NEW: “I have received a fixed charge notice for driving with excess alcohol...

Beware of AI bots giving 'legal advice'.

“I have received a fixed charge notice for driving with excess alcohol in Donegal where I have a holiday home. It comprises a €400 penalty and a 6-month driving ban. I've paid the fine and am awaiting notification of when my suspension is to commence.

My question is, does the 6 months ban also apply in NI where I have my main residence. I know that there is mutual recognition of disqualification arising from court decisions, but I'm unsure if this mutual recognition agreement also applies to suspensions where there has been no court case”.

This question was asked in an online forum, justanswer.co.uk.

"In the end these bots are all the same:

the only thing they can tell you is what they have

managed to scrape from the internet.

In other words, they cannot give any unique insights

or real-world experiences because, as robots,

they don’t have any"

The person asking the question was messaging someone “Alison” who described herself as:

“a qualified Solicitor, and I will be able to help you by providing you with an answer to your question today. I specialise in UK and Irish Law. I am not always online but rest assured if I do not respond immediately I will respond when I return.”

The answer ‘she’ gave was wrong, totally wrong.

When the writer asked her to confirm that his disqualification in the Republic of Ireland would not be recognised as a disqualification in Northern Ireland she wrote:

“Under the mutual recognition and driving disqualifications agreement of the European Convention, if you are disqualified from driving in one participating country, such as the UK or Ireland, the disqualification may be recognized and enforced in the other country”.

Given the question she was asked, this was completely incorrect legal advice.

This is a recurring problem with this website, which seems to take advantage of vulnerable people by linking them with “bots”, AI-powered entities designed to replicate a real lawyer.

‘Alison’ was either an AI bot or an extremely incompetent lawyer. My suspicion was that she was computer-generated.

In the end these bots are all the same: the only thing they can tell you is what they have managed to scrape from the internet. In other words, they cannot give any unique insights or real-world experiences because, as robots, they don’t have any.

Let’s get to the point.

The Agreement on the Mutual Recognition of Driving Disqualifications is a law that covers disqualifications in the UK and Ireland.

The law states that if someone is convicted and disqualified by a court in Ireland, the authorities in the UK can recognise that disqualification there.

So, if you’re disqualified by a court in Ireland, that disqualification is effective in the UK. Same applies if you’re disqualified in the UK: it’s recognised in Ireland.

In order for this law to apply you have to have been convicted and disqualified from driving by a court.

For a fuller description of this process, I’ll include a link to an article I’ve written:

https://www.phoransolicitors.com/post/new-can-you-drive-in-ireland-if-banned-from-driving-in-the-uk

_______________________

Convictions only happen in court. In other words, you can only be convicted by a judge.

If you get penalty points for speeding or mobile phone offences, while you will get points and a fine, you don’t get a conviction.

That’s because points are applied automatically by a government computer, not a judge.

So, they’re not a conviction.

The treaty between Ireland and the UK does not apply to an accumulation of penalty points.

Let’s get back to the writer’s question:

“I have received a fixed charge notice for driving with excess alcohol in Donegal where I have a holiday home. It comprises a €400 penalty and a 6-month driving ban. I've paid the fine and am awaiting notification of when my suspension is to commence. My question is, does the 6 months ban also apply in NI where I have my main residence?”

What can we tell from this question?

We know that the writer:

·       Received a fixed charge notice,

·       Has a holiday home in Donegal,

·       Lives in Northern Ireland

·       Has paid the fine,

·       Will be disqualified in Republic of Ireland

·       Is wondering whether he’ll also be disqualified in Northern Ireland

So, will he also be disqualified from driving in Northern Ireland?

The answer is ‘No’.

Because the writer received a 6-month disqualification because of a “fixed charge notice” and not a court-ordered disqualification, the treaty between Ireland and the UK does not apply.

Which means that his disqualification in Ireland will not be recognised in Northern Ireland or the UK.

It’s just a shame someone didn’t tell “Alison” this.