parking tickets and speeding fines
TRANSCRIPT
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1. Introduction
You may be surprised to know that every year in England and Wales over 3
Million fixed penalty notices and 7 million penalty charge notices are issued! You
may be even more surprised to know that this means that YOU have a 1 in 3
chance of being charged with a motoring offence.
In recent years i am sure you have seen the news about the increase of revenue
generated by parking tickets, speeding tickets and other ‘minor’ offences, are you
aware just how big an increase that is? Well, from 1997 to 2004 there was an
increase in revenue from £13 Million to a staggering £112 Million! During this
same period the number of deaths and injuries on our roads actually increased –leading people to wonder where all this revenue has gone and what it was used
for.
This surely suggests that motorists are now paying an extra form of tax, although
already paying high road tax and extortionate fuel taxes, congestion taxes and
even toll charges.
What most people don’t realise, and is VERY important, is that the ‘system’
mainly relies on people like you and me just handing over our money to pay the
fines! Very few people actually realise that there are many ways you can LEGALLY
fight back and drastically increase the chances of NOT having to pay the fine. This
report is your first step in fighting back – read this report now to discover ways
you can LEGALLY avoid paying that parking ticket or speeding fine, and, many
other ‘minor’ offences. Just in case you are thinking ‘I’m sure I can’t beat the
system – or everyone would be doing it’ you need to know a little secret:
APPROXIMATELY 66% OF APPEALS AGAINST PENALTY CHARGE NOTICES
MADE TO THE NATIONAL PARKING ADJUDICATION SERVICE ARE
SUCCESSFUL.
This report is designed to show you how you can LEGALLY fight back!
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2. The Law for Motorists.
This chapter is designed to give you an overview of the law for motorists. In
Britain this area of law has more regulations and laws than any other area – so it
is well worth a chapter all to itself! If you are caught breaking any of these laws
(knowingly or not) you can find yourself being given a fine, points on your
licence, banned from driving or, in extreme circumstances, even imprisoned.
Most motoring offences are dealt with in one of four ways as shown in the list
below: (most serious first)
SummonsFixed Penalty Notice or Penalty Charge Notice (FPN or PCN)
A Notice under the Vehicle Defect Rectification Scheme (VDRS)
A Verbal Warning
There are National Guidelines set by the Association of Chief Police Offices (or
ACPO) and local policies or guidelines to determine what action a police officer
should take in any of the above circumstances.
SUMMONS
The following types of offences are generally dealt with by a Summons:
Drink Driving
Prosecutions resulting from road accidents
Driving at speeds in excess of limits for a FPN to be issued
Cases where evidence needs to be collected before a decision can be made
Other offences where a FPN or VDRS were issued but the fine was not paid or
repairs not made
If you receive a court summons and, providing you wish to plead guilty, you do
not need to attend the court hearing in person (unless the summons states
otherwise). In this case you simply complete and return the tear off slip on the
summons, include your driving licence and, if appropriate, a letter of mitigation –
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a letter to the magistrates explaining any relevant extenuating circumstances.Shortly after your hearing you will be informed of the decision and your licence
will be returned to you with any points added on.
Should you decide to plead Not Guilty, simply complete the tear off slip
(indicating your plea of not guilty) and enclose your driving licence, your initial
hearing will not go ahead – it will be adjourned to a later date as witnesses will
need to be gathered. You also do not need to attend this initial hearing. Please be
aware that fines issued by the courts instead of an FPN are usually higher. Should
a Police Officer issue you a court summons when you know the offence can be
dealt with by a FPN, ask the officer why he is doing this – if he still issues a court
summons tell the magistrate at your hearing that the offence could have been
dealt with by a FPN and that you feel no further fines should be made against you
other than under the FPN system.
FIXED PENALTY NOTICE
The main purpose for introducing Parking tickets in 1988 was to reduce the
burdens on the courts. Fixed penalty notices may be issued by Police Officers or,
in some cases (such as parking tickets), Traffic Wardens. A summons will not be
issued if you accept the FPN and pay the penalty. Over 1000 FPNs and PCNs areissued an hour – or over 10 million a year! This alleviates a huge burden on the
courts; however, as most people simply accept the FPN and pay without question,
this means a huge expense for usually law abiding citizens like you and me.
FPNs are becoming big business. They now cover a massive array of offences
such as; Speeding, Illegal Parking, Breaking seat belt laws, Holding a mobile
phone whilst driving, not complying with traffic signs and leaving your vehicle ina
dangerous position. Whilst most people agree that many of these examples are
quite justifiable, many are not and some are issued illegally or incorrectly.
