Pensioner with 'severe dementia' living in care home is prosecuted by DVLA

19 February 2024 , 14:55

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A man with dementia was prosecuted by the DVLA (Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto)

A pensioner in a care home with severe dementia was prosecuted by DVLA for allowing his car insurance to lapse.

The 83-year-old had stopped driving two years ago but he still had a car, a classic red 1975 MG that he kept in his garage. His daughter reportedly attempted to tell a court that he was suffering from “severe dementia” but he was still convicted.

The unnamed man went into a care home on October 11 last year and he was contacted the following day by the DVLA who accused him of allowing his car insurance to run out. And this reportedly led to a prosecution via the controversial Single Justice Procedure.

His daughter tried to tell the court that her father, who lives in Potters Bar, Hertfordshire, was incapacitated due to dementia and is now receiving full-time care in a nursing home. She wrote to the court saying that his illness meant he was incapable of remembering to insure his car.

A note written by the daughter to the court

She stated: “I am his daughter and have power of attorney. The vehicle was in a secure garage off premises," reported the Evening Standard. The note added: “My father lost his licence to drive over two years ago and we were unaware the classic MG was uninsured and he would not have the capacity to remember to insure it.”

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The daughter claimed the Single Justice Procedure notice was the first indication there was an outstanding penalty charge, as "no previous request was found at his home address". The Single Justice Procedure is undertaken by magistrates who, with assistance from a legal adviser, decide summary-only, non-imprisonable and victimless offences.

The DVLA told the Standard it had not seen the mitigation letter when it was entered alongside a guilty plea, as it was passed directly to the court, and the daughter did not contact the organisation itself. The Mirror has contacted the DVLA for further comment.

Magistrates can refer guilty pleas with mitigation to the DVLA, but doing so is entirely their decision, and the organisation added it does not routinely have sight of mitigating circumstances. The pensioner was ultimately not fined or punished for the lapsed insurance, a magistrate ruled, but he will receive a criminal conviction as a result of the case.

Tim Hanlon