Speed cameras

I was caught today by a speed van doing 38mph in a 30mph zone, when I was caught I was changing song on the touchscreen of my car, will I get fined/prosecuted for that?

Reply 1

Sion123456

Original post by Desf1980

It's very unlikely that you'll get prosecuted for using the touchscreen of your car. In all likelihood you'll get a notice of intended prosecution through for exceeding the speed limit and at that speed you'll probably be offered a speed awareness course, which generally costs about the same as the fixed penalty of £100 but lets you avoid having the points on your licence. Fingers crossed that you were below 35 mph and then you probably won't even hear from the police with regards to the speeding.

Wow thank you so much for this!

Reply 2

Admit-One

Universities Forum Helper

Whilst it is unlikely, it is possible. Nick Knowles was caught, (and prosecuted), for using a mobile by a speed camera.

Reply 3

ChiefBrody

from my limited experience, the camera uses radar to detect speed and takes one (or sometimes two) pictures of the car - was it from front or rear? Did it definitely flash as you drove by? How accurate is your speedo? I use a GPS to calibrate mine and it over reads from +2mph at 30mph to +5mph at 70mph but does slowly vary with tyre wear

The system seems pretty automated, I dont even know if a human looks at the pictures, so unless you are obviously doing something silly (like doing your makeup or on the phone) they only prosecute for speed

Each police force has its own guidelines. I was caught in Lincs a while back and was told the cut-off was 36mph. 35mph or less and you were fine. 36mph you got offered a speed awareness course, as I did. Above 36mph and is was 3 points £100

I think some police forces are more lenient on first offences,. but that might be out of date

FWIW a first offence doesn't usually affect your insurance, though you have to tell them and again that might be slightly out of date

Reply 4

IWMTom

Original post by Desf1980

Hi - did you receive a notice of intended prosecution in the post? If it goes beyond 14 days, not including the date of the alleged offence, you’ll be in the clear!

Not always the case.

Reply 5

IWMTom

Original post by Desf1980

It is I’m afraid, but I wouldn’t want you to just take my word for it. The Government states on .gov.uk, “If you’re caught by a speed camera within 14 days of your car being caught speeding you’ll be sent a:
Notice of Intended Prosecution (NIP)
Section 172 notice
You must return the Section 172 notice within 28 days, telling the police who was driving the car.”

Or if you prefer the police’s perspective, here’s Bedfordshire Police’s take on it, “The NIP must be served to the driver or registered keeper of the offending vehicle within 14 days of the offence. Failure to serve the NIP within this time limit will result in the offence not proceeding at court.”

They follow that up with, “If the details of the driver are not known or cannot be collated, the NIP will be sent to the registered keeper of the offending vehicle.”

Nice try, but you've neglected to consider whether the OP is the registered keeper. If there's an intermediary involved (i.e. a finance/leasing company, or a company owned car) then the NIP goes to them first. They nominate the driver and the 14 day rule no longer applies for communication to the OP.

Hence... "not always the case".

Reply 6

Admit-One

Universities Forum Helper

Also “you’ll be sent” ≠ “you’ll receive”. 14 days is just to time to it into the post in its way to the registered keeper.

You’re definitely not in the clear on day 15.

Reply 7

IWMTom

Original post by Desf1980

I did consider that - I read the bit where the OP wrote “my car” and not “my company car, a car I had hired, borrowed or otherwise was in possession of.”

Most folk who finance cars still call it "my car".

Reply 8

Admit-One

Universities Forum Helper

Original post by Desf1980

If you’re the registered keeper and you haven’t received it by day 15 you are in the clear. To quote Slater & Gordon Solicitors website, “Importantly, if you receive a NIP, it must arrive within 14 days of the date of the alleged incident to be valid.”

There are numerous stated cases regarding this.

This was a question in my law exam and seeing I got 100% on road traffic law, I know I got it correct.

Yes I’m sure that in the real world anyone that receives a NIP on day 15 either consults a solicitor or chucks it in the bin.

Reply 9

IWMTom

Original post by Desf1980

Most folk used to think the World was flat, it didn’t make that true either.

Hardly relevant to the debate... :facepalm:

Reply 10

tylinf

Original post by Desf1980

No you’re right it isn’t - but you can’t really argue that I haven’t considered something that is written in plain English by the OP.

Anyway, the most important thing is hopefully the OP won’t get a FPN. We all give enough money to HM Treasury for them to waste as it is.

Wrong. The most important thing is hopefully the OP learns how to stick to the speed limit and pay full attention to the road and how fast he's going.

Reply 11

RedGiant

Original post by Desf1980

Even if the OP was the RK, and it did indeed arrive late, the burden of proving the delayed service is on the RK. This is not an easy task and will usually only work in court if there are some sort of extenuating circumstances, e.g. postal strike or other known postal delays.

Gidden v Chief Constable of Humberside [2009] is an example of how difficult it is to use (allegedly) late service as a defense to the original charge. They had to take the case all the way to the divisional court.

Finally, one is not simply "in the clear" if they receive the NIP one day late, one still must name the driver as per the section 172 obligations or else they risk a FtF conviction. Only then can they potentially use the late service as a defense to the original speeding charge, which will almost always be in court.

(edited 2 years ago)

Reply 12

Ajay19

Original post by Sion123456

I was caught today by a speed van doing 38mph in a 30mph zone, when I was caught I was changing song on the touchscreen of my car, will I get fined/prosecuted for that?

You should invest in a Road Angel, or Laser Detector (If you can afford them) or use Waze at all times to avoid this happening this again and be more observant of what's parked and other cars braking ahead.