Speeding fine - but the car was parked at work

nicegirl

Hi, we have received a s127 for our car for driving 69 mph on a 60 mph road at 7am a week ago. The problem is, at that time the car was parked 95 miles away from the alleged offence as my husband was working that day and uses the car to get to work. Are we able to contest on those grounds? The notice doesn't refer to this as far as I can see.

We could get confirmation that he was in work that day. He starts at 7.30am and needs to walk across town to the office so it would have been parked in the car park at that time. We pay for a multi storey the car park in central Manchester on a monthly basis and it lets our car in using number plate recognition. I suppose they might have a record of when the car arrived and left the car park that day?

Has anyone been in this position and successfully contested or can offer any advice please? 

Thank you! 

531063

If the car park can confirm the entry & exit times then you will have a good case to challenge S127

Aretnap

The most likely explanation is a simple misread of the numberplate on the offending vehicle, in which case a simple phone call to the ticket office should sort it out.

TooManyPoints

It's a s172 request, actually. It cannot be "challenged" and you must respond to it.

It asks you to say who was driving your vehicle at a particular time and place. So you must respond by saying that nobody was and explain the circumstances you describe. However, before you do that, ask for "any photographs which might help identify the driver." They don't have to provide them but usually will. Such photos rarely help identify the driver (that's not what they are designed to do). But they may help you confirm whether or not it was your car. The likelihood is that this is a plate misread or (less likely) a clone. 

Do not go down the road of proving where your car was at the relevant time at this stage. That's not what you are being asked to do. But on no account ignore this on the basis of "nothing to do with me or my car." If you do you will find yourself on the wrong end of a charge under S172. If convicted the offence carries six points, a hefty fine and an insurance crippling endorsement code (MS90).

As an aside, was your car ever at the stated location in the recent past?

nicegirl

Thanks all!

We're not planning to ignore it, I'm not sure what I've said to give that impression. I'll respond as per your advice on here, thanks again! 

No the car hasn't been in that area. 

TooManyPoints

 I'm not sure what I've said to give that impression. I'll respond as per your advice on here, thanks again! 

You didn't give me that impression at all. I was just covering all the angles.  

Ask for the photographs first. They should provide you with a link to view them. When you've seen them you can tailor your response. Note that asking for them does not stop the 28-day clock, but you should have plenty of time.

BOWFER

Someone once reported me for dangerous driving, so it was a full blown police-at-the-door job.
Right car, right reg, right area - but I was also at work at the time of the alleged incident.
Thankfully, the office had CCTV and I was able to prove it.
Weird thing was the police tried to get me to admit to it suggesting that maybe the person reporting had 'got the time wrong'
Get lost with that nonsense, you've accused me of X and I've proven it can't have been - go away.

TooManyPoints

The difference is the OP isn't being accused of anything at present. She's simply being asked to provide the driver's details, so a slightly different approach is required.

BOWFER

TooManyPoints said:

It's a s172 request, actually. It cannot be "challenged" and you must respond to it.

It asks you to say who was driving your vehicle at a particular time and place. So you must respond by saying that nobody was and explain the circumstances you describe. However, before you do that, ask for "any photographs which might help identify the driver." They don't have to provide them but usually will. Such photos rarely help identify the driver (that's not what they are designed to do). But they may help you confirm whether or not it was your car. The likelihood is that this is a plate misread or (less likely) a clone. 

Do not go down the road of proving where your car was at the relevant time at this stage. That's not what you are being asked to do. But on no account ignore this on the basis of "nothing to do with me or my car." If you do you will find yourself on the wrong end of a charge under S172. If convicted the offence carries six points, a hefty fine and an insurance crippling endorsement code (MS90).

As an aside, was your car ever at the stated location in the recent past?

If the OP has access to CCTV that proves her car wasn't where the offence was committed, why wouldn't you provide it at this stage?

TooManyPoints

If the OP has access to CCTV that proves her car wasn't where the offence was committed, why wouldn't you provide it at this stage?

Because the ticket office is most unlikely to pay any heed to it. There's a number of evidential problems with CCTV which the ticket office will not be prepared to probe. At this stage their concern is to obtain driver identification. If, however, she asks for photos as I suggested she can establish whether or not it was her car and advise the ticket office, along with her reply, that it was not (if that turns out to be the case). They will then look at the photos (upon which they can rely) and if they agree they will discontinue the matter. It's a tried and tested way of dealing with matters like this to minimise the risk of being taken to court. She could ask the ticket office to check the photos without asking to see them. This will work if it is a plate misread, but may not if the car is a clone.

Car_54

BOWFER said:

TooManyPoints said:

It's a s172 request, actually. It cannot be "challenged" and you must respond to it.

It asks you to say who was driving your vehicle at a particular time and place. So you must respond by saying that nobody was and explain the circumstances you describe. However, before you do that, ask for "any photographs which might help identify the driver." They don't have to provide them but usually will. Such photos rarely help identify the driver (that's not what they are designed to do). But they may help you confirm whether or not it was your car. The likelihood is that this is a plate misread or (less likely) a clone. 

Do not go down the road of proving where your car was at the relevant time at this stage. That's not what you are being asked to do. But on no account ignore this on the basis of "nothing to do with me or my car." If you do you will find yourself on the wrong end of a charge under S172. If convicted the offence carries six points, a hefty fine and an insurance crippling endorsement code (MS90).

As an aside, was your car ever at the stated location in the recent past?

If the OP has access to CCTV that proves her car wasn't where the offence was committed, why wouldn't you provide it at this stage?

First, CCTV footage is evidence, not proof. A court would probably also require witness testimony of its provenance before accepting it.

Second, it makes sense to make a quick phone call to point out a likely simple error before complicating matters.