FPNs can be split into two main categories: Endorsable and Non Endorsable. AnEndorsable FPN is a Yellow document and is issued for offences that can mean
points added to your licence. Speeding or ignoring a red light is two examples of
an endorsable FPN. An endorsable FPN cannot just be left on your vehicle, the
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Driver must be seen and spoken too. Typically a Police Officer will ask to see yourDriving Licence and possibly your Vehicle Insurance and MOT Certificate. If you
do not have these documents with you, the officer will most likely ask you to
present them at a police station within 7 days. The FPN will have details as to
what documents you will need to produce at a police station.
A Non Endorsable FPN is a white document and no points can be added to your
licence. The Penalty (as with an Endorseable FPN) is required to be paid within 28
days. Alternatively, you can appeal the FPN within 28 days and a court hearing
will be set.
For Non Endorsable FPNs the penalties are usually £30, £40 or £60, whilst the
standard penalty for an endorseable FPN is £60 (these figures may change since
the time of writing).
Parking Tickets are Non Endorsable FPNs and they do have a few differences than
other FPNs. The main differences being that they can be left on the vehicle
without the driver being seen or spoken too and are often issued by Traffic
Wardens rather than Police Officers (although Police Officers can also issue
them).
Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs) are also non endorsable and are issued by Council
Parking Attendants under the Decriminalised Parking Enforcement introduced in1991. PCNs are not a criminal matter, but a civil matter, so you cannot be sent to
prison. However, ultimately, you may receive a visit from the bailiffs to seize your
assets!
The Vehicle Defect Rectification Scheme (VDRS)
The Vdrs deals with offences relating to the condition of a vehicle and was
introduced at the same time as the FPN system. A VDRS can be issued for many
offences such as:
No Seat Belts fittedNo Windscreen Wipers
No Speedometer
Mirrors not conforming to requirements
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Should you be given a VDRS ticket you are required to make the necessaryrepairs as outlined on the ticket within fourteen days and have the repairs
inspected by an official MOT centre. Once satisfied with the repairs, the MOT
centre will stamp the form for you to return to the police station to prove you
have had the repairs done to a satisfactory standard. With a VDRS you do not pay
a fine nor have points added to your licence, however, failure to comply within
the allowed 14 days will result in a court summons. In some cases a Police Officer
may issue an FPN whereas VDRS should have been issued. Should this happen,
please use our template letter to write to the Police Superintendant for the area
the FPN was issued and request that the FPN (or even court summons) be
cancelled.
Endorsable FPNs
Below is a list of MOST Endorsable FPNs – Those that carry a fine AND points on
your licence.
Contravening Traffic Lights
Contravening a Stop Sign
Contravening a No Entry Sign
Contravening an Automatic Level Crossing
Contravening a Double White LineDriving on a motorway with a Provisional Licence
Making a U Turn on a motorway
Travelling in a wrong direction on a motorway
Reversing on a motorway
Driving on a motorway hard shoulder
Excess Speed
Failing to comply with a Police officer or Traffic Warden whilst on duty
Using a Vehicle in a designated play street
Stopping on pedestrian crossings and approaches
Driving with a dangerous or insecure load
Excess number of passengers on a motorcyclePassenger not sitting astride motorcycle
Using a vehicle for a dangerous purpose
There are many types of endorsable offences and as these will probably be
subject to regular changes not all are listed here – but this list gives you a good
idea of the types of endorsable offences as at the time of writing.
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Non Endorsable FPNs
Unattended Vehicle whilst engine running or brake not set
Opening door so as to cause injury/danger
Reversing an unreasonable distance
Driver able to see TV screen fitted in vehicle
Failing to display excise licence
Registration mark obscured
Registration mark not conforming to regulations
Windows not cleared or obscured
Mirrors not conforming to requirements
No Windscreen Washers
No Windscreen Wipers
No Horn
Two Tone Horn
Petrol Tank not leak proof or secured
No Seat Belts Fitted
Contravening Temporary Speed limit
Stopping on Hard Shoulder
Failing to stop for a Police Constable
Contravening Give Way/Stop/Mini Roundabout signs
U-Turn where prohibitedContravening experimental traffic regulations
Driving Vehicle on Footpath
Contravening free on street parking order
Overstaying after excess charge
Charge not duly paid
Incorrectly parked at bay
Returning to park within prohibited period
Parking at suspended bay
Class of vehicle not permitted to park in bay
No Waiting
Limited WaitingParking LGV on verge or footpath
Parking on offside at night
Wilful obstruction
Unnecessary obstruction
Stopping on a clearway
Parking on a cab rank
Parking without displaying permit/disabled badge
These are a few of the Non Endorsable FPNs there are many more.
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Penalty Points
If convicted of an endorsable offence Penalty Points will be added to your licence.
