Variable Speed Limit - M6 - Speeding…

Ozmond78

Hi folks,

I’ve had a court summons as I was pinged doing 68mph through a 40mph variable speed limit camera on the M6. Absolutely gutted as I’ve had a clean licence for 13 years, only ever had 6 points over 23 years & last got points for speeding as an 18 year old back in the late 90’s but it is what is…

My query is whether it’s worth me asking for a court date to argue my case based on my driving history? From the images you can see 2 cars very close behind me so it wasn’t just me & it was genuinely a mistake. The speed they’ve got me at is my car on cruise control at 70mph! I’m not sure when the speed dropped to 40mph either as I don’t recall seeing it but that’s not much of an argument I know. 

I drive over 25k miles a year & as I said, I’ve had nothing on my licence since I run a red light in 2008 so I’m pretty annoyed at myself. Just want to see if anyone’s had any good experiences when trying to offer an explanation in person. 

Thanks in advance for any advice. Hope everyone’s well. 

Dazed_and_C0nfused

What do you hope to achieve from going to court?

A lower fine/points or the whole thing being cancelled?

Ozmond78

I doubt there’s any chance of it being cancelled so yeah, to see whether I can get whatever punishment I’d normally expect for it to be reduced. 

jimbo6977

I doubt the courts take kindly to having their time wasted by people contesting strict liability offences on the basis of being good citizens otherwise. 

Ozmond78

I’m not contesting liability but I have the option to plead guilty and attend court. Fully appreciate what you’re saying but why do they provide the option to do this if they don’t expect anyone to do it?

Belenus

Ozmond78 said:

I doubt there’s any chance of it being cancelled so yeah, to see whether I can get whatever punishment I’d normally expect for it to be reduced. 

You are probably best off accepting the non court process. Others may advise otherwise.

If you do end up in court, my advice is to be very polite, very contrite and very apologetic.

You could plead mitigation about the effect any ban will have on you but my advice is to NOT attempt to justify speeding. The court has heard it all before.

As you are aware, not seeing the 40 mph sign is no excuse. Saying that might make matters worse.

Other cars also breaking the speed limit is irrelevant.

Your previous good behaviour is largely irrelevant but could be used as mitigation.

Unless you can afford to employ a Mr Loophole (Nick Freeman) you have very close to zero chance of getting out of this and will have to take your punishment on the chin.

Herzlos

Ozmond78 said:

I’m not contesting liability but I have the option to plead guilty and attend court. Fully appreciate what you’re saying but why do they provide the option to do this if they don’t expect anyone to do it?

You can attend in an attempt to protest innocence or plead mitigating circumstances to avoid a ban.

So unless you can prove that it wasn't a 40 or there was no way to know it was a 40 (such as the signage is missing), it's just going to cost you a lot more to go to court and plea than to just take the fixed penalty.

Did you get a Fixed Penalty Notice first, or is it going straight to court? If it's already going to court you've got nothing to lose by explaining it was a genuine mistake and you are suitably remorseful etc.

Ozmond78

No there was no fixed penalty - it’s gone straight to court. This is why I’m considering going just to say that although I was speeding, I am not a ‘speeder’ & hopefully my driving record somewhat backs that up….

Absolutely not trying to get out of it, fully expecting to pay a fine & get points but I’m hoping it can be treated as something a bit less serious than it looks on paper. 

Honestly furious with myself but these things happen I guess. 

TadleyBaggie

The magistrates will sentence as per the sentencing guideline, previous non-speeding will have no bearing.

Ebe_Scrooge

68 in a 40 zone puts you in the Band C speeding range - i.e. the most serious.  For the avoidance of any doubt, I'm in no way judging you here - just stating a fact!

That's why you weren't offered a fixed penalty, it's a mandatory court hearing.  There is a possibility of being banned for a period - if a ban would genuinely cause hardship (e.g. loss of income which would affect your family), then it's worth attending court to hopefully avoid a ban.  There's a bit of explanation here as to what the guidelines are: https://www.rac.co.uk/drive/advice/legal/speeding-fines/

But the bottom line, unfortunately, is that you were caught bang to rights.  And remember, a court will have heard every excuse under the sun, so it's highly unlikely you'll be able to reduce the penalty - it's just a case of whether it's points or a ban, along with a fine.

EssexExile

The magistrates will have a long list of cases to get through. If you respond by post you will be one of many cases they fly through without giving each one much thought, just following the guidelines. If you go to court they will patiently listen to what you have to say, going by what you have told us they will then just follow the guidelines.

Guidelines are for "first offence" so the fact that you've not been caught before (recently) won't change anything and the fact that others were speeding isn't relevant.