Speeding fines

[JTrader]

OK

so you've been a careless boy/girl, you're on a dark poorly lit motorway at night and it doesn't dawn on you in time that the speed limits dropped from 70 to 50. The GATSO double flashes you. Thirteen days later you get the dreaded letter informing you that you have been caught doing 76mph in a 50 zone - this carries a 5/6 points penalty. Despite this incident, I am one of the most careful drivers who rarely speeds........................

Although you have 30 days to reply, you decide to send the form back quickly (1-2 days) in the hope that they may be lenient (5 rather than 6 points). 65 days after returning the form - you still have not received the fixed penalty/notice of intention to prosecute form, that you've been expecting........and are starting to hope that you are in the clear............

Do you think that the police sometimes send out the forms just to scare people and make them think twice before speeding, without actually being intent on handing out the fine and penalty points?

Or, do you think a quick initial reponse/admitting the offence can help make the police lenient?

Or, do you think that neither of these is likely, the form that the initial acceptance of resonsibility has got lost in the post, and the Law are still hot on the trail?

Has this sort of thing happened to you or someone you know? if so, what was the outcome?

Cheers

jtrader.

 

[trendie]

jtrader,

a: call the police up and remind them of your speeding, and make sure they have sent the summons to the correct address.

b: try the Citizens Advice Bureau. Free, confidential advice, can be done over the phone. They should be able to clarify the situation for you.

c: let us know how it goes, so we know where to post the cake with the file in it.

d: good luck.

 

[Tuffty]

jtrader,

According to the Sunday Times Driving supplement yesterday (page 2) it said 'guidelines issued by Assoc. of Chief Police Officers.....drivers to be issued with a court summons rather than a fixed penalty they should be travelling at more than.....76mph in a 50mph limit...."

NB: I now find it quite hard to concentrate properly on driving as a) my mind is still churning market ideas through and b) I seem to have lost some multi tasking ability over several years of full time trading. Is that why J.Livermore had a chauffeur on the way to and from work? Anyone else notice similar traits.

 

[JTrader]

Hi Tuffty

did the article say how long the court summons should take to arrive?

It happened on 27/8/5 and I returned the document/acceptance around 10/9/5.

When was this policy introduced?

Are you saying that I should have to go to court?

Surely the courts should be full of real criminals! and not people caught out by stupid (and hard to spot) motorway speed-traps!

Cheers

jtrader.

 

[Mornington Crescent]

breaking the speed limit is criminal
dont try and kid yourself that its not important.

if you hit someone, you go to jail

wise up

 

[JTrader]

breaking the speed limit is criminal
dont try and kid yourself that its not important.

if you hit someone, you go to jail

wise up

Hi DoubleSix

I was actually talking tongue in cheek, as anybody who does break the speed limit, by its very nature, has automatically committed a criminal offence.

I accept that speeding is not good, and that it is right that people who break the speed limit be punished.

It is annoying that when you are on a dark, poorly lit, more or less empty straight motorway after midnight, you enter a 50 zone, and 150 yard later there is a GATSO - obscured by being positioned just after a flyover. It looks like you should be facing 5-6 points penalty.

Yet this is one of the very few occassions when you go over the speed limit - and your driving license points tally portrays you as a boy racer.

jtrader.

 

[counter_violent]

A bit late in the day I know ....but have you considered Sat- Nav ..... all cameras listed and warnings before you hit them ...

Just remembered , there is an Ozzy Ozbourne voice download available . Kind of makes the ffffff ffffff f*****g journey more of a laugh.

C V

 

[TWI]

It is not about the speed you drive it is about how you drive. Most dangerous cretins are not breaking the speed limit. I ride a bike in and back from my office every day and come across loads of the car driving w*nkers.
As for speeding there used to be a loophole and if you did not sign the form before sending it back it was inadmissible as evidence in court. This is the reason they are now going to have many more cameras that take a picture of the driver from the front.(great for bikers)
I had an incorrectly filled out ticket once and the delay was huge but they caught up with me eventually and I got the points...I always wondered if I could have argued that.
Would think you fall into fixed penalty territory. A possibility for the delay could be that the camera was found to be incorrectly calibrated in which case one day you will get a letter explaining this.

