In January I had an accident. It was pouring rain and my car span when coming off a roundabout. At the time the police said my brake pedal should have had a rubber cover and it did not. I wasn’t aware of this. Today I have received notice that I have been charged for having defective brake - however the report from the police is inaccurate - particularly stating that my foot slipped on the brake when this is not the case and actually I tried to brake and the car just span - I think because of the weather and possible aquaplaining. 1. Is there any point pleading not guilty? 2. is there any chance that with mitigating circumstances - weather, not being aware about the need of a rubber pedal cover, inaccuracies in report and seven months pregnant at the time - that I will not receive the penalty points if I do plead guilty?

Not having a brake pedal cover is an MOT failure - so, no matter what exactly happened, you WERE driving a car with defective brakes at the time of the accident.

If you're claiming that it wasn't due to the brake pedal, but due to aquaplaning, then it could reasonably be said that you were driving without due care and attention, and you could find yourself facing additional prosecution on that basis (you should have been driving more slowly, given the weather conditions, therefore the standard of your driving fell below what would be described as 'reasonable'. If you'd been driving more slowly then you woulden't have aquaplaned)

See ? Be careful how far you push something. You could find yourself digging a bigger hole.

The penalty for driving with defective brakes is usually 3 points.

I'll finish with this, from a legal defence website :

Being ignorant of any vehicle defect is not a legally acceptable defence. If you claim to be unaware of any failings on you vehicle, it will not reduce your penalty. You are responsible for your vehicle and therefore it is expected that you carry out regular safety checks to ensure that your vehicle is safe and roadworthy. Don’t bury your head in the sand and just assume that your car is fine!

I assume the "defective brake" charge is because there was no rubber cover on the pedal. So whether your foot slipped or not is irrelevant. You can't get out of this by claiming the police report is inaccurate in a non-essential detail.

Not being aware of legal requirements is in effect ignorance of the law and this is never an excuse. As said above, non-essential details in the police report are irrelevant. The weather is not an excuse, since you are expected to be in control of your vehicle and to make allowances for poor driving conditions. And being pregnant is irrelevant - unless your capacity to observe and react accordingly is affected (as possibly it might be, as pregnancy can cause physical problems); in which case you are expected to exercise your judgment and not drive.

You won't be surprised to hear I think you have no chance of successfully disputing what you have been charged with.

I'm hugely sympathetic and understand where you're coming from, but that won't get you anywhere, I'm afraid.

What do others think?

Sorry - I sympathise but I agree with Rob. You're better off with the charge you got. Even in pouring rain - assuming that your tyres were in good condition - you shouldn't have spun when coming out of a roundabout.

The police charge is possibly not the right one - you shouldn't have been braking either when coming out of a roundabout! - but best to stick with it I think.