Speeding fine (what the law says?)

silkyuk9

Ok, i was traveling up a road today when out jumped a police woman and directed me into a layby. i thought it was a routine stop so i pulled over.

she told me to stop the engine and go to sit in her car, of which i did.

She asked me 'what is the speed limit on this stretch of road' i replied 'I think its 30 miles per hour'

to this she cautioned me and showed me a speed gun which said 38 mph.

To this she said she was going to fix me with a instant fine of £60 plus 3 points on my licence.

I didnt argue as i didn't want to get into any further trouble so took the fine and off i went.

Ive paid the £60 by credit card over the phone and supplied the police with my documuments to which they have kept my licence to send off and get the points put on.


Im a little miffed as i have been driving for a lot of years, never had any tickets or trouble before. But this has got me thinking. I never swa the officer up the road, her car was parked in front of a camper van in a layby and i only saw her when she dirceted me into the layby.

Of course its my stupid fault for driving over the limit by 8mph, but is it legal for a police officer to zap someone whilst hiding behind a parked vehicle.

like i said i never saw her at all, i didnt even know she was clocking cars. Actually to think about it, the speed gun was on her dash top when i got into her car so im guessing she was zapping through her open window,

any help here on what the law says about speeding cameras and how they must be used.

TiTheRev

Unfortunately all they need is one of the camera road signs on the stretch of road somewhere to be able to hide in bushes etc and get you with a gun. There's a notorious stretch where I live, it's on the way out of a village and leads to a 60mph zone, but they regularly sit at the 60mph sign and clock guys in the 30mph zone before they get past the new limit sign.

Annoying but entirely 'legal', and have been done there myself

There is a camera road sign about 150yards before the change in limit, no fixed cameras, but it just entitles them to set up a gun machine anytime they like, and rake in the cash :rolleyes:

Hodgehappy

I thought you could avoid this by attending a driving school - or a speed awareness course these days if its your first offence? seems all a bit drastic & quick whats happened to you. Have a look at http://www.safespeed.org.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=18107

bargepole

A bit late to advise you now, as you've already paid the fixed penalty (it's not a fine, only Courts can issue those.)

A better response would have been "I was driving within the speed limit officer, and I don't see any evidence that the reading on your gun relates to my vehicle. I decline to pay a fixed penalty, and will defend the case should you choose to summons me to Court."

When asked for your licence, say you haven't got it with you - you can always produce within 7 days at the local nick.

This will involve them in mountains of paperwork, and plenty of opportunities to screw up - very often they won't bother, and send you a written warning letter with no further action.

If the worst happens, you can plead guilty and ask the court to deal with it in your absence, and your fine for 38 won't be any more than the fixed penalty anyway.

itsallaboutthemoney

Go to https://www.pepipoo.com

They have a forum for speed tickets and they will be able to advise you. they are very good. Good luck.

basill

bargepole wrote: »

If the worst happens, you can plead guilty and ask the court to deal with it in your absence, and your fine for 38 won't be any more than the fixed penalty anyway.

I`m not sure about this, won`t there be court costs to pay on top of the fine?
I get the pepipoo approach but why pay more.
I think many people think that always taking these things to court will cause the system to collapse. I did read up a bit when I was caught, some paid more and even got more points in court and still thought they had stuck it to the system.

B

harveybobbles

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/7322582.stm

I got pulled over by a rozzer a few years ago and as we stood at the roadside he told me that I was "doing well over 40" and that he "had to do 40 to catch me"

So I asked him how did he catch me if I was doing OVER 40 and he was DOING 40...

He coughed and spluttered and told me to stop taking the pi$$ cos I didn't indicate when I pulled over.

He sent me on my way. No points, no ticket. Just his pride hurt lol.

Wig

TiTheRev wrote: »

Unfortunately all they need is one of the camera road signs on the stretch of road somewhere to be able to hide in bushes etc and get you with a gun. There's a notorious stretch where I live, it's on the way out of a village and leads to a 60mph zone, but they regularly sit at the 60mph sign and clock guys in the 30mph zone before they get past the new limit sign.

Annoying but entirely 'legal', and have been done there myself

I don't think that's the case. In this example the police were using a hand held unit, and either sitting in car or behind a bush. In this type of operation, they need not have any prior warning signs. But they MUST use properly maintained equipment and run a test run before the enforcement session on the stretch of road, and a further test run after the enforcement session.

As the OP has already paid up, he has lost all hope of evading the charge - which may very well have been incorrectly issued.

AIUI Even when it is a mobile speed camera unit, they are only guidelines to have a speed camera warning sign and a speed limit (mph) reminder sign within 1km of the approach to the speed camera van. Not having these things is not going to make the ticket unenforceable, but the police force could be reprimanded for not following the guidelines, if reported.

digp

TiTheRev wrote: »

There's a notorious stretch where I live, it's on the way out of a village and leads to a 60mph zone, but they regularly sit at the 60mph sign and clock guys in the 30mph zone before they get past the new limit sign.

What? .....................................

Wig

digp wrote: »

What? .....................................

He said, the cops/or agents regularly position their car/van outside the 30 zone and measure the speed of vehicles travelling within the 30 zone, obviously accelerating before actually leaving the 30 zone.

Conor_3

silkyuk9 wrote: »

Of course its my stupid fault for driving over the limit by 8mph, but is it legal for a police officer to zap someone whilst hiding behind a parked vehicle.

Yes, perfectly legal. There is no legal requirement for them to be visible or there to be signage indicating they are there.