If you accrue 12 points or more in a three year period you will be disqualified
from driving for a minimum of six months or, if you have been disqualified in the
3 years preceding your last offence, a minimum of 12 months and, if you have
had 2 or more disqualifications in the last 3 years then you will receive a
disqualification for a minimum of 2 years. Usually after serving a disqualification
the slate is wiped clean.
Typically if your offence is dealt with under the FPN scheme you will have to pay
the fine and be awarded 3 penalty points on your licence. However, if this is dealt
with by the courts you could well receive more points than just 3, although for
speeding offences you could be given 2-6 points even under the FPN system,
depending on how much over the speed limit you were.
There is a guide set down for magistrates to use to cover most motoring offences,
some examples are shown below.
Dangerous Driving 3-11 Points
Failing to stop after an accident 5-10 PointsRefusing Roadside Breath Test 4 Points
Careless or Inconsiderate Driving 3-9 Points
Driving while disqualified by order of court 6 Points
Failing to report an accident to the police 6 Points
Using a vehicle uninsured against third party risks 6-8 Points
Courts can also impose a period of disqualification for specific offences, if this
happens you do not normally have points added to your licence as well. If you are
disqualified you may be able to get the period of disqualification reduced or
completely quashed by pleading Special Circumstances. Special Circumstances
usually apply if the hardship of being disqualified outweighs the offence, forexample, if being disqualified would mean losing your job. This would usually
mean you receiving a larger fine and you can only plead Special Circumstances
once, as the courts see it as you being given a final chance to reform.
How to have spent endorsements removed from your licence
To remove spent Endorsements from your licence simply obtain form D1
(Application form for a driving licence) from your post office, complete and return
with your old licence, ID and the requested fee. Your licence will be returned to
you with any spent endorsements removed!
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How to get your licence back after a disqualification
56 days prior to your disqualification period ending you should automatically
receive form D27 from the DVLA. Simply complete this form and return to receive
your new licence. If for some reason you do not receive these forms you may use
form D1 from the post office.
In some circumstances the DVLA may make medical enquiries, this depends on
why you were initially disqualified and are usually for the following reasons:
Disqualified from driving, or being in charge of a vehicle when the alcohol level in
your body equalled or exceeded the following:
87.5 microgrammes per 100 millilitres of breath or
200 microgrammes per 100 millilitres of blood or
267.5 microgrammes per 100 millilitres of urine or
2 disqualifications within a 10 year period for drink driving or being in charge of a
vehicle whilst unfit through alcohol
Disqualified for refusing or failing to give a specimen for analysis
If you are unsure when your disqualification ends, simply contact the court that
disqualified you.
How to get your disqualification period Reduced
If your disqualification is for 2 years or more, you are entitled to apply to the
court that disqualified you to have your disqualification period reduced. This can
only be done under certain circumstances, as follows:
If your disqualification period was for more than 2 years but less than 4 years you
can apply to have your disqualification period reduced once you have served 2
years of your disqualification
If you were disqualified for less than ten years but more than 4 years you may
apply for a reduction after half your disqualification period has been served
If your period of disqualification is for 10 years or more you can apply to have the
period reduced after you have served 5 years or more of your disqualification
Having now covered in some detail the law for motorists, the next few chapters
will explain how you can maximise the chances of having any case brought
against you dropped!
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3. Parking Tickets
What to do when you receive a parking ticket
Once a parking ticket has been issued it cannot be cancelled, so arguing with the
person who issued the ticket is completely pointless.
However, if the person issuing the ticket is a Council Parking Attendant, provided
they have not handed the ticket to you or placed it on your vehicle it is perfectly
legal to just drive off and the ticket cannot be issued. PLEASE NOTE this does not
apply if the person issuing a ticket is a traffic warden or police officer!
If possible ask the person issuing the ticket why they have issued it and, if you
feel you have a legitimate reason for parking there explain this to them and have
them make a record this in their notebook. Then collect any necessary evidence
(discussed later in this chapter), for the purpose of collecting evidence we
recommend keeping a cheap disposable camera in your car for taking
photographs – a digital camera, like the one on your mobile phone, may be
considered as inadmissible evidence as digital photographs can easily be
tampered with. If you feel you have sufficient grounds to appeal you should now
write to the issuing authority, include any evidence (photographs witness
statements etc) that you have and enclose them with your letter, we recommend
sending photocopies only and keeping the originals yourself.
With PCNs you are usually given a 50% discount if you pay within 14 days. Don’t
pay this if you are going to appeal, this will be seen as an admission of guilt.
