Taken to court for a speed offence

sophie43

Hello,

My husband has been caught speeding in London. :mad: He was caught by a hand held device. He has now received a court summon (I wonder why wasting time with a court, a fine would have done the trick).

Anyway, lots of personal details are asked on this form. He has to give a statement of financial circumstances with details of all his income and outgoing + detail of employers.... He doesn't feel like giving so much details. Is he obliged to give these information? Are they gonna give a fine of a ridiculous amount? What are the consequences?

Thank you for your help
Sophie

Ebe_Scrooge

A court appearance is usual if the speed limit is broken by more than a ceratin amount. I don't know offhand what the specifics are, but for example, doing 40 in a 30 zone will get you a fine, doing 50 means a court appearance. As I say, those aren't actual figures, but it's along those lines.

The fact that he's been summonsed would indicate he was exceeding the speed limit by a fair bit. If the court has asked for details, then you have to provide them ( well, you can try ignoring what the court wants if you fancy your chances, but .... ! )

The punishment can be more flexible in a court than a fixed penalty issued at the roadside. It'll generally be a combination of points and a fine, and the judge will have a bit of discretion - he may opt for a larger fine and less points, or a smaller fine and more points ( at least, that always used to be the case ). That's probably why they need details of income etc. - they want to fine you enough to punish you, without making it so much that you lose your home over it :-)

Sir_Roger_deLodger

It would be a good idea to post this on the Pepipoo forum, they are the experts in cases like this.

Go to http://forums.pepipoo.com/

and start a new thread in the Speeding section.

HO87

Ebe Scrooge is on the right tracks. The fact that your OH has been summonsed suggests that one of two things applies. Either the alleged speed is considerably in excess of the limit or they have previously accumulated 8 or more points and may be liable to a "totting" ban.

If it is simply a case of too high a speed then they will in line for points and a fine - which will be based on their income. Albeit that they are being to disclose all of their outgoings the only parts that really matter is (a) their gross equivalent weekly income (wages, salary or benefits) and (9) the weekly equivalent of tax and National Insurance. Subtracting (b) from (a) provides what is known as their "relevant weekly income" (RWI). Depending on the excessiveness of the alleged speed any fine levied will be a percentage of their RWI - and could be up to 150% of it.

It would still be preferable that you disclose what the court asks for as this is more likely to be viewed as co-operation. If it is a realtively straightforward fine and points issue then they could plead guilty by letter although experience suggests that people who appear in person tend to receive lesser sentences any discount given for "taking it in person" may not, of course, offset the cost of travelling there.

If the OH is "totting" then they will have to appear in court in person - the court will not ban them without them being there. If this is the case then I suggest that the OH posts fuller details of his case on PePiPoo where he will get far more detailed advice about how to deal with mitigation and lessening the risk of disqualification.

sophie43

Thanks very much for all your answers. Sorry I haven't had time to respond before.