flashed speeding

[Dollie]

two weeks ago my friend felt she was flashed by a camera for speeding. She got a letter last week asking who was driving the car on such and such a date and time and telling her that the car was caught doing 43 in a 30 mile zone at 11.30 at night. The letter asked her to confirm who was driving and asked her to send it back. Does this mean she will definitely get a fine and points, or if that was the case, would they have automatically sent her the fine and points in the first letter and assume she was the driver of the car at that time.

[VictrMeldrew]

I think that these days they need to know who was driving before issueing the option of a fixed penalty. This is because the penalty is more severe if it is during the first year or so of holding a full licence.

[NORMANTHEDOG]

the police have to know who was driving at the time of the incident,she has to say who was driving,then she will get a letter asking her if she was driving,then she will get a fine of �60 and 3 pts for sure as 13 mph over the 30 is a lot.or she can go to court and contest it,its up to her.

360 fine and 3 pts on her licence

[erimus1]

Provisions in the Road Traffic Act make an obligation on the registered keeper of the vehicle to state who was driving the vehicle in order that they may be dealt with. The registered keeper is only required to make "reasonable" investigations into who was driving - if he/she is not able to, then they must state this and no action can or will be taken (they do have to prove that the have made "reasonable" enquiries though)

Additionally, the Human Rights Act 1998 states that under the Act, individuals have a right not to incriminate themselves - this has been used before with a little success, but is not cast-iron. There is a conflict in the law here, which is discretionary.

One last point is that this is a standard letter, and no fixed penalty notice will be issued until it is know who was driving the vehicle at the time of the offence. As the speed was substantially over the speed limit, it could also be dicided that the offence should be dealt with by the majistrates court, who could increase the penalty from the fixed one (which is 3 points and �80 fine as I recall)
Good luck.
Steve

[Toureman]

As answers above seem to range from �80 to �360 fines.

If the speeding is dealt with by a fixed penalty notice the fine will be �60 and three penalty points.

If the driver is a new driver or already has penalty points then it could be dealt with in a magistrates court and penalties would be higher, the amount depending on post codes or which side of the bed the magistrate got out of!

[NORMANTHEDOG]

sorry, i dont know where that 360 came from on my earlier answer.

[Toureman]

I do, I think you meant to put a � sign in front of the 60 but you forgot to press your shift key, sorry I was being a bit pedantic.

Dave.

[Barryboy]

Here's a cautionary tale....

Whatever you do, don't be tempted to lie to the police -it is often possible to tell from the photo was was driving. Even if the photo is not too clear the Police can charge you with allowing your vehicle to be used on a public road without insurance, or even aiding and abetting person or persons unknown to use the vehicle without insurance. When you argue about this, you have to give up the name of the driver to prove that insurance was valid at the time. It is far better to get a speeding conviction than an insurance conviction so basically, you're nicked!

It might, just might, be possible to get away with it if the car is registered as a Company car and it regularly has many drivers, but even this is doubtful. Your friend can expect 3 penalty points and a fine, which will vary from area to area. Here in S. Wales it starts at �60 and rises for serious breaches of the limit.

[PhilLew]

Read the letter carefully, If the letter has been sent by an independant 'camera partnership' acting on behalf of the police then they will have a charter of service. In my area one of their terms is that they must notiffy THE DRIVER within 21 days of the date of offence, but they also have to give the regisered keeper 28 days to reply to the initial letter, so if the reply is delayed, the driver gets off (assuming she is not the registerd keeper).

Apparently lots of compaies do this for company car drivers to save them getting points.

I found this out when I sold a car which was clocked speeding two days latter, I couldn't prove I had sold it until the paperwork was sorted at Swansey and by then, I was told, it was too late and they could no longer persue the matter with the new owner.

Surest way not to get points....Don't speed

[kepla]

The law clearly states that the registered keeper has to notify the police who was driving (or at least make a reasonable attempt to find out). If you don't notify then you are committing an offense for which the maximum penalty is a ban and imprisonment ! What you must avoid doing AT ALL COSTS is signing the notification form. By filling in the driver's name and adress you are doing sufficient to comply with the law. So your friend should truthfully fill in her name and address but not sign the form. She might be asked to sign it, but there is NO legal requirement for her to do so. She then should make sure the case goes to court - not pay any fixed penalty 'offered'. Well worth sending the usual letters to ask for copies of the photo evidence and details of the speed camera being calibrated. There is a chance that they will drop the case because the calibration documents aren't in order. Anyway, in court, the police need to produce evidence that 'your friend' was driving - this will be the form she filled and and DID NOT SIGN. Your friend's solicitor then asks for the form to be examined to verify the signature - at which point the fact that it is not signed becomes known in court. The form is therefore inadmissable as a piece of evidence. Move for dismissal as there is no evidence that 'your friend' was driving.