Speeding Fine - or not?

colint

Can anybody help?

I was stopped in Southampton last week by 2 roadside officers with a handheld radar gun, I was doing 36mph in a 30mph zone, so hardly the worst crime they have encountered.

I was offered either 3 points and a £60 fine, or the option of attending a half day Driver Awareness Course at cost of £74 and no points on my licence. I was given a ticket by the officer which I signed.

However, I have received the official letter today from Hampshire Constabulary re-advising me of my options, and they have not put the correct registration number on the letter. For 2 of the letters they have put numbers, obviously a clerical error or inability to read the officers handwriting.

Does anybody know if there is any legal loophole which I can use to get me out of paying the fine?

Just a stab in the dark, but I would appreciate any advice.

TiTheRev

Surely you do the crime, you pay the fine?!

:rolleyes:

d123

Anything to do with speeding isn't popular on this board, you will get more balanced (and factual) advice on the forums at www.pepipoo.com , I suggest you go there and post for advice.

http://forums.pepipoo.com/

bargepole

colint wrote: »

Does anybody know if there is any legal loophole which I can use to get me out of paying the fine?

They obviously have your correct name and address, otherwise the papers wouldn't have reached you. The incorrectly written reg no would be corrected in Court, if it went that far, under the "slip" rule.

If they've offered you a Speed Awareness Course with no points, I would suggest this is by far your best option.

(and btw I shall continue to fight incorrectly issued speeding tickets, regardless of the views of the "just pay up" mentality of some of the inhabitants of this board)

Quentin

If you take the course, then there is no fine to pay. You just pay the cost of the course (which will be the £74).

Your record is left untarnished and you don't have to notify your insurer. If you refuse the course and want to go to court to contest the technicality, then you will lose the option of the course.

Hintza

If it was me I think I would take the course. You might win on a technicality but who knows.

Road_Hog

TiTheRev wrote: »

Surely you do the crime, you pay the fine?!

:rolleyes:

So you've never seen a police car do 36MPH in a 30 zone?

AliceBanned

bargepole wrote: »

They obviously have your correct name and address, otherwise the papers wouldn't have reached you. The incorrectly written reg no would be corrected in Court, if it went that far, under the "slip" rule.

If they've offered you a Speed Awareness Course with no points, I would suggest this is by far your best option.

(and btw I shall continue to fight incorrectly issued speeding tickets, regardless of the views of the "just pay up" mentality of some of the inhabitants of this board)

Hi

I was surprised by your post - how difficult is it to win on speeding fines? I got one recently for £85 and 3 points. it was a mobile unit at 1.30am. I slowed down too slowly when approaching the town from country road (doing 50 in 40 zone). No other car in sight. No houses either. I don't feel guilty, I just have to pay the stupid fine, have quite a lot added to my insurance or go on a course and pay £100. I doubt if my car is worth £100. Local people have told me the council have made £65k from that spot in 3 months, all in the early hours. However moralistic people get about speeding, some situations are ridiculous and deliberate scams to make money. If they wanted to catch bad drivers they didn't do it this time. What would you suggest?

AliceBanned

Sorry - my post didn't make enough sense= I was referring to mention of incorrectly issued speeding fines. It is arguable whether mine was incorrectly issued. For anyone out there about to give me a hard time, you don't know me or the circumstances or how I drive, so please don't , my life is hard enough. thanks

sturll

You know what amazes me is that sit on any motorway and the general speed seems to be about 75, sit on any 30 road and its rarely 30, or 40 or indeed most roads seem to be faster than the limit.

Yet come on here saying you have been caught and most people jump straight on your back saying do the crime time etc,

ateotd most people speed.

End of.

Unlucky to get caught.

bargepole

AliceBanned wrote: »

I was surprised by your post - how difficult is it to win on speeding fines?

The short answer - very difficult, especially in Magistrates' Courts where they tend to take everything the police say as gospel, and the supposedly independent Clerk Of Court is often actively helping the prosecution to railroad their case through.

However, by studying all the relevant aspects of road traffic law, criminal justice, and court procedures (about 2 years' worth of study), you can gain the upper hand over "the system", especially on issues such as disclosure of evidence, resisting adjournments, and admissibility of documents. It also helps if you have access to someone who can provide expert analysis of photographs and videotape.

On most of the cases I've been involved in, I spent 3-6 months preparing a defence. Most were dropped before they reached Court. Those that went to Court often involved a very junior newly-qualified prosecutor, who had only looked at the file 10 minutes before the case started. This can be a big advantage to the defendant, if you know how to exploit it.

A good place to start is by trawling through the forums at pepipoo, safespeed, and 5ive-o, then transcripts of proceedings from the court service website.