Smart Motorway speeding ticket

HergestPhil

I have received a notice of intended prosecution for an alleged offence - driving 61 mph in a restricted 50mph zone on a smart motorway.  I remember when I drove through this, and I am not so sure I was speeding in this restricted zone.  I was keeping the same speed as traffic around me.  The photo shows a car in the next lane slightly ahead of me, and I never undertake.  Of course, perhaps all of us were caught out and have tickets.

Out of curiosity, I looked at the calibration certificates which show that the next calibration was due the day before the alleged offence for 3 of the 4 instrument sensor parts, although the next certification test due date is later this year.

It seems there is no way to challenge this other than request a court hearing.  Should I just accept it and complete the form identifying the driver of the vehicle?

Le_Kirk

You would be better off going to a forum called Pepipoo; they deal with stuff like this, whereas this forum is for private parking company issues, such as PCNs.

Umkomaas

Le_Kirk said:

You would be better off going to a forum called Pepipoo; they deal with stuff like this, whereas this forum is for private parking company issues, such as PCNs.

☝️

Register there but please note that a hotmail address won't work - try using a throwaway gmail account instead if you do have trouble registering and post a new thread; here's your link:

http://forums.pepipoo.com/index.php?act=SF&s=&f=5

Have a read through some of the other threads and use their NiP Wizard there before you post your own to get the hang of what information they need from you in your opening post - but as a minimum you will need to post redacted photos/scans of all correspondence you've received from the police (both sides, if appropriate) as they need to see all the small print.

Chris_English

"I am not so sure I was speeding in this restricted zone.  I was keeping the same speed as traffic around me."

That doesn't follow. Loads of people speed on the motorway, so "If I was speeding, he was too" isn't going to help.

If you believe that the equipment was faultly then you can request the proof, and take it to court, but I think it's very unusual for an offence such as this (caught with a fixed camera on a motorway) to be mistaken.

HergestPhil

Thank you, posted in pepipoo.

HergestPhil

Chris_English said:

"I am not so sure I was speeding in this restricted zone.  I was keeping the same speed as traffic around me."

That doesn't follow. Loads of people speed on the motorway, so "If I was speeding, he was too" isn't going to help.

If you believe that the equipment was faultly then you can request the proof, and take it to court, but I think it's very unusual for an offence such as this (caught with a fixed camera on a motorway) to be mistaken.

Yes, I can appreciate that whilst others semed to be driving faster past me, and I thought I was doing the requested 60mph, that I could have mistaken the limit (missed that it had dropped from 60 to 50) and was just less wrong than the others around me but still in the wrong.  Why the camera picked me and not the others is annoying.

I was curious though when I saw the calibration dates had been exceeded, albeit only by 1-2 days.

Chris_English

HergestPhil said:

Chris_English said:

"I am not so sure I was speeding in this restricted zone.  I was keeping the same speed as traffic around me."

That doesn't follow. Loads of people speed on the motorway, so "If I was speeding, he was too" isn't going to help.

If you believe that the equipment was faultly then you can request the proof, and take it to court, but I think it's very unusual for an offence such as this (caught with a fixed camera on a motorway) to be mistaken.

Yes, I can appreciate that whilst others semed to be driving faster past me, and I thought I was doing the requested 60mph, that I could have mistaken the limit (missed that it had dropped from 60 to 50) and was just less wrong than the others around me but still in the wrong.  Why the camera picked me and not the others is annoying.

I was curious though when I saw the calibration dates had been exceeded, albeit only by 1-2 days.

There's no harm in following this up, and Pepipoo's the place to get the right advice.