Pulled over - alledged speeding

Petriix

What exactly does the NIP say? Was the speed limit actually 60? No one has ever shown a NIP for lower than 10% +2mph over the limit so 74 in a 70 is unlikely to get you pulled over. If, on the other hand, you were doing 70 or over in a 60 limit then there's no point questioning it further. 

user1977

Missmac13 said:

MikeJXE said:

If he didn’t close the gap and he was doing 74mph then you must have been doing 74mph

I understand the police have to record you for half a mile to prove your speed with the in car camera records 

If he pulled you over he obviously got your number 

I would presume it should record all the way up to him catching me up and pulling me over, thereby identifying the car in the distance as being mine.

Why would it have to, when there is also the testimony of the police officer that it was your car in the video and which he stopped, and the driver he spoke to is the person in the dock today...

or to put it another way, what do you think happened in the days before dashcams? There hasn’t been a fundamental change in the law of evidence.

[Deleted User]

If you are too afraid to challenge it then listen to your gut feeling. A police officer has said you were speeding, you are not sure. I don't think being unsure is a basis to challenge anything.

Also, I find myself very attentive to a 60 limit on motorway. I know my own speed and when someone passes I know they are doing 74. Speeding is obvious. 

facade

If you weren't speeding, then by all means challenge the allegation in Court.

Your defence will not be that the Officer is telling lies, but that he must have mistaken your car for the one that was actually speeding and he lost sight of. This is more likely if your car is a black Audi than a white Toyota 2000GT.

If there is no evidence to positively identify your vehicle as the one actually filmed speeding and they believe you then you will succeed.

If your registration is visible at any point during the pursuit or the camera doesn't lose sight of the car until it pulled over (both impossible if it wasn't you speeding), or they just don't believe you, you lose, and will be given the points, a much larger fine than the fixed penalty, and have to pay costs plus the Victim Surcharge* (which went up to 40% of the fine, capped at £2000 from June 2022) .

If you were speeding or don't want to risk losing, accept and pay the fine.

* Don't bother asking who the victims are, it is just a general tax on crime, (presumably "Victim Surcharge" sounds better than "Crime Tax" ) and the money goes to organisations that support victims of crime

Car_54

Hoenir said:

Missmac13 said:

Not even convinced I was speeding but too afraid to challenge it.

Be foolish too. As would be considered as driving without due care and attention. Be a huge black mark on your insurance record. 

Considered by whom? If he is in court for speeding he can't then be charged with careless driving.

TooManyPoints

It's the letter stating I have exceeded the limit with the fine and points.

So it's a "conditional offer of a fixed penalty" which you can either accept, decline or ignore.

If you do decide to defend this, bear in mind that there will be more evidence than the footage you refer to (if indeed the footage is used at all). The officer will give his testimony and if you disagree with it you will have to ask him to attend court, present it in person and you can then cross examine him. You will have to convince the court that his evidence cannot be relied on to convict you, 

The cost of failure is high. If the alleged speed is anything between 61mph and 80mph, you will see the same three points imposed. You will also pay a fine of  half a week's net income, a "Victim Surcharge" of 40% of that fine and prosecution costs which will be in the region of £650. So if your income is £500pw, it will cost you £1,000.

Was this officer on his own and was the "motorway" a genuine motorway (that is, a road prefixed by "M" such as M40  or suffixed by "(M)" such as A1(M)?

daveyjp

And was it police from the traffic unit or neighbourhood police?

Traffic police are out there looking for motoring offences, are trained in traffic law and have the fully kitted out traffic car to video and measure speed.  Neighbourhood police may do an occasional traffic pull, but generally won't have the calibrated equipment to measure speed over a distance and their evidence can often be very flaky.

The downside is if you to take a case to Court it is more expensive (win or lose) than just paying a penalty or going on an awareness course.

TooManyPoints

The downside is if you to take a case to Court it is more expensive (win or lose) 

How is that so?

Iceweasel

TooManyPoints said:

The downside is if you to take a case to Court it is more expensive (win or lose) 

How is that so?

If you go to court on your own without legal representation, any prosecution lawyer will tie you in knots and make you look a fool.
Thr cost of time off work, and your legal fees, even if you win, will far outway the cost of the fixed penalty.

TooManyPoints

If the prosecution lawyer succeeds in tying you in knots and making you look a fool, the likelihood is you will not win so my question would not arise. I'm only talking about the financial consequences if you win..

Many people can get time off work (if they work at all) at no cost. That just leaves the value of their own personal time and some may see that as well spent if they are acquitted of an offence they believe they did not commit.

I would wholeheartedly agree that if you believe you are guilty then a course or fixed penalty is the best offer you will get and you would be foolish to decline such an offer. But if you believe you are not guilty there is more at stake than cash alone. 

That must be a consideration if you are thinking of paying for representation as lawyers' fees for dealing with even the most straightforward of matters are quite frankly ludicrous. But for many it is often not just a question of rolling over because to do otherwise might cost too much. If you are willing to risk paying possibly a grand or more, half a day off work is probably not going to sway you one way or the other.