Speeding Fines - What Are Your Rights?
Thousands of motorists are fined annually for speeding, and it has become a hugely contentious issue. The anger of motorists has also increased since the UK government has decided to raise the minimum fine to £60, with talk of this now increasing to around £100! The speeding issue is really fairly simple: If the police or a safety or speed camera catches you speeding, the police can do one of the following:
- Let you off with a verbal warning
- Ask you, in certain circumstances, to attend a speed awareness course, which you will have to pay for but thereby avoid any penalty points
- Issue you a fixed penalty notice (speeding ticket) with a fine of £60 and 3 penalty points.
- Prosecute you.
If the police decide to prosecute you, this will mean going to court and facing a magistrate. You could be fined £1,000 (£2,500 if you were caught speeding on the motorway), get 3 to 6 penalty points on your driving licence. In the worst case, you could be disqualified from driving.
The action taken by the police for speeding will depend on the circumstances. But, it mostly depends on how far you exceeded the speed limit, how you were driving and what is your driving record.
If you are caught speeding by a safety or speed camera, you will receive a Notice of Intended Prosecution, detailing the offence and a document called a Section 172 notice. You have 28 days to respond using the 172 notice to notify who was driving the vehicle at the time the offence was committed. Not responding to the notice can lead to a separate offence.
If the speeding offence is minor, when you return the Notice of Intended Prosecution/Section 172 notification, you will receive Conditional Offer of a Fixed Penalty Notice. You can decide both to pay the fine and accept the penalty points, or you can decide to contest it. Remember, all that the prosecution needs to prove is that you were speeding. Any fine over the prescribed £60 is bound to make the motorist think about contesting the charge. If the police have decided to prosecute or you have not accepted the fixed penalty and the prosecution then proceeds and the offender thinks that he or she is being wrongly prosecuted, they must seek legal advice and find the best resources to defend themselves.
If you think that you are being wrongly prosecuted, you can decide to contest the charges. But, before you decide to do this, you must know what your rights are. Speeding fines and speeding tickets procedures and law could catch you out badly, especially if the fine is high, or you may be disqualified from driving. If you are mulling over what to do, you can get in touch with Motoring Lawyer Direct and we will discuss it free of charge.
Motoring Lawyer Direct are the best resource to get in touch with, and they can tell you know exactly whether you have a case worth contesting or should you just pay the fine, accept the penalty points and be more careful while driving. You can get this initial advice for free as Motoring Lawyer Direct believes that every motorist has the right to know about speeding laws and fines.