Ducati Sporting Club UK > General > Idle Chat > Speeding advice please

[sidrat]

I too was on six points and got followed by a plain car, raced it for about 3 miles until there was 5 cars and 400 yards between us, then the blue lights in the grill problem.

Represented myself, got 6 additional points and a £500 fine, but no ban.....long story. You can get away with more points and a fine and no ban, there are plenty of truck drivers on 25+ points, you just need to play the game in court, there is lots of good info on the internet about your day in court, but it can be done, good luck!

[748S]

Thanks for all the good advice .... will let you know the outcome..

[748S]

were you north or south of Leicester on the M1 ie which Force ?
Any Officers details?
Did they verbally NIP you at the scene, were you interviewed in a little book?
Is it on video and did they show you it?
was it on a time and distance screen in the car?

North near Ratby,
Officers name on Producer
Whats a verbal NIP ? He just said "will probably get summons " dont know if im reading anything into his words there
Dont know if its on vid,,, as it was a different car that pulled me and I didn't get offered chance to view evidence...

[Edited on 23-2-2006 by andyb]

[Edited on 23-2-2006 by andyb] [/quote]

[Carbon749]

Originally posted by sidrat


got 6 additional points and a £500 fine, but no ban.....long story.

A mate was in court for speeding and they tried to ban him and give him points. The solicitor pointed out that the court can only do points or ban but not both for the same offence.

He ended up with 21 days ban and a clean license afterwards ... problem was that he could not then get insurance on his Lotus. After 3 refusals for insurance he lied about the ban and did not disclose it. He got insurance and prayed for the next 3 years that he did not have an accident

This is why I think points are better than a ban, at least you can still get insurance with 6 points on your license.

[Guido]

In my experience....

Forking out for a big-wig solicitor is a waste of time and money (sorry those here in the legal profession)...

In some cases it makes you look arrogant and aloof.

Only time I would now consider one was if there was any reason that the officer's evidence against me came into serious question......(i.e. Dodgy road signage, way they "tracked" your speed Vs APCO guidelines etc, wrongly recorded details, untrue police statements etc, etc). In those cases an experienced criminal law solicitor knows the jargon and technicalities better than you. But to pay someone £700 to do a half-cocked grovelling job on your behalf (which is all it will be if you have nothing against the officer's evidence legally) is pointless. No one can express the predicament a ban etc will put you in better than yourself.

You can request copies of any evidence they have on you so that you can formulate your own plan before even involving a solicitor. It's only a case of polite letter writing to the CPS...why pay a solicitor £200 per letter to do this for you when you can do it yourself.

I have been there twice and have obtained every bit of evidence against me before making a plea so that i could then make the correct decisions for my own situatoin.

Pepipoo is a god-send so use it. I got most of my info from there as how to request details from the CPS.

Mail me if you want any info.

With all that in mind, you're on dodgy ground at over 100mph (unless you're name's Alex Ferguson or Dwight Yorke......he says cynically). First thing to do is send away for a new licence (say you lost your old one - costs you £20) so that if you have any convictions that have expired, they are cleared from your licence before you go to court. No point going to all the extent of raising a defence if your record resembles that of Al Capone and is documented in print.

[Edited on 25-2-2006 by Guido]

[748S]

Guido
Goods tips mate...

Was thinking about saving my cash on legal representation,and put it towards a heafty fine instead...

Thx

[Paul James]

Happened to me a few years back on the M1 in the same area. Was giving it large in a big company VW, got up to 130 at one point and was then pulled by a jam sarnie that had sat well back out of sight and clocked me. At the time they said I'd been doing 120 and driving "aggressively" ie trying to get on while people were doing 60 in the outside lane.

When the summons came through they had put it in at 100mph (I guess assuming it was an immediate ban) and not bothered with the aggressive bit. If you plead guilty and go to court the prosecution can only read out what is on the summons but you can say what you like in your defense.

Went to magistrates court, took my then wife with young baby and made her sit in the back of the court sobbing a bit. Explained that I wasn't a nutter and would lose my job if I lost my licence. Ended up with 6 points and as I recall £400 fine.

My advice, DONT go the lawyer route based on what you've said, you're bang to rights and the magistrates are fed up with smart arses trying to get off by looking for loopholes. Unless as Guido has said there was something dodgy about what they did to nick you. To be honest blatting away from a car thats been tailing you for a while is not really to be recommended, like as not if you'd backed off a bit instead they'd have left you alone. I know we get a jaded view of the old plod but some of them are almost human and won't always nick you for speeding a bit over the limit unless you are driving a bit daft as well :-).

Good luck with it !!!

[TORTUGA]

I wont tell you all what I do for a living (work it out for yourselves) but I have seen people at court arrive week in and week out, lie and lie and get away with it. And then I have seen people arrive for the first time, be honest and get burned for it.
If you have got the balls to do it you arrive at court and fill out the means form. Dont get a solicitor as they will not support this, I would say that you have no savings and have just lost your job and will be registering with social security unless you can find a new job soon. Offer to pay at £5 a fortnight and then when you get the fine pay it off asap. I took a bloke to court once just to give you an example. He had a good job and no previous. He was shaking with fear as he went before the Magistrates. In his desperate position he blerted out that he didnt want to go to prison and had savings. How much savings they asked, about 4 grand was his reply. Thankyou we will take that. And they did take the lot. Then you get the scumbags who arrive with £200 in their property and say they have no money. The bench gives them a rubbish fine as a reward for playing the system.
The system is against the honest working people and is for the scumbags. And I am part of the system.
Be warned if you do lie it is perverting the course of justice which changes your situation somewhat but then I have seen camera partnerships lie and be damn right obstructive and no one prosecutes them.
Dont get me wrong if I speed and am caught then I think fair enough. But I would like to think it I would be treated fair at court and at present I would not.
As for previous posts. 14 days notice only applies to fixed cameras and mobile cameras where they dont stop you at the roadside. If you are stopped at the roadside they have 6 months as they are reporting you for the offence to the courts and are notifying you there and then of intended prosecution. They also have to caution you as part of it.
My view about cameras is that put in 30mph and 40mph built up zones is good, they are set up at about 40-42mph or 50-52mph so any one caught deserves that. However I dont like them put up on national speed limit sites as this is usually where they are bending the rules to suite themselves. By this I mean the where the government says they can only put these things up where there have been x amount of accidents over a x period. The accident spots are usually miles away from the camera sight and are no use to stopping accidents on that given road because that is not where all the action is.

Good luck with it!

[TORTUGA]

PS I have never known a court to check a means form.

[andyb]

I think youll find its the policy of all ASU offices connected with Road Policing units to issue a 14 day NIP regardless of whether it was done/said at the road side or not!