A MOTORIST who drove an unroadworthy vehicle without insurance or a valid licence has been fined £3,700 by a judge – and called ‘foolish in the extreme’.
Alistair Hay (59) was seen driving out of St Brelade’s Parish Hall car park at 11.45am on 12 November last year.
The car had problems with its tyres, brakes, steering, horn and windscreen wipers – and the only licence Hay possessed was a provisional Jersey licence, which had expired in February 2018.
The Magistrate’s Court heard that Hay had held a UK driving licence but had been disqualified for three years in 2007 for drink-driving.
After the disqualification period, drivers are required to apply to have their licences restored, but Advocate Luke Sette, prosecuting, said: ‘There appears to have been no application for a new licence whatsoever.’
Without a valid licence, he added, motor insurance policies are invalid.
Advocate Christopher Austin, defending, said Hay accepted the defects to the car and had pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity to the offences of driving an unroadworthy vehicle and driving without insurance and a licence.
He added: ‘Mr Hay accepts that he didn’t have a Jersey licence at the material time.
‘He did believe he had a valid English licence.
‘He didn’t appreciate that he could exchange his English licence for a Jersey licence.
‘He wants to express his remorse.’
In addition to the 2007 drink-driving offence, Hay had been convicted for driving without a licence in January 2014, and Assistant Magistrate Peter Harris said: ‘Quite why the penny didn’t drop and you didn’t sort it out then, I don’t know.
‘You were foolish in the extreme not to have thought this through.’
As well as the fine he said that when Hay obtains a new licence it will be endorsed for three years.
Explaining the conditions, he said : ‘If you commit any other motoring offence within three years you are at an increased risk of being disqualified from driving.’