However the time limit will still remain once you appeal, and if unsuccessful, you
will still be given time to pay at the discounted rate. Should your appeal fail and
you still refuse to pay the fine you will receive a court summons. If the matter
goes to court your chances of appeal are greatly reduced and you will probably
face further costs. At this point you will also receive a Notice to Owner. All PCNs
are issued to the person believed to be the owner of the car, and the owner is
therefore responsible to pay the penalty. The Notice to Owner form will include
reasons that you are able to appeal against the decision, these are as follows:
I was not the Owner/Keeper at the time of the contravention (Should you have
recently sold the vehicle before the contravention happened – you will need to
have proof of the sale)
The Vehicle had been taken without my consent at the time of the contravention
(If the vehicle had been stolen and then illegally parked. You will need to provide
a crime number from the police, a letter from the police or a copy of the
insurance claim)
We are a Hire firm and have supplied the name of the hirer (this can only be used
if the hirer has signed an agreement to accept liability for any penalty charges.
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The hire firm will supply the name and address of the hirer and a copy of the hire
agreement.
The Contravention did not occur (if the contravention did not happen as described
on the PCN, Parking restrictions not properly signed or the reason for stopping
was lawful i.e. unloading or vehicle had broken down. In these instances it would
be better if you can provide evidence such as a delivery note or garage report)
The Traffic order was invalid (for example a sign stating that a vehicle can be
clamped and/or removed immediately after the issue of your ticket – this is
wrong as lawfully a vehicle cannot be clamped until 15 minutes after a ticket has
been issued, making the PCN legally flawed. Or an improper/missing sign, sign or
markings obstructed/not in clear view – even leaves covering double yellow lines
so that they are not clearly visible can result in your ticket being cancelled!)
The penalty exceeded the relevant amount (The PCN was issued for the wrong
amount or the council say that you paid later or a lower amount than you actually
did)
Most appeals have historically fallen under the category The Contravention did
not occur, in more recent times with councils not maintaining road signs and
markings a growing number of successful appeals are now falling under The
Traffic order was invalid .
By now I’m sure you are beginning to realise that there are many reasons why a
ticket can be cancelled through an appeal. Most of the reasons are through
mistakes by the council, or the person who issues the ticket. These mistakes
could not only save you money, but possible points on your licence. It also goes
to show that the law can sometimes be to your advantage!
The following page will show the most successful reasons for having your ticket
cancelled on appeal as used by many people already.
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Here we come to what you really want to know – what reasons actually work
when you appeal against a ticket! Read on.......
Leaves on the Line
I’m sure you remember the ‘excuses’ of train companies blaming the lateness of
their trains on leaves on the line. If Lines (double yellow lines, single yellow lines
etc) are obscured from view by leaves, snow, roadwork’s or even natural wear
and tear (they may need repainting as they are very difficult to see), then
parking restrictions cannot be enforced!
Inadequate Signs and/or Markings
The laws on signs and markings that must be displayed in restricted parking
areas are very strict – after all it would be unfair to have parking restrictions in
an area and not tell you about it! Councils often do not properly maintain their
signs or markings – this can win your appeal and get your ticket cancelled!
Yellow Lines must end in a T-bar. If the beginning and end of Yellow lines do not
have a T-bar then they are not legal and a PCN cannot be enforced. Always check
and take a photograph as evidence.
For Single Yellow Lines there must be a sign on either side of the road at every
access point to the restricted area, if there is no sign the ticket cannot be
enforced. PLEASE NOTE: This does not apply to Double Yellow Lines. As Double
Yellow Lines apply ‘At any time’ the need for signs was dropped in 2003.
Always check all signs and markings. Any mistakes, defaults, hidden or missing
signs can result in your ticket being cancelled!
Loading and Unloading
You are allowed to wait for as long as is required on yellow lines if you are loading
or unloading your vehicle, unless there is a yellow stripe on the kerb. Many
councils state that this must be uninterrupted loading or unloading, however, thisis incorrect as it is unreasonable to expect delivery or collection of goods without
the goods being checked and necessary paperwork being completed. If a traffic
warden sees a vehicle parked on Yellow lines without any loading or unloading
taking place they will usually issue a ticket. This gives you good grounds for
successfully appealing your ticket – especially if you have paperwork confirming
you were loading or unloading. The shorter the time between the vehicle being
spotted and the ticket being issued the better your chances, as this only helps
demonstrate that you were having paperwork checked for example.
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Ticket Incorrectly Issued
For a Parking Ticket to be Valid it must also be correctly issued. Human error can
be a huge reason for tickets not being issued correctly – and therefore provides a
huge amount of tickets being cancelled on appeal.
When a ticket is issued the following information should be on your ticket:
Ticket Reference number
Time and date of issue
Vehicle registration number
Vehicle make and colour
Date, time and location of alleged offence
Warden or Attendant number
Contravention Code and description
The relevant Statute
The Penalty – including discount for prompt payment
If any of the above information is missing you have very good grounds for
appeal. In particular check that a date of issue AND date of offence are on the
ticket. Thousands of motorists have had tickets cancelled because of one or the
other was missing.
