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Victory in Court: Dodgy GATSO speed camera
A driver was cleared of a speeding charge at Brighton Magistrates' Court yesterday, after successfuly challenging flawed evidence from a GATSO fixed camera in Ditchling Road.
Pete Barker was charged with excess speed after the GATSO radar reading showed his car at 38mph in a 30 limit. But the photographs of the car crossing the gridlines showed that his speed was much lower, and outside the 10% margin required for corroboration.
The Crown Prosecution Service pressed ahead with the case, and employed Road Saftey Support, an organisation set up by ACPO to target "drivers who try to exploit loopholes in the law to get off speeding fines". They even brought in evidence from the manufacturers, Gatsometer BV in the Netherlands, to try to prove their case.
But after numerous pre-trial review and case management hearings, it all went wrong for the CPS when their "expert" evidence contained wording which actually supported the defence case - namely, if the two readings differ by more than 10%, there should not be a prosecution.
Yesterday at Brighton the District Judge ruled the prosecution evidence as inadmissible, dismissed the case, and awarded costs to the defendant believed to be over £3000.
The full details are on a 31-page thread in the members-only section of that other forum, but the bottom line is - if you get a speeding ticket, and you believe you weren't speeding, check and challenge their evidence, don't let them get away with it!
Pete Barker was charged with excess speed after the GATSO radar reading showed his car at 38mph in a 30 limit. But the photographs of the car crossing the gridlines showed that his speed was much lower, and outside the 10% margin required for corroboration.
The Crown Prosecution Service pressed ahead with the case, and employed Road Saftey Support, an organisation set up by ACPO to target "drivers who try to exploit loopholes in the law to get off speeding fines". They even brought in evidence from the manufacturers, Gatsometer BV in the Netherlands, to try to prove their case.
But after numerous pre-trial review and case management hearings, it all went wrong for the CPS when their "expert" evidence contained wording which actually supported the defence case - namely, if the two readings differ by more than 10%, there should not be a prosecution.
Yesterday at Brighton the District Judge ruled the prosecution evidence as inadmissible, dismissed the case, and awarded costs to the defendant believed to be over £3000.
The full details are on a 31-page thread in the members-only section of that other forum, but the bottom line is - if you get a speeding ticket, and you believe you weren't speeding, check and challenge their evidence, don't let them get away with it!
I have been providing assistance, including Lay Representation at Court hearings (current score: won 57, lost 14), to defendants in parking cases for over 5 years. I have an LLB (Hons) degree, and have a Graduate Diploma in Civil Litigation from CILEx. However, any advice given on these forums by me is NOT formal legal advice, and I accept no liability for its accuracy.
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Comments
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My dad had one of these in Manchester. NIP showed 48 in a 30. Photos of the van on the lines showed around 24-26. He knew he wasn't speeding, as he had just turned from a side road in a fully laden van. However, despite his protestations, nothing was done till he received the summons and saw the photos after pleading NG.
How many people would have just assumed they were in the wrong and paid up?0 -
Could Pete sue for slander? They shouldn't be allowed to get away with extortion.0
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He did try to make an application for Abuse of Process, but the Judge didn't want to open that particular can of worms.Could Pete sue for slander? They shouldn't be allowed to get away with extortion.
I have been providing assistance, including Lay Representation at Court hearings (current score: won 57, lost 14), to defendants in parking cases for over 5 years. I have an LLB (Hons) degree, and have a Graduate Diploma in Civil Litigation from CILEx. However, any advice given on these forums by me is NOT formal legal advice, and I accept no liability for its accuracy.0
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