Commonly asked questions

You are permitted to drive a vehicle with an expired MOT Test Certificate to the testing centre provided

• It is for a pre arranged appointment
• You are insured to drive that vehicle on a road
• The vehicle has a current excise licence
• The vehicle is otherwise roadworthy .

The registered keeper of the vehicle will receive a Notice of Intended Prosecution within 14 days of the alleged offence. If the keeper hears nothing within 14 days it is unlikely to go to court.

The registered keeper is required by law to complete the Notice of Intended Prosecution, giving details of the driver/rider at the time of the alleged offence. The person named will then receive a summons to court in due course.

An endorsement must stay on your driving licence for the following periods of time:

11 years from date of conviction if the offence is:

• Drinking or drugs and driving (shown on the licence as DR10, DR20, DR30 and DR80).
• Causing death by careless driving whilst under the influence of drink/drugs (shown on the licence as CD40, CD50 and CD60).
• Causing death by careless driving, then failing to provide a specimen for analysis (shown on the licence as CD70).

Or 4 years from the date of conviction if the offence is for

• Reckless/dangerous driving (shown on the licence as DD40, DD60 and DD80).
• Offences resulting in disqualification.
• Disqualified from holding a full driving licence until a driving test has been passed.

Or 4 years for all other offences.

However, new drivers need to note that

• Under the New Drivers Act your driving licence will be revoked if you build up six or more penalty points within two years of passing your first driving test.
• You'll need to reapply for your driving licence as a learner driver and re sit your driving test.
• This includes any points accrued whilst still on a provisional licence
• In simple terms it means you will become a Learner Driver again and have to re sit every part of the driving test including the theory test.

If you are the driver, you need to exchange the following details with the other drivers involved, owners of any property damaged or witnesses who ask you.

• Name and address of the driver (You)
• Name and address of the owner of the car (If different)
• The registration number of the vehicle

All details must be exchanged at the scene otherwise you must attend, in person, a police station and report the matter as soon as possible and in any case, within 24 hours. Bring your driving licence, insurance certificate and MOT test certificate if your vehicle needs one.

If you do exchange all details at the scene you do not need to come to the police station.

Keeping or using an untaxed vehicle on a public road is an excise offence.

Even if you have purchased the licence it must also be displayed. Under Section 33 Vehicle Excise Registration Act 1994 a vehicle can be kept on the road without a valid tax disc for the first five working days at the beginning of the month for which the tax disc should be renewed.

The police have never been the prosecuting agency for such offences but until recently, officers have made a note of vehicles on the road without tax and then passed the details onto DVLA.

Nowadays the approach is direct to the DVLA by telephone, letter or online.

The telephone number is 0300 7906802 Mon-Fri 0900-1700. This can be done anonymously.

The address of your local DVLA in Sussex is;

DVLA 4th Floor,
Mocatta House
Trafalgar Place
Brighton
East Sussex BN1 4UE

You can also do this online at the DVLA website

Callers making contact with police in respect of abandoned vehicles tend to be reporting;

Vehicles left in such a position and in such condition that it appears likely they are abandoned by the owners - this is a waste management issue.

Via our partners in Operation Crackdown you can report an abandoned vehicle online and the following information will be requested from you.

• The colour, make and model of the vehicle
• Vehicle Registration number
• The location of the vehicle

If for any reason you think the abandoned vehicle is more than merely dumped, such as it is causing an actual obstruction, it is parked in such circumstances as to arouse other suspicions such as terrorism or crime, then ring the police.

You have a right of access onto the highway but not from the highway on to your drive.

Therefore, police can deal when you are blocked on your drive and will do so at the time you are trying to leave (Rather than several hours before you are due to leave) . If you are able to squeeze by, even with difficulty, then your drive is not actually blocked and police will not attend.

However, if the matter is a continuing problem rather than a single occasion, then the issue can be addressed over the medium and long term as anti social behaviour and you can ring or email the police for your Neighbourhood Policing Team to make contact.

Clearly the issue of noise, especially late at night is very distressing. Under section 2 of the Noise Act 1996 the remit for dealing with such complaints is in the hands of the Local Authority and they will act where they feel the noise is excessive and it is between 11pm and 7am.

All Local Authorities (Environmental Health Office) have an out of hours service but many operate an answer phone system where you will need to leave the details of your complaint. Their response to your complaints may not be immediate.

The police can on very rare occasions deal with noisy parties but these incidents will be low priority and attendance, especially at weekends, may well be considerably delayed.

However, where the noisy parties are part of a continuing pattern of Anti Social Behaviour,  the police in conjunction with the EHO's will act over the medium and long term. Under these circumstances police will record details of noise complaints in order to build up as accurate a picture of the Anti Social Behaviour as possible. On all occasions where you contact the police, we will record the matter but the immediate response to noisy parties remains with the EHO's.

There is no automatic right to be told if someone is in police detention and custody staff will not advise you if this is the case without their express permission.

The detained person has the right to a phone call, to have someone told of his or her detention, to consult a solicitor free of charge and also to consult a copy of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 Codes of Practice.

Where the detained person is a juvenile, cannot adequately read or write or is not fully able to understand what is happening to them, they are entitled to an 'appropriate adult' to look after their welfare whilst in custody, in addition to their solicitor.

Where the detained person is a juvenile, the custody officer will try to ascertain the identity of a person responsible for their welfare and will ensure that person is informed as soon as practicable that the juvenile has been arrested, why they have been arrested and where they are detained.

Collection

Police still deal with lost and found property (Except at Gatwick)but with the exception of certain types items such as firearms, we will not collect. Police do not accept found dogs; these are dealt with by the dog warden.

Retention

Police will retain found property for one calendar month, although in the case of certain rare or valuable items, a bit longer. Anything that can be sold is passed to Bumblebee Auctions, with the exception of Mobile Phones which go to I.T. to contribute towards charity. Anything deemed to have no resale value is disposed of.

If however the finder indicates to us that they would like to have the item back/keep it if it remains unclaimed, they are able to have it after the month has expired. The property clerk would then contact them, but ONLY if the finder stipulated their interest when handing the item in or reporting it as found.

Passports

Caller should be advised to report the loss to IPS as soon as possible, in order to help prevent future misuse of the document. This can be done by submitting a lost/stolen declaration form (LS01) to IPS obtained from selected Post Offices. There is no requirement for any reference numbers if the passport has been lost. However, if the passport has been stolen and crimed then the crime number has to be quoted on the form.

Sussex Police are no longer required to issue out Lost Property numbers or document the report of lost passports. The loser should be directed to complete the above form or ring the above Advice line for more information. Refer to the website for further details.

If a lost passport is handed in to a police station then the corner is to be cut off and immediately returned to the Passport Office.

The caller will no longer be able to legally use a passport once it has been formally reported as lost or stolen, and subsequently cancelled. If the passport later comes into their possession, it must be returned to the Passport Office. It cannot be used for travel or identification purposes.

Gatwick

Gatwick Airport's lost property service, operated by the Excess Baggage Company, is located in the Lower Forecourt of the South Terminal. Opening hours are:

0800 - 1900 hours Monday to Saturday
0800 - 1600 hours on Sundays

Excess Baggage Co. - Lost Property Office Tel: 01293 503162
Fax: 01293 504310
Email: gatwick.lostproperty@excess-baggage.com

Outside of these hours items should be taken to the following:

South Terminal - Left Luggage - Open 24 hours  01293 502014
North Terminal - Information Desk - 2200 hours to 0600 hours  
North Terminal Left Luggage Dept will accept lost items 0500hrs to 2100hrs on 01293 569900.