speeding ticket

[davidtheloon]

whilst riding my motorbike, i was zapped by a hand held laser doing 48 in a 40 limit. whilst the picture they sent clearly shows a bike and the alledged speed, it is only a front facing picture and does not show a numberplate. the officer must have noted the reg no after i had passed him. have i got a defence?

[Grunty]

Only if your speed was 40 or less.  We are not entirely in a machine society, and people are still allowed to tell the court what they saw.

[Oneeyedvic]

You can ask for proof that it was your motorbike. Deny everything until they can come up with identification that it is your bike - I doubt they can without a photograph of your numberplate.

I *think* you have a very good defense. Personally, I would consult a solicitor.

[tubeway]

I think that as you did it - you should take the fine and the points - you were doing nearly 20% over the speed limit - and your speedo was probably reading nearer 55mph. You were wrong - so now be man enough to admit it.

[Grunty]

Sorry David - my answer was correct.  The officer knows the speed from the gun's read-out.  He knows the number of your bike because he read it and wrote it down.  In court, he will just need to say on oath that the bike that was travelling at 48 m.p.h. was the same one that he took the number of.  Paying the ticket now is the cheapest option.

[hopalong]

You could aslo be charged with not having a number plate displayed on the front

[Oneeyedvic]

hopalong - I doubt you can be charged with complying with the law - fornt number plates on motorbikes haven't been seen for years on UK roads.

 

Grunty - still not sure - but have no basis for that - just my intuition.

 

As i said, I really would get legal advice from someone who is on your side - ie a solicitor you engage.

[chazza]

Front plates on motorbikes are seen on all bikes that i've seen except racing ones!

[Oneeyedvic]

Don't know if I'm in a time warp here. Number plates for Motorbikes were abolished in 1975 (well at least according to the Department for Transport)

http://www.dft.gov.uk/stellent/groups/dft_transstats/documents/page/dft_transstats_507875.hcsp

[Oneeyedvic]

Sorry, my post should have read "front number plates for motorbikes ......"

[BigDogsWang]

I'm guessing chazza and hopalong are not in the UK. If they are, I suggest they stand at the side of the road and see how many number plates they can spot on the front of a bike. I think they will be there for a very long time!

If my memory services me correctly, plates were banned from the front due to health and safety reasons.

[Kev_UK]

Front number plates used to go along the mudguard and were visible from the sides not the front.. due to them slicing into anyone that happened to be hit by a motorcycle they stopped putting them on. (for similar reasons hood ornaments on cars were banned or made to fold down on impact.. e.g. rolls-royce, mercedes-benz, jaguar).
If you receive anything in the post you don't have to sign for (special delivery, recorded, registed), then they have no proof you received anyhing from them.. unless it is hand served upon you. In all cases, they must issue you with an intended prosecution within 14 days or it's a non starter.
If you do not know who was riding the bike or indeed if it was your bike and not another with a cloned numberplate, then also it's hard to prove. What will deide if it was your bike and you are unique things like stickers and/or the clothes the rider was wearing.

[dribfunk]

If the photograph shows evidence of you as the rider (comparing riding gear, lid, boots - any form of identifiable items) then you have no defence.

Also as previously mentioned, an oath would probably be good enough in the court as we all know that the Law hates us 2 wheelers having fun.

However, in your defence, if you were sneezing (classed as an act of god) then the reflex action could well be to open the throttle and thus exceed the limit - shaky, but worth a laugh!