Letter From The Police!!

Rtype

Hi guys, now i'm not sure if this is in the right section so please move it if not but i didn't know which section to put it in.

Last saturday evening i drove round to my friends house with my other half to see them and their kids as i hadn't seen them all for a while.
On the way i was driving along a quiet road and suddenly out of nowhere spotted a police officer pointing a speed gun at me, he was hiding round the corner of a dead end road with no lighting and no high visibility jacket on (so he was basically invisible right up to the point where he was around 20 ft in front of you), He then followed my car with the speed gun as i went past. Me and the Mrs both looked at each other and said "what was that all about", he was standing there all by himself so i was half expecting there to be another officer at the end of the road waiting to pull me over but there wasn't.
I then got to the end of the road and turned round to go back and take a look, there were no signs up anywhere saying that speed checks were being carried out and he was definitely alone , hiding and not wearing any high visibility clothing!
Anyway, as i wasn't pulled over i thought nothing more of it.

Today i got a letter from the police saying the following

Dear Sir, In accordance with the provisions of the road traffic offenders act 1988, section 1, i hereby give you the registered keeper, notice that proceedings are being considered against the driver, for the offence indicated below involving the driving of L*** *** at **** hrs on saturday, **/3/08 at ****** RD.

At a speed exceeding 30 miles per hour contrary to the road traffic regulation 1988 section 89

This notice is served as a statutory requirement to enable you to have early information that this matter is being investigated. It does NOT necessarily mean that a prosecution will follow.

They want me to send all my info in regarding the driver at the time etc...

Now, if i was speeding i would fully expect to be punished but i was doing what i thought was the correct speed limit and if i wasn't then it must have just been a couple of mph over which i think is a bit harsh, especially considering the fact that he was actually hiding, there were no signs up and he was not wearing any high visibility clothing!
Am i wrong in thinking that by law they have to put up signs within a certain distance of the camera saying that they are conducting speed checks or that there are cameras in operation?

What annoys the hell out of me is that i work closely with the police and everytime i request their attendance to an incident i ALWAYS get the same response "The police have no available units in the area" or "The ETA for police attendance will be a minimum of 1 hour" only to be told 45 mins late that they will be at least 1 more hour! And then this happens to me!!

It seems like a standard letter meant to scare people and i also don't see how they can prove anything as there is no physical evidence.

Has anybody else experienced this or know anything about it??

Many Thanks people

bicycle_repair_man_2

Unfortunately, it's not a legal requirement for the police to put up warning signs for speed cameras, and as long as the speed gun was properly calibrated and home office approved, then they can prosecute you.

Rtype

bicycle_repair_man wrote: »

Unfortunately, it's not a legal requirement for the police to put up warning signs for speed cameras, and as long as the speed gun was properly calibrated and home office approved, then they can prosecute you.

Is this still the case when there is only 1 police officer there and there is no pysical evidence but just his word?

If this is true then it just opens up a whole tin of worms for corruption, i was under the impression that there had to be 2 officers present if there was no actual evidence (except their word)?

Riq

The camera gun is evidence surely?

peediedj

when we stayed in the orkney islands we had a private road run down the side of our house(it had 4-5 houses down it and our garage,we all clubed together to get it tarred)the police used to hide down there and point the speed gun at taxis and cars coming in from the airport as it was a lnog straight road and drivers used to speed down it,1 driver contested it and won as he argued the police were on private property without permission using the gun

turbobob

Might be worth a visit over to http://www.pepipoo.com/ which is a very good resource.

And have a read of this - http://pepipoo.com/Roadside_radar.htm

Happychappy

So does every trade you have dealings with have to have 2 people present ? do you insist on two bank managers when you put money in your account and two check out assistants on the till in case one is corrupt and gets it wrong? why is the officer corrupt or why would he be corrupt ? has he tried to do you a cash deal or a bogof deal to allow you another speeding offence for free? or do you think he's on commission ; )

Love the way you describe your story, almost makes it into a thriller ? cant wait for the next installment, maybe their was a Tardis with a cloaking shield, as he clearly didnt have a vehicle.

Plead not guilty and have your day in court and all will be revealed.

Gorgeous_George

If someone pointed a gun at me in the dark I'd be tempted to drive straight at them.

GG

Thomas_Crown

The read out on a radar gun is evidence of the speed you were travelling at, as is the read out on V.A.S.C.A.R. the computer in some police traffic cars. All police traffic cars have two speedometers, the normal vehicle one & an additional calibrated one. One police officer using a calibrated speedo can book you for speeding.

It is normal procedure for traffic cops to remove conspicuity clothing & the white cover on their caps when operating a radar gun.

Middlers

I disagree that it is 'normal procedure' to remove high viz clothing when operating a speed detection device. In my force we wear them for our own protection, to be visible - this has two effects - our safety and you the roaduser can see us and adjust your speed if necessary. If we were hit by a vehicle and weren't wearing high viz clothing any insurance claim would be substantially reduced. Only in Scotland do you need a corroborating officer - they can obviously afford more officers than we can.

If you get caught put your hands up. Don't go trying to find ways out of it. It is not a game; speed limits are there to save lives and should be obeyed. If you choose to disobey then expect to be punished. You have been served a Notice of Intended Prosecution and could expect a summons within six months of the offence.

Happychappy

aknot wrote: »

Ignore them, they are only trying it on the Police have been told by the Gov to stop anyone driving a car by any means, not to have fun and most of all be in a climate of fear by next wednesday.

WOW !!! :j fantastic informative, well structured post, gosh this guy really is on the ball, totally brilliant :rolleyes: