2 Speeding tickets

wels

I was caught speeding by a camera in the same spot 4 days apart. By the time I received the notice of the 1st I had already (unknowingly) transgressed the second. I was doing 28mph & 26mph respectively on a 20mph road. For the 1st the offered me to do the course online for £90, but for the second they want £100 + 3points. Is there anything I can do to minimise the fines? Ie if I do the course and then Challenge the second, is it plausible to plead that the course should cover the 2nd too and no need to enforce the extra £100 and points? surely if the course is in any way educational is should also cover the second offence? Or is there anything else I should try other than being hit with both?

Ebe_Scrooge

No.  Speeding is an absolute offence.  Being offered the course is a discretionary option in the first place, you won't always be offered the choice (there are guidelines about when a course is offered, but they're not hard-and-fast rules).

£100 and 3 points is the "fixed tariff", as it were, for an FPN.  You are at liberty to reject the FPN and go to court to challenge it if you wish - but you'll need a cast-iron defence.  If you go to court and lose, the fine and costs will be much more than £100.

Keep_pedalling

The only other thing you can do is opt for a court appearance for the second offence and plead not guilty, but as you are guilty all that would do is increase the fine.

Just take the course and the points and be a lot more careful from now on.

Car_54

Keep_pedalling said:

The only other thing you can do is opt for a court appearance for the second offence and plead not guilty, but as you are guilty all that would do is increase the fine.

Just take the course and the points and be a lot more careful from now on.

It would also incur prosecution costs (min. guideline £620) and a victim surcharge (40% of the fine).

wels

thank you for all your comments. I know I am guilty and would plead as such. My question is whether there is any room for understanding/compassion from the court to not apply the letter of the law and/or plus extra costs and to see them as back to back PCN for same transgression which can be dealt with one fine/course for both?

Ebe_Scrooge

wels said:

thank you for all your comments. I know I am guilty and would plead as such. My question is whether there is any room for understanding/compassion from the court to not apply the letter of the law and/or plus extra costs and to see them as back to back PCN for same transgression which can be dealt with one fine/course for both?

Not a chance, I'm afraid.  They're 2 separate offences and would be dealt with as such.  And as previously mentioned, without some form of cast-iron defence, a court appearance would simply lumber you with vastly increased costs.

400ixl

You are lucky they are treating them as they are. Only getting 3 points for 2 offences of 40% over the speed limit in a 20mph zone is getting away lightly.

They could very well have not given a fixed penalty for the second offence and passed it to the court to deal with. As others have said, unless you have a rock solid reason for being that far over the speed limit you don't want this going anywhere near the courts.

Herzlos

The bigger concern is how you missed that it was a 20 zone, and the camera, twice.

Is there signage or some kind of distraction?

Ectophile

Herzlos said:

The bigger concern is how you missed that it was a 20 zone, and the camera, twice.

Is there signage or some kind of distraction?

It's remarkably easy if the 20 zone is a busy town centre, with other cars, pedestrians, traffic lights, zebra crossings and so on, all of which require constant attention.

daveyjp

In a busy town centre with lots of hazards driving at 20 should be easy.

TooManyPoints

Quite simply, you don't want either of these offences to go anywhere near a court. The two offers you have been made are the absolute best you will get by a country mile. Even with a guilty plea, prosecution costs will be £90 and the "Victim Surcharge" will be 40% of your fine. That considerably exceeds £100 and that's before you pay your fine (which will be a third of a week's net income).