From what I have read, Police will not prosecute below 10% + 2 mph in a 30 mph zone. That means that they will prosecute at 35 mph but not at 34 mph. 1 mph difference, how the hell can a speed camera, especially a hand held be that accurate. I have seen documentaries showing a camera pointed at a house that gave a reading that it was moving at about 4 mph. I have also read that the government rely on most road users that get a speeding ticket to accept it as a fair cop and pay up but also that a high proportion of 'Contested' tickets are not persued. The documentation sent with a speeding ticket usually tells you that the police have photgraphic evidence proving you guilty and although the photographic evidence is not available to you, it will be provided at a court case should you contest the ticket. Perhaps a more knowledgeable person than me could clarify this but I always thought that any evidence should be made freely available to the person concerned, before any court case. The ticket also indicates that if you do not pay the fine on time (Which would usually expire before the time it takes you to contest it and also the time it would take to ask for the photographic evidence that they have already indicated is not available to you), you will incur extra costs. So you cough up the £ 60:00 plus 3 points or take the gamble, most cough up, they just want to get it over with. Alternatively, quite often, on a first offence, you are offered a speed awareness course. This usually costs a little more than the fine but saves any conviction and points on your licence. Most folk jump at this chance. You spend half a day being told and shown (By a private company) what excessive speed can cause and participate in a 'Hazard awareness' video thingy, where you keep pressing a button when you spot a potential hazard. If you ride a bike, you are pressing the button virtually continously because you see potential hazards ranging from kids who may decide to run out into the road to guys just sitting in their cars having a fag, who might decide to open the door on you. Don't get me wrong, there are a lot of folk out there that ride and drive too fast and need telling but for most it is for just a few mph over the limit and personally, I don't think the course will improve their driving/riding or even needs to, but it does sort out the problem of the points on the licence. If you think that you were not speeding and have the balls to go through with it, contest it. Alternatively, there are solicitors out there that specialise in this sort of thing. It would be nice to get a professional angle on this to find out how successful they are in contesting speeding tickets.
Name & Address withheld for fear of recriminations.
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