Also, and, very surprisingly, if a parking attendant or Warden is not wearing a hat
when issuing a ticket, although not enough grounds for appeal on its own this can
significantly increase your chances of appeal.
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4. Speeding Tickets
Speeding Tickets are a far more serious offence than parking tickets. Firstly, the
fines are much higher, up to a maximum of £1000 or, if on a motorway, £2500.
Secondly, speeding is an endorsable offence meaning you can have points added
to your licence, resulting in higher car insurance or, even banned.
From 1997 to 2000 the amount of money raised from speeding fines in the UK
more than doubled from just over £13 million to just over £28 million. Whilst the
government will have you believe that they are necessary to help reduce the
amount of accidents on our roads, official figures, including results from the
governments own Transport Research Laboratory shows that speeding is NOT amajor factor in road accidents. In fact, from 1997 to 2000 the amount of road
accidents actually INCREASED from just over 166000 to just over 171000!
I am not trying to say that speeding should be condoned, it still can cause
accidents and is still dangerous – however, the Transport Research Laboratory
concluded that only 6% of road accidents were as a direct result in speeding – so
why are we being fined so much through more and more speed cameras?
Police Detection Methods
The police have many ways of detecting people who are breaking the speedlimits. Although there methods are very effective they all have their own
weaknesses leaving the door open to be legally challenged.
Radar
Traditionally Radar has been the favoured method used by police to catch
motorists speeding, however this is gradually being replaced by laser detection.
Radar uses a method called the Doppler Effect. How a radar works is by sending a
beam of high frequency radar waves at your vehicle, the beam bounces back
from your vehicle to the gun and measures your speed. When your vehicle is
moving either away from or toward the radar gun then the beam bouncing isback is moved – a lower frequency if your vehicle is moving away, higher if your
vehicle is coming towards the radar gun – your speed is then calculated from the
difference in frequencies from the outgoing beam to the incoming beam.
In practice there are several situations where a radar gun will not work or at least
give an incorrect or false reading. These are as follows:
The further away the object from the gun, the more a beam spreads out,
therefore if another object (i.e. another vehicle) is moving faster than yours
within the beams area it will show the reading of the faster object.
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If the Gun is pointed at an angle it will give a false reading.
Radar waves cannot pass through solid objects, so a tree or street lamp or
anything else that is in the way will cause an incorrect reading.
Even wind and rain can cause false readings.
Nearby electrical equipment such as Radio and TV masts, mobile phone masts
and CB radios can all lead to false readings.
A Police Officer moving his arm too quickly to point the gun at you can cause a
false reading as the speed of the arm movement can be added to your speed!
Movement of air from a cars air conditioning can also affect the reading so,
readings are not allowed to be taken whilst the radar is in a vehicle.
All these readings go to show that just because the police officers radar gun says
you were speeding; it doesn’t necessarily mean that you were. As a result
NEVER admit the offence when a police officer stops you for speeding
and he/she was using a radar gun!
Because of the flaws in a radar gun ACPO (the Association of Police
Commissioners) have set national guidelines for the police in using radar guns.
The main points are:
An Officer must be trained in the operation of any speed detection device
The device MUST be operated by an officer on foot and NOT in a vehicle
All checks must be made visible to the public and oncoming motorists
A device should not be used where more than 1 vehicle is in the devices field of
view
The device must not be pointing at the road whilst waiting for a vehicle to appear.
The device should only be used to corroborate the police officers belief that the
vehicle is exceeding the speed limit
The device should be pointed directly at the approaching vehicle, parallel to the
road eliminating any significant up or down tilt
Once a reading has appeared on the radars display the radar should be held
steady, pointing along the road for duration of no less than 3 seconds. After this
period a trigger is pressed on the device and the reading is locked in and may
then be used as evidence
It follows from this last point that the distance a user of radar can see along the
road must be long enough to observe the vehicle and assessment of its speed,
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As Lidar guns are becoming more popular with the police there are some basic
measures you can take to avoid being caught by one:
Go for a sleek more aero dynamic car – these cars have fewer flat surfaces for
the laser to be aimed at.
Try and choose a darker coloured vehicle – black, blue or green. These colours
are much harder to target and reflect less – especially in overcast conditions.
Many operators aim at the number plate of the vehicle as it is flat and more
reflective – if possible tilt your number plate up or down slightly this will deflect
the laser into the air or road – NOT back at the Lidar!
Operators are also told not to point their device at bright lights as it can burn out
the circuitry, always try and have the brightest lights you possibly can (legally of
course!)
