had to go to court about it yesterday and we were supposed to be in front of a judge...
and the solicitor provided by the van insurance is ill and only find out about it the day before.... so I get a new one and try everything to contact him but ends up I meet him 20 min before we start....

then we find out itll be heard in front of magistrates instead of a judge... and this new solicitor tells me Im screwed my only chance is to plead guilty... (apparently magistrates arent legally trained, the other side will keep on about how the guy died and theyll feel bad and ban me)

so I let the new solicitor talk me into pleading guilty... he says Im not pleading guilty to causing it, just to being involved in it... so now I have to go back tommorow... but the more I think about it the more it pisses me off... everyone is telling me if i plead not guilty Ill lose my licence and then Id be screwed (need it for work) if I lose it Id have to hire someone to drive me around all day

then I get home and read about it in the paper with reports saying how it was all my fault and what a piece of sh*t I am

can hardly type Im so angry tbh, shouldnt have let him talk me into it, right now Im thinking Id rather lose my licence and at least be able to look myself in the mirror knowing I did the right thing.

thing is, I know its the right thing to do, I need to keep my liscence and its the only sure way to do it.

the local papers phone me up all the time anyway, Ive been spending a wad advetrising in them ! Ill tell them what I think of them next time they phone !

p.s. the quotes in the paper are from the guys family ! so not exactly un-biased

Have you actually made the plea yet or can it still be changed/retracted?

Im surprised you let him talk you into it Alan, you seemed to know exactly what was going on from the other solicitor. I hope it all comes through in your favour.

Id off another member of his family, that should keep them from going to the press.

TBH, I cant believe you have to go to court for it. Over here, if theres a death, the investigators come out, measure skid marks and damage, and then present it to the insurance companies to sort out. If its obvious that the dead person was at fault, then thats that. Of course, if you were driving like a lunatic, you could be convicted of manslaughter and spend some serious prison time.

the thing is, Im not pleading guilty to causing the accident, Im saying I was "involved" in it...

If I plead innocent, because the magistrates doing the sentencing aint legally trained they go more by emotion than law, and everyone I talk to Says Ill be screwed

If I plead guilty Ill get off with 6 points and a fine

just the lesser of to evils I guess.

its insane, they already know he wasnt there when I started to pull out, and that with the size of the van once Id started to move it was already too late for me to get past or stop before he hit me...

its all because I said I didnt see him... (theyve decided he was in my line of site for about 3.1 seconds) (to me the road was clear so I was looking into the opening I was going to go into)

so there was nothing I could do about it anyway.

Ive calmed down a bit now tho, at least it will be over and done with.

If Id thought ahead from the start instead of being honnest I could have said I did see him but it was too late, and Id have got off with it !
guess its what I get for doing the right thing eh ?

Quote from: knighty

If I plead guilty Ill get off with 6 points and a fine

what on earth for? pulling out of a junction minding your own business?

exactly !

Id love to fight it, Im not one for running away, but I cant risk losing my licence

well when I go back my solicitor gets to do a whole long thing about how Im pleading guilty because I feel "morally guilty" and then does the "but look at all of this evidence saying its not his fault"

I didnt have much faith in the legal system before this, and now I have none, just look what happend with M3ta7h3ad in burger king that time after the sam crasher.

the police told me at the time if hed survived theyd have forgotern about me and done him for it !

its a total farce tbh

thing is, when its a judge your working with the law and its all the reasonable doubt stuff

with magistrates there not trained in law, and its what they "think" happend,

Ive checked up with a few people and there all telling me magistrates rule with there hearts not there heads and the other side will go on non-stop about the dead guy and his family

I still cant beleave Im pleading guilty tbh

a few months back Id be outraged with 6 points and a fine, but now I just want it over with, if I loose my liscence itll cost me way mor than 6 points and the fine ever could.