[Cam92]

So last month I bought a dirtbike from a friend on a Saturday and we had briefly mentioned that I was going to use the bike the next day so not to change the v5 just yet so that my insurance from my road bike (covers me fully comp to ride any other bike) would cover me to go out on it on the Sunday.

So Sunday comes along and I take the bike out fully under the impression I am insured.
I then got followed into a petrol station and approached at the pump by a PCSO officer in a police vehicle.
She said she had approached me about the small plate on the bike (it was very small and I hold my hands up that it was definitly too small) and that North Yorkshire police are currently running an operation against off road vehicles.
then more officers turned up and asked me to provide my insurance, at the time I couldn’t actually get my policy from my road bike up as it wouldn’t let me log in so they started to do there own checks, to which they discovered the ownership had already been transferred into my name.
This now meant that technically the insurance from the previous owner was now invalid and my road bikes insurance doesn’t cover me to ride another bike unless it’s insured by the owner also.

so I have recieved a NIP for driving with no insurance consisting of 6 points and a £300 fine.
i have since spoken to my friend the previous owner and he had also cancelled the policy on the Saturday before I was pulled over on the Sunday, he had forgotten we had spoken about not changing the v5 and had just gone through the usual motions of selling a vehicle, I’m not mad at him at all as it was a genuine mistake but I am now in hot water.

is it worth me taking this to court to plead it was an innocent mistake and for a lesser sentence IE no points and a larger fine? I understand I am in the wrong and should probably in hind site double checked all these details before going out on it but 6 points on my licence for the next 5 years is pretty harsh.

thanks in advance to anyone that can provide any insight.

[TC1474]

Sorry, but you have committed what is called an absolute offence, and making a mistake or assuming you were covered I am afraid is no defence or mitigation.

I have lost count of the number of riders (and drivers) I have caught and reported in exactly your situation, and whilst it is your right to plead not guilty or plead guilty with mitigation, given how seriously the courts are currently treating no insurance offences, you run a severe risk of having the standard FPN fine and points increased.

Choice is yours though.

[Beelzebub]

@TC1474OP, TC is right and you have no defence.

If you look at your V5C it says in big red letters that it is NOT proof of ownership.

You became the owner the second you bought the bike. What the seller advised the DVLA was the change of keeper, not owner.

[Drivingforfun]

I’m just extrapolating but if he did end up crashing, would the only way for the insurance to cover it be for the seller to claim he had stolen the bike, which is obviously worse than having no insurance?

[TC1474]

@Drivingforfun

You are getting into the realms of the what if's?

The bottom line is that no policy was in force and the offence is absolute.

Had a crash occurred then the third party has the option of going down the MiB uninsured route (and the protocols are a pain) (£350 excess for damage only) but the MiB then has the option of going after the alleged offender to recover their costs (which I have seen happen a few times)