Polish drivers avoid fines after insurance "misunderstanding"

Thursday 21 June 2018

Two Polish workers have avoided a substantial fine after the Magistrate took the "exceptional stance" of binding them over for 12 months, after one was caught driving the other’s uninsured car in May.

Marcin Jan Zmuda (31) let Mateusz Leszek Lyczak (20) drive his car uninsured - but the pair explained they believed the laws here were similar to that in Poland, so they didn’t think they were breaking it.

Advocate Nicholas Le Quesne, defending, explained the men genuinely believed they weren’t doing anything wrong and that it was a ‘genuine misunderstanding’ on their part.

He told the Court that in Poland, the insurance of a car's previous owner is in place for 30 days, allowing the buyer time to sort out their insurance. As the car had been purchased the previous week, both Zmuda and Lyczak thought they could drive in Jersey even though the insurance had expired. 

Advocate Le Quesne said that both men were only in the island to work for the potato season and to send money back home. He said they were they were due to return to Poland next month and would probably come back to Jersey later this year if there was work.

He said: "They are shocked. This is a very different system to Poland. They wouldn’t have put their employment at risk to drive a car they didn’t think was covered."

Pictured: Advocate Nicholas Le Quesne was defending. 

Magistrate Bridget Shaw said it was a difficult case to sentence as driving whilst uninsured is taken very seriously. She however added: "I accept what you said. You were negligent, you simply thought the Jersey system would be the same as the Polish. You should have made enquiries and made sure you were insured. You can't be sure the laws are all the same."

She explained that fines for this kind of offence start at £2,000 with a minimum of £600. But she said that as the men had been in Jersey for only two weeks before they were stopped by the police, and as there had been a misunderstanding, such a fine would be disproportionate.

"But also you come here as workers," she continued. "I am sure you work very hard during the season, the fact you have little money probably means you have been sending money home. I do feel it would be unfair in all those circumstances to fine you all this money, which you can’t pay now.

"It would be hanging over your head, and it would be a debt owed if you came back to Jersey. It would be a deterrent for you to come back and work next year when it seems to me you need to work."

She took what she described as an "exceptional stance." The men were given a binding-over order and were given an endorsement on their licenses, meaning the incident appears on their records. 

She told them: "There is no punishment today but if you commit any other offence in Jersey within the next 12 months you will be brought back to court for the new offence and this one. This is an exceptional step not to fine you a good deal of money today, you can't expect such leniency ever again."