advice please

[chimtvr]

ok back on a very cold slippy february night i pulled out of a t junction kinda sideways the only vehicle in sight is a motorbike about a quarter of a mile away i accelerated hard up through first gear then dropped it into second and cruised at bang on 40mph i know because i conciously checked i wasnt breaking the speed limit as i came to the roundabout the motorbike catches me up and a blue light flashes me i pulled over and the policeman says he has followed me at 60 mph (not true) he didnt actually know the limit on the road but thought it was 40 or 50 so i would be reported for speeding.
There then followed lots of no i didnt yes you dids
i still maintain i wasnt speeding and i know my speedo is right i have checked it with gps
Anyway today i get a letter saying if i pay £60 and go to a speeding presentation they will let me off
This feels like blackmail i know he cant proove i was speeding so is this just another way to get there £60??? What should i do i really dont like the idea of paying a fine when i believe myself to be innocent
Help!!!

[joelk]

As I understand it, it's innocent until PROVEN guilty. If they have no proof (ie hard documented, recorded evidencen using callibrated recording devices or colaborated eye witness reports, surely they have no case?

[supraman2954]

I thought opinion of 2 plod, or 1 plod and camera, was needed for opinion to be considered as evidence?

[chimtvr]

my feelings are i should tell them to stick there safety presentation as if i went to it i would be admitting guilt that i dont believe exists i think in truth the policeman was cold, bored then annoyed when i didnt say ok its a fair cop the trouble is the tvr sounds awesome and wouldve spat flames during the gearchange so he wouldve expected me to be speeding but as he was so far behind he wouldnt have been able to check and realise he was wrong the other thing that annoyed me was to catch me up in the distance he had to be doing 90 plus in a 40 seems a bit unfair to then lecture about how safe my driving is

>> Edited by chimtvr on Wednesday 20th April 21:16

[towman]

Seems like court is your best bet. Ask them to provide "evidence".

[chimtvr]

Just reading policeman must be following at pepipoo it seems that a single police officer with a calibrated speedo can prosecute for speeding however you would have to be followed for a minimum of 2/10ths of a mile (310) meters just looked at multimap and from pull away to being pulled over at roundabout i covered about 380m so that gives me just 70 m to accelerate up to 60 and slow down all the while the policeman must be holding an even distance it really isnt likely is it?? especially when he was a long way off when i pulled out of the junction any suggestions how i can fight this?????

[killsta]

But surely worst case scenario is its your word against his.

He has no evidence to produce in court to prove you were speeding nor does he have a colleague to back up his story.

>> Edited by killsta on Wednesday 20th April 22:36

[chimtvr]

I think you are right i dont see there evidence but im scareing myself here im becoming righteous im refusing to pay £60 on a principal if anybody else asked my advice i would say pay it and get on with your life
If i fight this thing im sure to spend well over £60 in time away from work parking hassle going to which ever court its presented at
the trouble is i cant cope with the thought of admitting something i havent done

[parrot of doom]

Fight it. It will be worth the outlay even if you lose (which is unlikely). Besides, if you won, you'd be able to claim costs.

[Peter Ward]

parrot of doom said:

Fight it. It will be worth the outlay even if you lose (which is unlikely). Besides, if you won, you'd be able to claim costs.

More likely is that it will be dropped just before the case is due to go on? In which case I don't think you can claim costs -- or at least I was told that in those circumstances.

I do agree it's worth fighting because of the lack of evidence, but nobody would think any less of you if you decide it's not worth it on this occasion.

[chimtvr]

thanks for the advice guys i spoke to the safety presentation people today and told them i would not be going also made the suggestion that sending letters offering no points for £60 was demanding money with menace or blackmail the guy on the phone seemed suprised

[bluepolarbear]

joelk said:

As I understand it, it's innocent until PROVEN guilty.

Used to be until uncle tony get in. Several laws are guilty until proven innocent and several others including speeding operate an the implicit basis of guilty until proven innocent.

[NormanD]

bluepolarbear said:

joelk said: As I understand it, it's innocent until PROVEN guilty. Used to be until uncle tony get in. Several laws are guilty until proven innocent and several others including speeding operate an the implicit basis of guilty until proven innocent.

I thought it has always been as a motorist you were GUILTY untill proved INNOCENT!!

[MilnerR]

You're a motorist and therefore by definition you cannot be innocent. The way the law is at the moment all motorists are guilty of something, its just a matter of time before the police and CPS manage to catch up with you.....
I can understand why you want to pay the £60 and be on your way. However, would you go to court if you were reported for a public order offence that you hadn't commited and asked to pay a FPN? Its exactly the same principle.....

[supraman2954]

MilnerR said:

You're a motorist and therefore by definition you cannot be innocent. The way the law is at the moment all motorists are guilty of something, its just a matter of time before the police and CPS manage to catch up with you....

tis already happening, its called the 'congestion charge' (except you don't get points)