Falsely accused of speeding. Taking me to court. Advice needed.

mivec88

Hi guys,

Will try to explain this as best as possible.
3 months ago I was on the motorway at night and got stopped.
I did nothing wrong and was left to continue my journey.


Now a week ago I get a letter to attend court for a blatant made up motoring offence.

In the witness statement he claims that I was speeding and that he had warned that I would be prosecuted.

I honestly don't know where I stand because as you can imagine I'm amazed this is the first time anything like has happened to me. So what do I do when I go to court, they haven't accepted my replies?

Hintza

Ask them to provide proof that you were speeding ie what evidence they have?

Did you receive a notice of intended prosecution?

Pepipoo might be a better forum to help you on this one.

mivec88

Thank you Hintza.

The only evidence they have to claim I was speeding is one officer's statement - which he has made up.

Obvious at the time no n.i.p was served as I had done nothing wrong and none was sent through the post. The only thing I got was this court letter.

oldone_2

What reason did the policeman give for stopping you ? Could it be that this was nothing to do
with the summons which might relate to another time when perhaps you were caught by a speed
camera.

Paradigm

Unfortunately this is the country we are living in!

When it gets to court it's his word against yours... who do you think the magistrates will believe?

It's not right & it's nowhere near fair but fighting a PCs word in court is virtually impossible.

Unless you have some "proof" you were not exceeding the limit it's not worth fighting.

theonlywayisup

mivec88 wrote: »

Thank you Hintza.

The only evidence they have to claim I was speeding is one officer's statement - which he has made up.

Obvious at the time no n.i.p was served as I had done nothing wrong and none was sent through the post. The only thing I got was this court letter.

A NIP can be served verbally. It does NOT have to be followed up by post.

Why were you stopped? A NIP usually takes a verbal form when a vehicle is stopped after an offence. Had you been speeding, the NIP would have been issued (verbally) when you were stopped. Hence now your summons to Court.

PhylPho

OP: I have little faith in the police. Shame, but there it is.

Years ago -- in 1990 -- I was the then owner of a Rover 800E auto (you may not remember that model.) It was in a lovely, deep maroon with gorgeous interior and pale beige upholstery.

One day, I was driving north along the A6 near Lancaster and an identical maroon Rover 800 came up fast behind me. Came up so close, it was almost nudging my rear bumper. Obviously: another owner of an identical motor car.

The faster I drove to rid myself of it, or the slower I went to let this competitive idiot overtake me, made no difference. The identical maroon Rover 800 was stuck to me like glue.

I finally managed to escape this limpet at a timed traffic-light controlled junction: not a cross roads, but the point where an obviously deserted access road fed in from the right from the Bailrigg campus of Lancaster University. I went through on amber. He was stuck at red.

When the lights changed, he accelerated away in hot pursuit.

And turned on a blue flashing light on his dashboard fascia.

Yes. The sadistic b*s*a*d was a Lancashire Constabulary traffic officer driving an unmarked Lancashire Constabulary maroon Rover 800. He had deliberately, and systematically, tagged me to make me break the speed limit -- or behave in a fashion even worse.

When he pulled me over, the lying bully claimed I had taken the light at red. I hadn't. He then said I had been driving recklessly. I said I certainly hadn't, though he definitely had, trying to pretend he was a "rival" maroon Rover 800 driver out for some afternoon fun.

He also said I had exceeded the speed limit. I hadn't. But he said, yeah, well, I *know* you did. And I'm going to report you for that.

I was duly summonsed, and fined, for breaking the speed limit.

No point in going to the magistrates' court to contest it: the averagely dutiful Bench always believes what it's told by Servants of The Law. At that time, I couldn't have afforded legal representation anyway.

Besides: Lancashire Constabulary could always be measured on its brilliant record in fitting up a bunch of wholly innocent people for The Birmingham Bombing, leading to their life imprisonment. Fitting up an innocent motorist was, by comparison, a trivial matter. I've been ambivalent in my attitude to Britain's police ever since.

However. . . that degree of jaundice certainly helped a decade later in a place far from Lancashire when I was driving home eastbound from work and, as usual, headed up a fairly steep hill whose crest was not visible.

