Are these convictions spent ?

[eightpans]

Hi
My son was convicted at the age of 16 of drink driving (DR10), driving with no insurance (IN10), Driving a car on a provisional licence (LC20) he was sentenced to a 15 month ban with no fine. he is 19 now and just passed his test. I have read on-line on your site that the rehabilitation of offenders act 1974 states that he does not have to declare these offences to insurance companies as they are spent, due to him being under 18 at the time of conviction and that no fine was given. Is this the case ?
Regards Chris

 

[SeanJoyceStephensons]

The Rehabilitation period under the Rehabiliation of Offenders ACt 1974 is determined by the substantive punishment that your son received. Whilst you say he did not receive a fine I am sure he would have been given another punishment in place of a fine. Also, if he was ordered to pay compensation then the rehabilition period is the same as it would be if he was given a fine (5 years). If he was a youth and it was his first offence and he pleaded guilty, then the court are likely to have imposed a Referral Order instead of a fine. Referral Orders are spent upon expiry of the order.

However, be careful. Drink driving offences are slightly different in that under the Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988, the conviction remains on the licence and DVLA record for a period of 11 years. This is entirely separate to the Rehabilition of Offenders Act. However if he failed to disclose the conviction but was then asked to provide his driving licence to a new employer then they would be aware of the conviction in any event.

 

[eightpans]

Hi Sean
Thanks for the reply. My son received only £30 court costs and a 15 month ban, It was my car he took and was caught driving so I did not press charges. My inquiry is with regards to disclosure to insurance companies of his driving offences, now that he has passed his test and requires insurance.
I really want to know if he is within his rights when asked by the insurance companies if he has any convictions ....to say NO.
Regards Chris

 

[SeanJoyceStephensons]

This depends on the precise wording of the question posed. Often they ask about convictions within the last 5 years for example. You could seek clarification from them anonymously to see what information they expect you to disclose.

You need to be careful about potentially invalidating the insurance.

The safest bet is to tell them. They will have a fixed policy about which convictions affect the premium and which are truly regarded as "spent" by them. The policy is what it is. The conviction will either be caught by their policy or it wont. I would avoid trying to be clever and err on the side of caution if I were you.