£4500 fine for mobo driver

[Birdseye]

But before you say "good" is it really a £4500 fine as implied by YBW. No it isnt - its more a condemnation of our legal system.

He was fined £400 and ordered to pay costs of £3,515, compensation of £612 and a victim surcharge of £40, totalling £4,567. Which is another way of saying that lawyers creamed it whilst the reported damage quote " causing moored boats to lift, rock and violently roll from side to side, sending cabin contents crashing to the floor and ripping some vessels from their moorings." merited £612

Our justice system is no more than a gravy train for lawyers. It cannot be acceptable that costs are almost 10 times bigger than the fine.

 

[dom]

He could have just accepted he was in the wrong and paid up - sounds like appalling behaviour on his part IMHO. The thing is that it wastes a lot of legal time when people spin out a case against them and that in turn runs up costs. That's what this chap seems to have done, he lost and now he must pay the price. Can't see what's unfair about that.

 

[macd]

Link?

 

[Greenheart]

Warning to anyone thinking this thread might relate interestingly to anything lately propagated by, or on behalf of Mr Winter...it isn't.

At least, not so far. Birdseye, isn't this one for the Lounge?

 

[dartmoor]

He would have only had to pay those costs because he contested the case. Had he entered a plea admitting responsibility, the costs would have been minimal. So hard lesson learned I would say!

 

[Searush]

Warning to anyone thinking this thread might relate interestingly to anything lately propagated by, or on behalf of Mr Winter...it isn't.

At least, not so far. Birdseye, isn't this one for the Lounge?

It's boaty enough for here in my view. The guy obviously felt it was worth risking 4k in solicitor's fees in the hope of getting off the fine & damages for pleading guilty. Poor people often have to plead guilty because they can't afford the legal help to fight the charge, so one assumes that he probably won't miss the 5k total bill. It's only the equivalent of a tank full of fuel for him at a guess.

 

[oldgit]

Link?

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/boater-to-pay-4567

 

[sailorman]

The vessel was well named

 

[Greenheart]

The guy obviously felt it was worth risking 4k in solicitor's fees in the hope of getting off the fine & damages for pleading guilty.

Agreed...except, the case is not really any more related to boats, than the chap who fly-tips broken bits of an old dinghy. Just wretchedly antisocial behaviour.

Evidently this fellow was in a filthy temper, at an hour when most river-users wanted to be asleep...and with a determination which hints at a long evening of drinking, he and his mate risked everything to get aboard the boat, and departed without a thought for others on the river.

It indicates temporarily lunatic levels of irresponsibility, (whereas recent threads here have brought up the issue of whether motorboat-speed even at sea, is inconsiderate)...

...but if the legal case & consequences are in focus, this is one for the Lounge...and if a stupid, angry river-boater's behaviour is in question, it's one for the Thames forum.

 

[macd]

Thanks oldgit. Sounds like he deserved every penny.

 

[sailorman]

Agreed...except, the case is not really any more related to boats, than the chap who fly-tips broken bits of an old dinghy. Just wretchedly antisocial behaviour.

Evidently this fellow was in a filthy temper, at an hour when most river-users wanted to be asleep...and with a determination which hints at a long evening of drinking, he and his mate risked everything to get aboard the boat, and departed without a thought for others on the river.

It indicates temporarily lunatic levels of irresponsibility, (whereas recent threads here have brought up the issue of whether motorboat-speed even at sea, is inconsiderate)...

...but if the legal case & consequences are in focus, this is one for the Lounge...and if a stupid, angry river-boater's behaviour is in question, it's one for the Thames forum.

Its purely a boat thread unlike petrol in a diesel car

 

[dom]

...but if the legal case & consequences are in focus, this is one for the Lounge...and if a stupid, angry river-boater's behaviour is in question, it's one for the Thames forum.

Then again he was driving a motorboat!

 

[Greenheart]

To be honest, I was really hoping this thread would be about a case where a sea-going square-ended motor-boat had unthinkingly stirred up estuary moorings, and duly had his wallet emptied by the ancient, outraged magistrate (who might have been a local keelboat racer ).

Bit disappointed to find that it's just a bit of fuss on the Thames, last year.

Although, if any ruddy little uniformed skunks in RIBs start telling us how fast we can and can't go in tidal waters, I'll flip-flop immediately.

 

[Viking]

Of course 'justice' is a gravy train. Law and the system is made by lawyers in Parliament. Justice is everyone's right, like health. So it should be Nationalized! Like the NHS. Can you see the lawyers in Parliament passing anything like that? Ha!

 

[lw395]

Would his costs have been borne by insurance?

 

[macd]

Would his costs have been borne by insurance?

That would probably depend on whether he had:
a) legal cover;
b) a convincing argument that he wasn't being reckless (which wouldn't seem to be borne out by what we know).

 

[jrudge]

I used to keep our boat on the lower thames and head to the upper thames for the weekend.

This is by no means isolated. I believe that every single time we moored on the bank a "speed boat" went past in the hours of darkness causing huge wash. The authorities knock off about 5pm, 6pm or whatever and after that is it open season.

I own a motor boat and quite why this forum chooses to criticise all mobo owners for the actions of total total prat is beyond me, but whatever makes you happy.Assume it is an English thing as we are in Mallorca and everyone simply waves and help each other with their lines. Maybe the sun makes everyone happy.

 

[duncan99210]

If I remember rightly, didn't the racing type who challenged a tanker in the Solent wind up paying a fine of somewhere in the region of £3k and costs in the order of £30k? The costs business seems to me to be a ways to deliver an additional kick in the pants to those who need it and can afford it where the law doesn't allow any higher punishment. Rare to see a large costs order made when the court knows it won't be recovered.

 

[TeamSpirit]

This thread should not been seen as any criticism of 'all Mobos' as has been suggested. This is not an issue about what boat this chap has but about the mindlessness of his behaviour which failed to accept the consequences of and chose to argue his defence or attempt to mitigate his actions in a court of law ............ and lost the case. He is regrettably not the only offender but of course he was the offender who was caught and they sufficient evidence to make a case against him.
Sadly by mere design and speed this will predominantly apply to MOBO's - however, there is equally mindless behaviour by raggie's, jetskier's, and others; it is just that it is, on balance they are less likely to cause as much irritation and damage. Reassuringly this sort of behaviour is only rarely undertaken by a tiny minority of folks.

 

[Searush]

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/boater-to-pay-4567

Many of the boats attending Henley would be priceless classics in immaculate order & owned by high profile people. A 29 year old yob, "of no fixed abode" in a temper would certainly get short shrift - as indeed he did. I' bet the judge knew several of the people affected by the yobbish behaviour.

It pays to consider who you are upsetting before you do anything as brazen & daft as that.