When I reached that crest, I immediately realised that something was wrong on the westbound carriageway: two traffic police cars were drawn up with blue lights flashing. There'd been some sort of accident. One of the police cars was on the opposite grass verge; the other was positioned in such a way that it was blocking the westbound traffic. A cop was standing in the middle of the road, flagging the cars through.

I braked to a stop. There'd been no advance warning. No signs at the bottom of the hill. No police car with warning light at the bottom of the hill. And certainly, no traffic cops. You just drove up to the crest and landed in the middle of the mess.

A car coming up fast behind me was unsighted by my vehicle and had little chance of stopping. It smashed hard into my rear end. The entire body of my car was deformed from tailgate to radiator. And I, predictably, suffered whip-lash: a shunt like that, you don't get off scott-free -- and the injury you suffer ain't of the cosmetic kind those rip-off 'claims companies' invent in order to rake in commission. This was the real thing. And bejasus, it hurts.

An ambulance now had to be called to take to hospital the driver of the little Fiat that had smashed into the back of my car (a six week old Citroen Xantia, at that time.) Ironically, the other driver was a junior doctor. The ambulance returned him to the place of work he'd just left. His Fiat was a write-off.

Whilst all that was going on, one of the traffic cops came over and breathalysed me. Clear. I don't drink during the day. And never at any time if I'm going to drive a car. But then: why the hell breathalyse a victim of an accident? A driver who happens to be sitting in a stationary car when violently rear-ended by another vehicle?

Well, said my breathalysing traffic cop. Looks like you could be in trouble. For what? I asked. Careless or dangerous driving, he replied.

How in hell can I be guilty of either, I asked. I've come to an emergency stop at the scene of a road traffic accident for which you incompetent bunch of half-wits couldn't be a*s*d to provide any advance warning. So go on. Arrest me. Because me and the driver behind me -- if he survives -- will take more money out of you lot in damages than you can ever dream of.

I wasn't arrested. The traffic cop let me go. I raised the Xantia's aero suspension to full height so as to clear the crumpled bodywork, and managed to cover the remaining two miles of the homeward journey at 10mph.

Subsequently, the police force involved (it wasn't Lancashire) had to pay out for an £11,500 repair bill to my car because the blasted insurance company wouldn't write off a vehicle with only 1,000 miles on the clock.

The police also had to pay out all my associated costs, including injury benefit and four weeks' replacement hire car. And it had to fork out, too, for the write-off of the Fiat and all the costs involved there. I don't know if the police were covered by by their own insurance, or whether the money had to be found from the constabulary's own kitty. Either way, local Council Taxpayers -- including myself -- had to pay. And how marvellous an expenditure is that?

None of the foregoing may help you. But it should hopefully alert you to the fact that honest and competent citizens are not necessarily, nor ever will be, honest and competent traffic cops. And that if the dregs of Society can be found anywhere amongst the public, they can also be found anywhere wearing a blue uniform.

If you can afford a lawyer because you think you have an honest and legitimate defence to whatever you're being accused of, then get one. If not, well. . .

Good luck.

anewman

The British Police farce lining up for inspection

gggareth

this happened to my Daughters BF last March.He was not advised he would recieve a summons it turned up 6 months later!!
He swore blind he had done nothing wrong and my daughter was the same luckily she was in the car at the time so he had a good witness.

So we had 2 options. you cannot claim legal aid so.

1. Plead guilty 60-100 fine & 3-6 points

2.Pay for a solicitor £500 50 -50 chance it ges thrown out


As they were so adamant we pleaded Not Guilty and it was adjorned until Jan ( luckily we put in he summons that we would not accept statements & the officer had to attend) i stumped the money up to pay for a solicitor.

Magistrate threw it out no case to answer after 20 mins...

Could not claim back the costs... but it was a matter of principal..

SO there is justice if you have the money to pay for it..

sarahg1969

OP, try the speeding forum on https://www.pepipoo.com.

However, be warned that a police officer's version of events is always going to be believed against yours.

Weirdlittleman

They cannot and will not prosecute you on the word of one officer alone. Corroboration is a main stay of british justice. Either there was two officers in the car; a camera or a corresponding complaint from a member of the public.