 

[JTrader]

I have considered the speed camera detectors - £80ish and plug into the cig. lighter. If I do get done I will probably get one - although it's just added complication.

http://www.speed-trap.co.uk/Accused_Home/SpeedVSFines/SpeedVSFines.htm

Known officially in the UK as "EXCEEDING SPEED LIMIT", this table shows baseline penalties you can expect. It's correct as of December 2004. Each case will be looked at individually, to assess factors such as time of day, road type and conditon, weather conditions etc. The fine is now also based upon the financial circumstances of the offender, leading to payment within 12 months.

Offence Fine Costs Penalty Points
up to 15mph over the posted limit £44 £30 3
16mph to 25mph over the posted limit £45-£100 £30 4
26mph to 35mph over the posted limit £45-£200 £30 5-6
36mph or more over the posted limit £67-£300 £30 Ban 1 month to 12 months
The current guidelines from the Association of Chief Police officers (ACPO) are:

Limit Fixed Penalty Summons
20 mph 25 mph 35 mph
30 mph 35 mph 50 mph
40 mph 46 mph 66 mph
50 mph 57 mph 76 mph
60 mph 68 mph 86 mph
70 mph 79 mph 96 mph

Does a court summons mean that you will automatically be made to appear in court - i.e. 35mph in a 20 zone? Anyone know how this is to be interpreted?

Cheers

JT.

 

[dc2000]

Yes a summons means a court appearance oddly enough I was speaking to one of my daughters friends the other day he had just been to court for no insurance and mot this was the 2nd offence for the same thing. The fine and points for this are less than doing 35mph over the speed limit on the above figs

 

[peto]

OK



Although you have 30 days to reply, you decide to send the form back quickly (1-2 days) in the hope that they may be lenient (5 rather than 6 points). 65 days after returning the form - you still have not received the fixed penalty/notice of intention to prosecute form, that you've been expecting........and are starting to hope that you are in the clear............

.

http://www.pepipoo.com/ is a mine of information, there is also a forum there with some legal experts who post regularly.

The fixed penalty/notice of intention to prosecute forms must arrive within 6 months of the alleged offence.

Was the 50 sign illuminated correctly on your "dark poorly lit motorway at night", and were reminder signs posted at regular intervals thereafter - if not you may have a defence.

An alternative used but some forces is to offer you a Speed Awareness Course in leu of points. Unfortunately this is usualy in cases where a fixed penalty would otherwise be used, i.e. speeds at the lower end of the range.

pete

 

[peto]

GJ..........The Notice of intended prosecution must arrive at the Registered Owner's address within 14 days, and be sent by at least 1st class post. If that is not the address of the driver then an extension is allowed.

pete

 

[JonnyT]

I take it the first letter you received was a NIP asking for positive ID?

Either forms have got lost in the post else you are facing a court appearance.

JonnyT

 

[JTrader]

The fixed penalty/notice of intention to prosecute forms must arrive within 6 months of the alleged offence.

Ah thanks, thats the type of info I was after. I'll look further to confirm.

GJ..........The Notice of intended prosecution must arrive at the Registered Owner's address within 14 days, and be sent by at least 1st class post. If that is not the address of the driver then an extension is allowed.

I thought it was 16 days, but could be wrong. I've been done twice now. 37 in a 30 (7am saturday morning, where a 60 road has suddenly changed into a 30 zone, although its not a built up area, and i have been flashed by an onfacing TRUVELLO - positioned soon after the speed limit change). On both occassions, I have got to about 13 days - get my hopes up - then the NIP arrives .

I do not understand the summons bit, because I thought the fixed penalty order would turn into a court summons if you do not agree to pay. Surely they do not drag people into court for doing 35 in a 20 zone etc. bad as it may be?

I once went through traffic lights just as they'd turned red, at 2am, the camera again flashed me, but i never received anything - presumably because the camera had run out of film, but still keeps flashing offonders.

That double flash certainly leads to one of the worst short-term feelings that I have known. Although perhaps blowing a couple of thousand from a trading account would be worse.

