Speeding Summons?

Dr._Shoe

OK...

Let's just suppose for one second that it was me speeding and I've decided I don't want to pay £90 for a speed awareness course (this is what we're talking about here).

So I go on t'internet and buy a new reg plate. I don't know how much they cost but it must be about £20 or so. Then I search for some rusty screws to attach it to my car. Then I pay someone to take the old tow bar off my car and put another one on, that must be £30 at least. Then on top of that I've had to pay £80 or so for the new towbar and paint or whatnot to make it look less new (a tenner?). I've also had to buy some sort of cleaner to get rid of the GB sticker and probably some touch up spray to replace any paint that comes off with the sticker not to mention T-cut to blend it in...

I'm looking at the best part of £150?

Why would I bother?

AdrianC

Umm, why would you pay somebody to do all of that stuff? It's an hour or two's easy DIY - especially taking a magnetic GB sticker off...?

A plate from eBay is not much over a fiver. Maybe you already had it lying about after changing to the other one.

Car_54

More to the point, why would anyone go to these extents and risk jail for PCOJ to avoid a course or fine?

esmerobbo

104 posts on here and it is still being discussed, you will have a few minutes to try and convince a magistrate.
Try and think from their point of view.

1 Make of car.
2 Colour of car.
3 Locality.
4 Time of day.
5 Car has a GB sticker.
6 Number plate is fitted differently.
7 Tow bar is different.

1 to 4 are fixed 5, 6 and 7 can be altered.

It is a 22 year old silver Toyota Previa, not a common car.

I can understand you defending it if it was not you, but you may well need more to convince the bench.

bugslet

Without trawling through al the thread, we've had two occasions when we've had a speeding come through and on both occasions they were cloned plates. White Renault Master van looking like ours, which aren't sign written.

The second one was a slam dunk because by that time we had trackers installed and it was a case of downloading and printing off the data.

The first one before the tracker, we sent back and said it wasn't ours and the only proof we could supply was the driver's timesheet and a copy of the delivery note, which proved the area but not the reg. It was accepted as proof.

Not sure if that is any help, but thought I would throw it in to the mix.

Herzlos

Dr._Shoe wrote: »

OK...

Let's just suppose for one second that it was me speeding and I've decided I don't want to pay £90 for a speed awareness course (this is what we're talking about here).

So I go on t'internet and buy a new reg plate. I don't know how much they cost but it must be about £20 or so. Then I search for some rusty screws to attach it to my car. Then I pay someone to take the old tow bar off my car and put another one on, that must be £30 at least. Then on top of that I've had to pay £80 or so for the new towbar and paint or whatnot to make it look less new (a tenner?). I've also had to buy some sort of cleaner to get rid of the GB sticker and probably some touch up spray to replace any paint that comes off with the sticker not to mention T-cut to blend it in...

I'm looking at the best part of £150?

Why would I bother?

Because your insurance premium might go up by much more than £150? Or your employer has strict no-points requirements?

Loads of people would pay much than than £150 to get out of speeding points.

You'd need to check with a lawyer, but I imagine an awful lot of speeding defences go, in roughly this order:

1. It's not my car. My car doesn't have a GB sticker
2. I wasn't driving, I don't know who was as many people use it.
3. I wasn't speeding, the camera is miscalibrated.
4. I was speeding, but it was an emergency.
5. I'm sorry, I'll suffer hardship if you take away my license.

My point being; you won't be the first person to try and claim it's not your car. I'm sure it's not your car, but can you prove it with a sufficient lack of doubt to a judge that hears that claim on a daily basis?

AdrianC

...for a single SP30 on an otherwise clean licence...?

If it was the last straw before a totting-up, especially in the first two years, then it might be different.

Herzlos

AdrianC wrote: »

...for a single SP30 on an otherwise clean licence...?

If it was the last straw before a totting-up, especially in the first two years, then it might be different.

It's at least as possible as a cloned plate. We also don't know the exact effect of a single SP30 to the OP.

As I said, loads of people will have used the same argument to the judge in the past.

Bigphil1474

Op, why not post the photo of the speeding car and your car, so we can and have a look and give you any tips (Obviously blanking out the reg. no. otherwise you'd get more clones!) . If we're convinced by the pictures, then the court may well be as well.

Johnmcl7

Car_54 wrote: »

More to the point, why would anyone go to these extents and risk jail for PCOJ to avoid a course or fine?

It wouldn't be the first time and no doubt it won't be the last either, many people simply don't realise the potentially very serious repercussions of what they're doing. From memory, this person had a clean license and it would have only been a single SP30 offence:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/news/8186830/Driving-instructor-faces-jail-for-trying-to-beat-speeding-ticket-by-hacking-Sat-Nav-data.html

There's been similar PCoJ convictions for people who have named someone abroad for minor offences which have also ended up in jail.

Without additional evidence about the location of the OP's car (a police officer was recently done for PCoJ as he changed the number plate and put a GB sticker on the car and claimed a cloned car but they had proof he had recently left the police station in a nearby location) I don't think they'll go for PCoJ but the OP doesn't appear to have much of a defence to the failure to furnish.

John