zoidberg
Well-known member
I suspect I won't be the only one to note with interest the almost £2000 fine handed to a jet-skier today, by Plymouth Magistrates....
Greed for speed
- Thread starter zoidberg
- Start date
JumbleDuck
Well-known member
It was only a £200 fine, with costs of £1700, which seems remarkably high for a guilty plea.
Danger jet skier raced at hellish speeds in Plymouth Sound
Neeves
Well-known member
I always find the fines, in this case the stg 200, are remarkably low, hardly a significant deterrent.
Jonathan
Jonathan
zoidberg
Well-known member
Perhaps that specific Magistrate had a persistent stammer......
duncan99210
Well-known member
Often fines have been laid down in old legislation and not updated. However, an inventive magistrate can impose a costs order to increase the effective penalty. IIRC the fine in the Atalanta case (race boat getting across the bow of a tanker) was comparatively small but the costs element was initially £30k but reduced to £15k on appeal.
JumbleDuck
Well-known member
The newspaper report says that he was done for exceeding an 8 knot speed limit, which looks like a breach of a rule from Schedule 1 of the Dockyard Port of Plymouth Order 1999:
10 (3) No vessel within the Dockyard Port shall exceed a speed of 8 knots through the water to the east of a line drawn from Fisher’s Nose to the western end of Mount Batten Breakwater, save with a licence in writing signed by the Queen’s Harbour Master and where authorised in accordance with paragraph (2) (b) above.
According to the act itself,
6 (2) The master of every merchant or private vessel shall comply with the Rules contained in Schedule 2 hereto and any such master, who by his wilful default infringes any of the said Rules shall in respect of each offence be liable to the same penalties as if the offence had been an infringement of the Collision Regulations.
The report also says that the Dockyard Ports Regulation Act 1865 was involved, which as amended contains
6 Penalties in such Orders.
Any such Order in Council may impose such reasonable penalties as seem fit, not exceeding for any offence level 3 on the standard scale.
Any such Order in Council may impose such reasonable penalties as seem fit, not exceeding for any offence level 3 on the standard scale.
From the Criminal Justice Act (1982) as amended, "Level 3" is up to £1000 so it looks as if he got off fairly lightly.
Stemar
Well-known member
Am I right in thinking that magistrates are constrained by guidance that may force them to give less than a maximum fine for a first offence? If so, I applaud the creative thinking with the costs that made a piffling fine sting a bit.
Leighb
Well-known member
Chances are that the toe rag won’t pay, a very high percentage of court penalties are simply ignored I believe.