Dementia sufferer, 76, in 24-hour care, found guilty over unpaid car insurance

A pensioner with vascular dementia has been convicted of failing to insure her car despite not driving since 2024

The 76-year-old woman requires 24-hour care and her condition means she would have been unable to understand the legal documents sent to her, according to court papers.

But the Hertfordshire resident was still convicted under the single justice procedure (SJP), amid claims that the fast-track process fails to protect defendants.

The magistrate who handled the woman’s case convicted and sentenced 135 other defendants on the same day.

The woman’s son-in-law pleaded guilty to keeping the Ford vehicle without valid insurance on her behalf, at a Leicester court.

However, she was given an absolute discharge, meaning she will not receive a fine or pay costs.

In court documents seen by the Press Association, her son-in-law said ‘unfortunately’ the documents to register a vehicle off the road (SORN) had not been completed.

However, he did detail his mother-in-law’s predicament and dementia-related medical history in a response to court documents.

‘She still owns the car, but it has been in her garage for over 18 months, and it hasn’t been driven,’ the documents said.

‘Her insurance wasn’t renewed because she isn’t able to drive anymore, but unfortunately, the SORN was not completed.

‘We are currently unable to find her V5C and logbook.’

The prosecutor – the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency [DVLA] – said a fixed penalty fine had been sent to the woman and not been paid.

Her son-in-law said he only learned of the charge when the SJP notice arrived in the post.

The government introduced SJPs in 2015 to ensure low-level alleged offenses – such as speeding and TV license evasion – are quickly resolved.

Defendants are sent a notice containing the charge by post and can either plead guilty by post or online, or request a court hearing.

If they do not respond within 21 days, or plead guilty, a single magistrate, assisted by a lawyer, can make a verdict.

Critics say that prosecutors, such as the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency [DVLA], do not routinely see letters sent alongside pleas that can contain important details, such as medical histories.

The DVLA itself has called for SJP reform so that prosecutors always see mitigation letters before a case goes to court.

Last week Sir Brian Leveson, a retired Court of Appeal judge, said he was ‘supportive of efforts to enhance safeguards for defendants’.

His independent review of the court called for greater transparency and measures to ensure ‘that mitigation is taken into account’.

Court records show that the DVLA brought more than 4,000 cases through the SJP system in the week that the pensioner was prosecuted.

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