Telling your friend they look great in that new outfit may be an act of kindness involving an element of dishonesty that is forgivable. However, what you may think is a similar “little white lie” when dealing with motoring offences is seen in a vastly different light by the law.
Being dishonest about who was driving the vehicle at the time of an alleged offence is, perhaps, one of the most common dishonesty offences we encounter. Understandably, drivers may want to avoid penalty points. However, the false nomination of a driver risks a prison sentence, and the courts tend to use cases involving this kind of dishonesty as example cases to send a clear message to the nation’s millions of motorists.
What is the legal test for dishonesty?
Until 2020, there was a level of uncertainty over how to apply the test of dishonesty. The test was previously known as the Ghosh test due to a case of the same name and required a jury to consider these two questions:
- Was the defendant’s conduct dishonest by the ordinary standards of reasonable people? If so;
- Did the defendant appreciate that his conduct was dishonest by those standards?
It was the second question that presented issues for jurors as a fundamentally dishonest or warped defendant might be perceived to not appreciate their conduct as being dishonest.
In 2020, the case of Booth & Anor v R endorsed an alternative test for dishonesty that the Supreme Court had previously directed with these more straightforward questions:
- What was the defendant’s actual state of knowledge or belief as to the facts? and
- Based on those facts, was his conduct dishonest by the standards of ordinary decent people?
The impact of a dishonesty offence conviction
Several possible criminal offences are linked to the misuse of a blue badge. Simply using your grandmother’s blue badge to park outside Tesco may seem trivial. However, this could lead to serious criminal charges. For the sake of walking a little further with your shopping, offenders risk a £1,000 fine and confiscation of the blue badge.
Intentionally mishandling a blue badge usually carries a fine or community order. However, a custodial sentence or electronic tagging are possibilities.
The consequences of using a fake badge, a stolen badge, or use of a deceased person’s badge differ and are dependent upon on the facts of the case- the Courts can impose anything from a fine to a custodial sentence.
Examples of dishonesty in motoring law: Blue Badge Misuse
Many employers and professional regulators require suitability and criminal record checks to be completed before a job, qualification or accreditation is secured. An offence of dishonesty will almost certainly be a barrier to qualifying as a solicitor or accountant—positions where professional trust is paramount.
A conviction for a dishonesty offence could cause issues with your credibility as a witness in any court cases in the future.
Train Fare Evasion
The relevant legislation outlining these offences are:
- 5(3) of the Regulation of Railways Act 1889 – intentionally travelling on the Railway without having paid the fare.
- Railway Bye-Law 18(1) & 17(1)- Entering a train for the purpose of travel without a valid ticket.
The latter offence does not require proof of intention but that there was an opportunity to purchase a ticket at a machine or counter.
Fare evasion can come in many forms aside from the most obvious of boarding a train without a ticket, some of which we have outlined below:
- Using another person’s ticket or pass, such as a Student Railcard
- If your Rail Ticket does not cover the entire journey
- If you are travelling on a discounted ticket but do not have the accompanying Rail Card.
- If you are caught travelling on an incorrect ticket type, for example, a young person’s ticket when you are older than16
- Travelling in first class when your ticket is standard class
- The ticket or permit is for travel on a different company’s train.
Train fare evasion is a dishonesty offence and is punished in court by a fine of up to £1,000, and it is estimated that in a normal year around £240 million is lost through fare evasion on Great Britain’s railways.
Thankfully, common sense can often mean that a prosecution is avoided but a genuine mistake or misunderstanding can still result in far more serious consequences, like losing your job due to the criminal conviction.
Many Rail Companies including Northern Rail have a policy where they will exercise discretion when issuing penalty fares and will be able to check whether ticket machines are out of order – as well as when ticket offices are closed. Adding to this, should a penalty be issued, the customer can appeal – using a tried and tested independent process – and Northern will investigate checking CCTV, and other means, to corroborate the customer’s account.
Perverting the course of justice
Individuals who are otherwise law abiding citizens can be caught out doing stupid things, without realising the consequences. A classic example is intentionally giving false driver information to police which could fall under the offence of ‘perverting the course of justice’.
Back in March of 2023, three people including a police officer pleaded guilty to perverting the course of justice after they provided false documents to mislead the court.
When police officer Joseph Mudd was caught speeding at 65mph in a 50mph zone, a mutual agreement was made that his stepfather would take the blame for his offence, which led to Matthew Mudd receiving a £100 fine and three points on his licence.
Joseph Mudd later bragged to other fellow officers that he had been driving the car leading to the officers reporting the matter and the police began an investigation.
Following their guilty plea, all three individuals were sentenced to 12 weeks’ imprisonment suspended for 12 months, 200 hours of unpaid work and costs of £510 to be split between the three of them, to be paid in full within three weeks.
Dishonesty: The Consequences
Whilst you may think at the time that telling a little white lie is harmless, in reality you are running the risk of some pretty serious consequences, like a prison sentence.
Honesty really is the best policy when it comes to matters of the law.