Remember boys and girls, speeding is not big and it is not clever, but it WILL be caught on camera!

Cheers

jtrader.

 

[JonnyT]

Doing 35 in a 20 is a possible banning offence.

JonnyT

 

[CJIA]

.

While I was driving down the A55 today, (going a little
faster than I should have been) I passed under a bridge
only to see a copper on the other side with a radar gun
laying in wait.
The copper pulled me over,walked up to the car,
and with that classic patronising smirk, asked:
"Runway too short?"
To which I replied, "I'm late for work."
To which he asked, "What do you do?"
"I'm a rectum stretcher," I responded.
The copper was surprised and confused.
"A what...? A rectum stretcher??
And just what does a rectum stretcher do?"
"Well," I said, "I start by inserting one finger,
then I work my way up to two fingers,
then three, then four, then with my whole hand in,
Work side to side until I can get both hands
in,
and then I slowly but surely stretch the hole,
until it's about 6 feet."
Then the copper asked questioningly and cautiously,
"And just what do you do with a six-foot ********?"
To which I politely replied, "You give him a radar
gun and park him behind a bridge..."

Speeding ticket: £105.00

Penalty Points : 3

Court costs: £45

Look on copper's face: Priceless

 

[fxmarkets]

sharp..

 

[heycanilosemoney]

The Notice of Intended Prosecution (NOIP) must be served within 14 days. After that there is a six month statute of limitations on prosecution. This means that a summons must be issued within six months. It does not mean the case must be heard within six months.

In any case the matter can be dealt with by summons to court or a rewquest for a fixed enalty payment.

If what was received in this case was a NOIP, then that aspect of the law is satisfied. If no fixed penalty notice and no summons has been received then my advice is to contact the Ticket office for the Police area where you live. It will be part of the headquarters of the Police. I say this because if a summons has been issued and not received by you, you may have in advertently missed your court appaearance. If this is the case, a warrant for your arrest will have been issued. While all the misunderstanding will be sorted out in the wash later, this will not help you at Gatwick where you thought you were about to leave for a holiday in Florida but now find yourself care of Group 4 on route to the court for failing to appear!!!

Just my advice.

Ah thanks, thats the type of info I was after. I'll look further to confirm.



I thought it was 16 days, but could be wrong. I've been done twice now. 37 in a 30 (7am saturday morning, where a 60 road has suddenly changed into a 30 zone, although its not a built up area, and i have been flashed by an onfacing TRUVELLO - positioned soon after the speed limit change). On both occassions, I have got to about 13 days - get my hopes up - then the NIP arrives .

I do not understand the summons bit, because I thought the fixed penalty order would turn into a court summons if you do not agree to pay. Surely they do not drag people into court for doing 35 in a 20 zone etc. bad as it may be?

I once went through traffic lights just as they'd turned red, at 2am, the camera again flashed me, but i never received anything - presumably because the camera had run out of film, but still keeps flashing offonders.

That double flash certainly leads to one of the worst short-term feelings that I have known. Although perhaps blowing a couple of thousand from a trading account would be worse.

Remember boys and girls, speeding is not big and it is not clever, but it WILL be caught on camera!

Cheers

jtrader.

 

[JTrader]

Well its been over six months since I was caught speeding and I still haven't received any kind of follow up.
Hopefully this means I'm off the hook.
I heard on the news the other month that there are differences in the prosecutuion rates with regard to speeding motorists for different police forces across the UK, so perhaps this may explain why I have (hopefully) been let off.
I'm surprised though as doing 76 mph in a 50 zone is quite a serious offence and carries 5/6 penalty points.
One other factor may be that I returned the NIP, accepting personal liability, within a day or so of when I received it, so this may have helped things go in my favour.

 

[chump]

"One other factor may be that I returned the NIP, accepting personal liability, within a day or so of when I received it, so this may have helped things go in my favour."... not a chance
Somehow you managed to fall through a hole in the system...happens so count yourself lucky.

Interesting I read something the other day that most fines attributable to speed cameras are successful only because people don't know the law...that is the police are supposed (if asked) to give you evidence of your offence. within a certain time period...most police forces prosecuting the offence have apparently not done that. Interesting.