May have been caught speeding in courtesy car, what next?

Charliezoo

Hi All,

Unfortunately I think I may have been caught by a camera van while driving a courtesy car. I was going at about 35 mph and the police van was sitting on the threshold between a 40 and 30 mph limit.

Anyway I presume a ticket will initially go to the company that owns the courtesy car and then they'll pass it on to me. Does anyone know how long this will normally take? I'd rather know asap and deal with it rather than have to potentially wait weeks. Is there anyone you can call to find out if you've been caught or is it a case of just sitting tight and waiting for the ticket to drop through the door?

Paradigm

As long as the registered keeper receives the original NIP within 14 days then getting your own can take a while longer, depends how effiecient/desperate for your money the scamera team are!

If, & I say If, you were travelling at a speed of 35 indicated on your speedo then it's likely they will do nothing as speedos tend to overread & your true speed could be less... the problem is that most of us brake first when seeing a scamera van then look at the speedo after a good few MPH have been scrubbed off.

Just a case of wait & see I'm afraid

HO87

The police are required to serve a Notice of Intended Prosecution (NIP) on the driver or registered keeper within 14 days of the alleged speeding offence if any prosecution that may flow from the case is to succeed. The issue of secondary NIP's is not subject to any such time limit other than those created by the 6 month statute of limitation in respect of such offences. However, it would be reasonable to expect one within 2-4 weeks. Hire companies and the like tend to be pretty fast out of the blocks in terms of replying to NIP's.

On receipt of your NIP - assuming that it will reflect the speed you think you were doing and that this was within a 30mph limit - then you can identify yourself as the driver and in due course (depending on where you are) I'd expect you to receive an offer to attend a speed awareness course - provided you meet the requirements. These courses are not yet available in Scotland and not all areas of England and Wales.

That having all been said if your speedo was showing 35mph then in all likelihood - as most speedo's over-read by some margin - you were only doing 31-32mph. At that speed whilst theoretically over the limit I would not expect any action to be taken.

Ultimately the advice then would be to wait and see - and don't worry too much about it in the meantime.

[Edit: Ditto Paradigm]

NeverAgain_2

You could mention your concerns to the owners of the courtesy car and ask them to let you know if they receive a NIP.

It won't speed the process at all, but at least you would know something was coming down the belt.

Or you could check with them after 14 days has elapsed.

If the answer is 'no', then you can be fairly sure you are in the clear.

As HO87 says, if you are prosecuted, you should be in speed awareness course territory.

If you are offered a course, snatch their hands off.

It costs a few quid, but there's no points on your licence, so it's well worth it.

Charliezoo

Great advice, thank you very much.

If I get offered the course am I right in saying that this won't need disclosing to the insurance company at all?

Paradigm

Taken from the Staffordshire County Council website....

Remember, if you are eligible and elect to take the Speed Awareness Course, you do not have to pay the fine, you won't get the penalty points and above all, you don't have to tell your insurance company because the speeding offence is cancelled.

Oopsadaisy

You may have an out if you're not 100% sure who was driving the car at the time of the offence, and the pictures aren't able to help.

Granted the insurance on the rental car is probs only in one name but many people are able to drive a rental car 3rd party as long as it is not hired to them.

HO87

Oopsadaisy wrote: »

You may have an out if you're not 100% sure who was driving the car at the time of the offence, and the pictures aren't able to help.

Granted the insurance on the rental car is probs only in one name but many people are able to drive a rental car 3rd party as long as it is not hired to them.

The OP's first two sentences are pretty unequivocal:

"Unfortunately I think I may have been caught by a camera van while driving a courtesy car. I was going at about 35 mph and the police van was sitting on the threshold between a 40 and 30 mph limit".

Jiggery-pokery will immediately attract attention and I'm sure none of us would like to see the OP subject of a perverting the course of justice enquiry given the penalty on conviction will include a period courtesy of Her Majesty trying desperately not to drop the soap.

Oopsadaisy

HO87 wrote: »

The OP's first two sentences are pretty unequivocal:

Jiggery-pokery will immediately attract attention and I'm sure none of us would like to see the OP subject of a perverting the course of justice enquiry given the penalty on conviction will include a period courtesy of Her Majesty trying desperately not to drop the soap.

I agree, but sometimes what one is certain of at one moment in time becomes less certain at another time.

If someone is CERTAIN they were driving then they must incriminate themselves and confess [in essence] albeit under duress. If they are NOT certain then it is equally their responsibility to say so. The last thing the justice system wants is people confessing to crimes/offences they haven't committed.

Neil_B

Oopsadaisy wrote: »

You may have an out if you're not 100% sure who was driving the car at the time of the offence, and the pictures aren't able to help.

Granted the insurance on the rental car is probs only in one name but many people are able to drive a rental car 3rd party as long as it is not hired to them.

Oopsadaisy wrote: »

I agree, but sometimes what one is certain of at one moment in time becomes less certain at another time.

If someone is CERTAIN they were driving then they must incriminate themselves and confess [in essence] albeit under duress. If they are NOT certain then it is equally their responsibility to say so. The last thing the justice system wants is people confessing to crimes/offences they haven't committed.

You really are pushing your luck!

You now try to excuse a poorly veiled hint to commit a criminal offence? Are you real?

Oopsadaisy

Neil_B wrote: »

You really are pushing your luck!

You now try to excuse a poorly veiled hint to commit a criminal offence? Are you real?

Sorry I must be a bit slow this morning....exactly which bits of my posts were inaccurate?