Incorrectly accused of not wearing seatbelt

Clanwalker

Hi,

I was driving home from work on a standard day like any other.

As I was driving up a very steep hill about 20 mins into my 30 min journey home, I saw what I assumed was a speed trap vehicle on the far side of the road.

I was doing the speed limit so this of course did not bother me, but 2 days later I received a letter claiming I was being prosecuted for not wearing a seatbelt!

Now I am a driver who is very conscious about this and I never drive my vehicle without a seatbelt on. As well as this, my car has an in built alarm that goes crazy if I even drive 5m without a belt on and sometimes even goes off if the passenger seat has a bag on it.

Looking at the photo evidence they provided, you can barely even see into the vehicle. The photo was taken from a very steep angle as i was going up a large hill, with only my face and a portion of my shoulder visible. The second photo was a better angle from the front, but I was very far away and the quality is so poor that you can see my face and everything else is just blurry darkness, this also does not show anything below my neckline.

I was wearing quite a thick hooded jumper from Hollister (thick sheep wool) and the hood comes down over my shoulders when in the car, as it is quite bulky. The seatbelt is not visible in the photo because it is obscured by the bad angle, poor quality and my hood covering the small part of my shoulder you can see.

I am honestly disgusted by this, as this does not seem like sufficient evidence at all that I was not wearing a belt, especially as I most definitely was and I don't know if it is worth appealing or not.

They have offered me a £52 belt awareness course and no points if I accept. Or I can appeal and risk incurring court costs, bigger fines and points.

This puts me in an awful position, as I know I am innocent here and the evidence is awful; but it looks like it is just not worth the time or effort to appeal my innocence.

Any advice would be appreciated on how to handle this, I have been driving for about 7 years and have 0 offenses to date.

Thank you.

Jenni_D

Ask to see copies of the original electronic photo files, as the poor quality copies supplied do not in any way prove their case? (Explain what you have above, re. the vehicle warnings plus the clothing). As such they have not proven their case beyond reasonable doubt.

Aretnap

There are no penalty points for a seat belt offence, whether it goes to court or not. 

TooManyPoints

...but 2 days later I received a letter claiming I was being prosecuted for not wearing a seatbelt!

That's a bit presumptuous of them. How did the police know you were driving?

What is it exactly you have received?

KimJongUn88

If you’re sure you were wearing a seatbelt at the material time, take it to Court and defend yourself then.

TooManyPoints

And if you do, before you enter your plea or worry about what evidence they have to show you were not wearing a seat belt, find out what evidence they have to prove that you were driving. It may make your task a little easier.

Clanwalker

TooManyPoints said:

...but 2 days later I received a letter claiming I was being prosecuted for not wearing a seatbelt!

That's a bit presumptuous of them. How did the police know you were driving?

What is it exactly you have received?

I received a letter asking if I was driving along with photos, as they would like to prosecute. I am the only registered party on that vehicle and it is for personal use, so don't see how i could avoid it that way.

TooManyPoints

Ah, now we're getting somewhere. Did you respond saying you were he driver at the relevant time?

Ebe_Scrooge

Clanwalker said:

TooManyPoints said:

...but 2 days later I received a letter claiming I was being prosecuted for not wearing a seatbelt!

That's a bit presumptuous of them. How did the police know you were driving?

What is it exactly you have received?

I received a letter asking if I was driving along with photos, as they would like to prosecute. I am the only registered party on that vehicle and it is for personal use, so don't see how i could avoid it that way.

It would be perfectly legal for a friend to drive your car (with your permission) so long as their own insurance covered them for at least 3rd-party risks.  And it's not uncommon for spouses to be named drivers on each others' insurance.  The point is that as a first port of call, they cannot assume it was you that was driving.  They send the form to the registered keeper, who then has the option to say someone else was driving.

But all that is irrelevant in your case, from what you've said.  And naming someone else as the driver when you know it was really you can land you in a whole heap of trouble!

Clanwalker

TooManyPoints said:

Ah, now we're getting somewhere. Did you respond saying you were he driver at the relevant time?

I have not yet, but i plan too later today.

The punishment looks to be a course and no points; which tempting to take, as it is very minor but I am innocent so feels wrong!

I hate this.

ciderboy2009

OP - are you able to reproduce their photo's (ie: taken from the same angle & distance with you wearing the same clothes) along with a video clip which comes closer to you to show that you are wearing the seatbelt?

That's about the only way I can think of for you to prove your innocence.

I know that it's for them to prove your guilt (beyond reasonable doubt) but magistrates will have heard all sorts of excuses so, unless you can prove their photo's don't show what they think they do, then I think you might be better off going on the course.

nb: unless you are in Northern Ireland there are currently no points awarded for not wearing a seatbelt.