Vascar
Vascar or Visual Average Speed Computer and Recorder are basically stop
watches. They work on the basic formula that speeds=distance/time, and are
therefore sometimes referred to as time/distance devices.
These devices are fitted inside a police car or on a motorcycle giving easy accessto the controls, and can also be linked to video cameras giving a visual record of
any alleged offence.
There are currently two main methods for the Vascar:
Following check: When a police car is behind or sometimes in front of another
vehicle. The Vascar is turned on/off at a starting and finishing distance/point and
the Vascar is then able to calculate the speed of the vehicle ahead/behind.
Pre fed distance check: This is the more common use of a Vascar. By recording
on the Vascar the distance between two points and then the officer sitting in the
vehicle where the start and end points can be clearly viewed, the officer simply
switches the Vascar on when a vehicle passes the first point and off when the
vehicle reaches the second point – the Vascar then calculates the speed of the
vehicle by the time it has taken for the vehicle to pass between the two points.
The distance between the two points must be greater than 0.125 miles but less
than or equal to 1 mile. A court will generally accept the reliability of evidence
from a Vascar, but this does not mean that there are not ‘loopholes’.
Officers using a Vascar need a high degree of skill and good reflexes – they
should be well trained and their abilities tested and certified.
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When using the ‘Following check’ officers must be careful so as not to entice the
driver into breaking the speed limit.
A Vascar should not be used in fog or snow and should always be used in well lit
and clear conditions.
A Vascar should be calibrated once a year and a certificate issued. Also the unit
should be tested before each tour of duty.
Pacing
Pacing is probably the most basic method used of determining if a vehicle is
speeding. A police car will stay at a certain and constant distance behind the
vehicle, this is usually done for a distance of about ¼ of a mile but there are noset regulations on the distance required. Using the police cars own speedometer
and keeping at the same distance from your car will inform the officer as to your
speed – it will obviously match that of the police car. No other car can come
between the police car and the car it is following during this time. Although you
can inform the court if you feel the procedure was not followed properly it is
usually a better defence to request the calibration of the police cars speedometer.
All traffic patrol cars (not the ‘normal’ police car) are fitted with highly accurate
speedometers – in increments of 1mph. Most police forces insist on having the
speedometers calibrated once or more a year and as with previously mentioned
devices they should also be tested at the start and end of any tour of duty. If the
calibration reports and tests cannot be produced a court may have no alternative
but to rule in your favour.
Speed Cameras
Speed cameras came into effect in 1992, there are now over 6000 speed cameras
in the UK and have proved a very lucrative method of collecting speeding fines
from motorists.
The most common type of speed camera is called Gatsometers, or Gatsos, named
after the inventor Maurice Gatsonides.
A speed camera works in the following way:
Traditionally a radar gun projects a narrow beam across the road to measure the
speed of every vehicle passing through it – more recent Gatsos use an inductive
loop under the road. A camera installed in the Gatso is then used to take 2
pictures of every vehicle breaking the speed limit; usually these are ½ a second
apart. The pictures are usually taken from behind the vehicle and not in front.
Using the White lines on the road beside the Gatso to calculate the speed relative
to the distance travelled from the 1st picture to the 2nd picture confirms your
speed at the time u passed the Gatso. Older Gatsos are loaded with film of about
800 frames, while newer Gatsos now have digital cameras and Optical Character
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Recognition (OCR) to analyse the images for Vehicle registrations (your number
plate) The Very latest Gatsos can also be linked to an external computer so that
the ticket can be printed off and sent to the registered keeper of the vehicle
automatically.
According to the distributors of Gatsos because of the expense to maintain them
– especially with the older type that require film, approximately only 1 in 8 work
at anytime, however, we don’t know which ones are working and which aren’t.
The Guidelines issued by ACPO state that to be prosecuted for speeding you must
be travelling at 2mph over the speed limit + 10% :
20 mph Speed limit – 24 mph
30 mph Speed limit – 35 mph
40 mph Speed limit – 46 mph
50 mph Speed limit – 57 mph
60 mph Speed limit – 68 mph
70 mph Speed limit – 79 mph
There has been a lot of call for these limits to be reduced to just 10% - this could
triple the amount of motorists prosecuted and could well happen in the future.
How to defend against a Speed Camera Ticket
When caught by a speed camera you will receive a Notice of Intended Prosecution
(NIP) in the post. For the NIP to be valid it MUST be issued within 14 days of the
alleged offence. If however, you were driving a hire car or company car the police
are allowed more time to track you down.
Once you have received a NIP you must respond within 28 days stating that
either you were the driver, nominating someone else to be the registered keeperof the vehicle at the time of the incident, or that someone else was driving the
vehicle at the time. Usually if you admit the offence within the 28 days you will be
asked to accept a conditional offer. This gives you the opportunity to avoid court
and in most cases just pay a fine of £60 and receive 3 points on your licence.
