I Got Caught Speeding, Can I Write A Letter To Say Why?

[BlueButterfly]

can i write a letter to say why i was speeding and can i avoid getting a fine?

[sir.prize]

You cannot have a reason for speeding. Most probably you will not avoid a fine.

[BlueButterfly]

I'm happy to pay the fine.. i was hoping i don't get any penalty points

[woofgang]

there can be extenuating circumstances that might help you to avoid a ban but the reason has to be a good one, eg getting someone to hospital.

[JoolsTwo]

You could try, I got caught but I'd been called to my uncle who had a fall by his alert people. I was driving up the A140 to get to him and din't slow quickly enough as I entered a 30 MPH zone. I wrote explaining the circumstances and they wave the charge. I had never had any points in the past and I think this probably went some way in my favour. If you have a good reason it's worth a try.

[Graham-W]

If your licence is clean at the moment you may be offered a "Speed awareness course". It costs about the same as the fine but you avoid the points. I did one recently and it was quite enjoyable.

[BlueButterfly]

Joolstwo can I have a look at your letter please?, yeah my brother is a brain injury patient and i was rushing to get him.. i ended up taking the wrong road and paniced

[JoolsTwo]

I don't have the letters any longer this was about 2/3 years ago.

[BlueButterfly]

yeah my brother himself was a victim of someone who was speeding, he's now left with a disability for the rest of his life

[JoolsTwo]

I also had a letter from his alert people to confirm that I was responding to there call.

[JoolsTwo]

*Their Call

[jno]

yes, any documentation you can send with your letter will help, otherwise anyone could just say "I was rushing to help someone sick". You'll need to convince them.

[BlueButterfly]

I'm happy to show all his reports.. there's no way i would lie to get away with it, i only paniced cos i took thw wrong road and i will be completely honest

[jomifl]

If the call was in the early hours you could peraps argue that emergency services weren't available (if indeed they weren't) A neighbour of mine fell and dislocated his hip at about 3 AM (I was on his alert list). The emergency services couldn't get an ambulance out for about 5 hours.

[EDDIE51]

Do you have points at the moment? most speeding tickets are 3 points and will not have much effect on insurance if you have a clean licence
Far better to attend court in person if you want to plead for leniency , it shows you have made the effort to put your case in person. You can ask for time to pay a fine , they normally will allow you to pay instalments over several months, but again best to go in person and ask for help in paying as the instalment plan can be put in place immediately.

[lcg]

no.....no reason will be good enough. the law is there for a reason and you should pay the fine, learn your lesson and that you are not special, or different to any other driver on the road. not even taking someone to hospital is a good enough reason - that is what ambulances are for.

[lcg]

ah....your brother wasn't even in the car....as such, there is no excuse, i'm afraid. if you take this to court and said this in front of a judge they would probably treat you more harshly than just a fine. i would pay up.

[society]

Lcg, I understand the law is the law, but I think in dire circumstances the rules should bend a bit. Sometimes things happen which are beyond ones control. What about when someone is speeding trying to get someone to the hospital to deliver their baby or getting a very ill, almost dying person to the hospital? Should they gracefully accept a ticket and pay the fine? I think the law should be lenient on such circumstances.