said that it was just another way of "gathering revenue"!

No matter what the police do, there are a minority of people like you who will remain vehemently anti-police.
beno, Aug 7, 7:02am
Just for all you sceptics, the car hasnt been used for months, it had been sat in the driveway. i booked it in at the workshop and was taking it there by the shortest route. Whether or not i have been driving it round is irrelevant to this issue. the point is land transport say you can use a car to get to the workshop without a wof and rego. the cop handed out a ticket and i believe the police are wrong in this case.
steve312, Aug 7, 7:05am
In proceedings for an offence against subclause (1) or (2) that relates to an unlicensed motor vehicle, it is a defence if the defendant proves that??
beno, Aug 7, 7:05am
So if i win, Any of you will be able to quote my case as reference should the same circumstances ever happen to you. and how many of you have driven a car albeit briefly without a wof and reg. You should all be supporting me instead.
smac, Aug 7, 7:13am
beno I think the reason you're getting a bit of grief is because you've not confirmed that you've done the very basic thing of providing a written explanation to the Police about why the vehicle was being used. Therefore people may assume you're trying it on.

Yes it is an infringement offence to use a vehicle on the road with no WoF, so the Police give you a ticket. No problem with that. Yes there is a defence, which is over to you to provide.
sifty, Aug 7, 7:16am
Exactly.
beno, Aug 7, 7:19am
exactly. and thank you for the link to justice smac. I didnt know where to find that. Frankly I.ve never been to court before and the thought of it is quite daunting. I guess ill gather as much evidence as possible and turn up un the day. Can anybody tell me more about the duty lawyer!