Should you refuse or ignore the offer then the matter will be dealt with by the
courts.
Although speed cameras are considered as reliable by both the courts and the
police, they are still capable of producing errors:
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Larger vehicles (i.e. Lorries, Vans and caravans) are well known for producing
false readings – usually when vibrating excessively. Also vehicles that they cause
to vibrate as they pass can cause a false reading.
Tests have also shown that loud noises can provide inaccurate readings – playing
your car stereo too loud can theoretically cause a camera to show you were doing
over 100MPH when you were actually doing a steady 30MPH!
A duck in Germany flying low was recorded by a speed camera as it was
travelling at 24 mph in a 19mph zone!
For these reasons and more, if you genuinely believe you were not speeding as
per the information on the NIP then you should proceed in the following way:
Firstly contact the prosecuting authority stating that you are contesting the
allegation and request both copies of the photograph – a template letter is
included for this purpose later in the report.
Once you have both photos you can calculate the actual speed you were
travelling in the following way:
Re-visit the site of the speed camera and measure the distance between the lines
painted on the road; they will be 1.5 or 2 metres apart. Check on the 2 photos to
see how many lines you passed if for example the lines are 2 metres apart and
your vehicle travelled a distance of 3 lines then you have travelled 6 metres.(Number of lines crossed x distance between lines or in this case 3x2)
By using the formula S= (3600/T) x (D/1609) you can calculate your speed. ‘S’ is
your speed (MPH) ‘D’ is Distance travelled by your vehicle (metres) ‘T’ is the time
between both flashes (0.5 seconds) so, in this case, (3600/0.5) x (6/1609) =
26.84 MPH. If you were driving in a 30MPH zone then you were not speeding! If
this were the case, then you should write to them and point this out and your
speeding ticket should be cancelled. Also if you have a tachograph in your vehicle
that shows you were not speeding you should submit this as proof you were not
actually speeding. In the unlikely event that the case is not dropped then you
should go to court and present all the evidence at your hearing.
Other Defences against Speed Cameras
Identity
Many speed cameras take a photograph from behind you, this means that the
camera cannot take a photograph of your face so it is possible to get the ticket
cancelled if you can show doubt as to the identity of the driver. If you are to use
this defence it will work best if your car is insured for more than 1 driver to prove
that other people do use the vehicle.
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Camera sighted incorrectly
Fixed speed cameras should be placed under strict circumstances, so it it s worth
knowing what these circumstances are in case the camera that caught you
speeding has been sited incorrectly – which will lead to your ticket being
cancelled.
The site must be from 400 to 1500 metres in length
In the preceding 3 years the number of injury accidents must be 8 or more
The number of fatal or serious accidents in the preceding 3 years must be 4 or
more
85% of vehicles travelling on the road must be at or below the speed as set out
by ACPO guidelines
Apart from during congestion periods, 20% of drivers must be exceeding the
speed limit
No other speed reduction methods are appropriate – such as speed humps
The site conditions are suitable
Inadequate Lighting
In 2005 a driver had his speeding conviction overturned by setting a landmark
ruling that a speed camera cannot be operated at night on a road without street
lights. This lead to 2637 drivers previously penalised for speeding at night having
their £60 fine returned to them and their points wiped from their licence. This
was mainly because by law a speed camera must be clearly visible to passing
traffic.
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5. Other Offences
Bus Lane Contraventions
Bus lanes are now quite commonplace in the UK. It is illegal for motorists other
than buses or taxis (not minicabs) to drive in a bus lane. Bus lanes are more
often monitored by CCTV by the local authority. If caught by the CCTV you will
usually receive a PCN for the alleged contravention. By law the PCN must be
issued within 14 days of the alleged offence or it is not valid. You are then given
28 days to pay the charge or make representation to the authority.
Your appeal will usually be upheld for the following reasons:
You were using the bus lane in an emergency
You were rounding a vehicle that was broken down
A police officer instructed you to use the bus lane
You were taking in petrol/diesel, water, air or oil at the kerbside
You had broken down
Also there is generally an acceptable tolerance. This is usually if a vehicle was
driven in a bus lane for less than 20 metres.
Bus lanes should also have a sign informing you of the bus lane beginning and a
sign at the very start of the bus lane. If either of these signs is damaged,vandalised, facing the wrong way, unclear or missing your appeal should be
upheld.
You should always request photos (normally video prints) of the alleged offence.
If the local authority cannot produce them, your appeal will certainly be upheld.
Also the photos should clearly show your registration mark – if this is not clearly
visible, again, your appeal will be upheld.
Other reasons are:
The recipient of the PCN was not the keeper/owner
The offence did not occur
The vehicle had been taken without consent
The police had already issued a Fixed Penalty Notice
Accidents with an Uninsured Driver
In the UK an estimated 1.25 million people are driving vehicles without any
insurance. If you were to be involved in an accident with an uninsured driver you
will be unable to claim costs or compensation from them if they are to blame.
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Help is available through the Motor Insurers Bureau (MIB). The will MIB deal with
claims against an uninsured driver in almost the same way as an insured
motorist.
Losses which may be claimed include:
Loss of Income
Pain and suffering
Replacement vehicle hire
Vehicle repair costs
Medical expenses including prescriptions
Loss of amenities of life
To make a claim with the MIB against an uninsured driver you will usually need to
obtain judgement against the uninsured driver by commencing civil proceedings
against them and legal advice should be sought. Luckily since 2003 free legal
expenses have been made available through the MIB for up to £100,000.
It is very important to report the accident to the police. Any personal injuries
should be reported to the police within 14 days and any property damage within 5
days. Initially you may visit their website for more information on making a claim
www.mib.org.uk
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6. Letter Templates
Letter 1 – Parking ticket issued while unloading:
RE: Fixed Penalty notice N0. 123456789
Dear Sir,
On the [Date] I was issued with the above ticket for parking in an unrestricted
area. At the time of the alleged contravention i explained to the traffic warden
that i was making a delivery to a nearby shop (or office). Confirmation of this can
be obtained from [name and address of shop/office] As a result of this i would
request that this ticket be cancelled.
Yours Faithfully,
Letter 2 – Fixed Penalty Notice issued under VDRS
RE: Fixed Penalty Notice No. 123456789
Dear Sir,
On the [Date] I was issued with the above ticket for the alleged offence of failing
to maintain the silencer on my vehicle.
It is my understanding that this offence could have been dealt with under the
VDRS scheme. As this option was not offered to me, and I now have had thesilencer replaced, I request that this ticket be cancelled.
Yours Faithfully,
Letter 3 – PCN issued for invalid parking ticket when you have a valid
ticket
RE: Penalty Charge Notice No. 123456789
Dear Sir,
On the [date] I was issued the above ticket for parking in a pay and display car
park without a valid ticket. I was extremely surprised to receive this as I was
displaying a perfectly valid ticket. I have enclosed a photocopy of the ticket and
request that the Penalty Charge Notice be cancelled.
Yours Faithfully,
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Letter 4 – Parking on Double Yellow lines
RE: Penalty Charge Notice No. 123456789
Dear Sir,
On the [Date] I was issued a Penalty Charge Notice for parking on double yellow
lines at [location]. On this particular date the road was covered in leaves and i
was unable to see any yellow lines at all. There were also no visible signs
indicating that any parking restrictions were in place. I have enclosed a
photograph taken on the day in question and ask that the penalty charge notice
be cancelled.
Yours faithfully,
Letter 5 – Speeding ticket
Dear Sir,
On the [Date] A police office reported me for exceeding the speed limit. It is my
understanding that a Vascar device was used along with a video camera to obtain
evidence against me. I am writing to inform you that I have entered a ‘not guilty’
plea and would like to request, under the Criminal Procedure and InvestigationsAct 1996 that copies of all evidence which you intend to rely on in court, including
video evidence, be sent to me not less than 7 days prior to the hearing.
Yours Faithfully,
Letter 6 –Notice of Intended Prosecution
Your Reference: [Reference number on NIP]
Dear Sir,
I have received a Notice of Intended Prosecution for an alleged speeding offence
committed on [Date] by my vehicle [registration number].
I am writing to inform you of my intention to contest this allegation. Under the
Criminal procedure and investigations act 1996 I am requesting that copies of
both photographs of the alleged offence be sent to me along with the exact time
interval between photos, be sent to me no less than 7 days prior to the hearing
date.
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Yours faithfully,
Letter No.7 – Notice of Intended Prosecution Mobile Camera Unit
Your Reference: [Reference number on NIP]
Dear Sir,
I have received a Notice of Intended Prosecution for an alleged offence
committed on [Date] by my vehicle [registration number]. I understand that the
alleged offence was detected by use of a mobile camera using a laser speed
detector. I am informing you that I will be contesting this allegation and, in
accordance with the Freedom of Information Act 2000, I will need copies of the
following items:
Calibration and maintenance records of the items used
The training record of the officer concerned in the use of the equipment used and
a copy of any certificate of competence issued to the officer
Written details of the partnerships procedures for the use of mobile speed
cameras, and/or laser speed detectors.
In accordance with the above mentioned act I will require this information within
20 days.
Yours Faithfully,