Court gives up on ‘speeding’ driver who made a fuss
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Court gives up on ‘speeding’ driver who made a fuss
www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article1774639.ece
Michael Horsnell
A motorist accused of driving at 37mph in a 30mph zone has had the case against him dropped after the prosecution decided it wasn’t worth the trouble.
Michael Ives, 68, a self-employed, semi-retired plumbing and heating engineer, had received a speeding notice in the post alleging that he had been driving his Ford Mondeo at 7mph above the limit.
Most people would have looked at the evidence with resignation: two photographs accompanied the notice, one clocking his car 260 yards (239m) from the camera, the other at 54 yards (50m).
But Mr Ives had never had points on his licence and wasn’t about to start now. Determined to fight the case, he investigated, using the Freedom of Information Act to find out at what distance mobile speed cameras are guaranteed to be accurate. The manufacturer replied with some interesting information: the tripod-mounted laser mobile cameras were accurate only up to to 109 yards (100m).
Armed with this knowledge, Mr Ives pleaded not guilty at Norwich Magistrates’ Court to speeding, arguing that the camera reading may have been inaccurate. In response, the prosecution considered the number of experts it would have to call – and the cost of bringing them to court – and announced that it was dropping the case. Peter Tidey, the Chief Crown Prosecutor and chairman of Norfolk Criminal Justice Board, said yesterday that a “pragmatic decision” had been taken and proceeding with the case was not worth the aggravation.
“Here was a man who was challenging everything and we were going to have to get witnesses in from all over the country,” he said.
“As far as I’m concerned, Mr Ives is the fortunate one and if it was a case that people thought that they would challenge things and would just get off with it, the public interest would soon demand a different reaction.
“This is an isolated case and Mr Ives is a fortunate individual.”
But Mr Ives, who is regarded as a pillar of his community who never breaks the speed limit, might argue that he was the manufacturer of his own luck. He researched the law for months while defending himself, and said after the case: “There could be thousands of motorists out there who are getting fines, who could appeal on the basis that they were zapped at more than 100 metres away.
“I was caught 239 metres away when the manufacturer can only guarantee the camera to be accurate at 25, 50 and 100 metres. If I’d been going at over 45mph I probably would have paid a fine – but not when I was accused of doing 37mph.
“It makes you wonder why someone operating the camera was not aware of the manufacturer’s recommendations.” The alleged speeding offence took place in Norwich on October 5 last year and the case was finally dropped by the Crown Prosecution Service this week.
Mr Ives added: “I’ve had a clean driving licence for 45 years and didn’t want points on it now. I’m delighted with the result of the court case – I didn’t think they could afford to lose.” Chairman of the East Anglia Philippine Society, Mr Ives has been married to his Philippine-born wife, Generosa, for 26 years. The couple offer an advisory service in the region to nurses from her native country. Mrs Ives, 59, said: “I’m really proud of him. He is a good citizen and he doesn’t like breaking the law. He wouldn’t dream of speeding.”
www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article1774639.ece
Michael Horsnell
A motorist accused of driving at 37mph in a 30mph zone has had the case against him dropped after the prosecution decided it wasn’t worth the trouble.
Michael Ives, 68, a self-employed, semi-retired plumbing and heating engineer, had received a speeding notice in the post alleging that he had been driving his Ford Mondeo at 7mph above the limit.
Most people would have looked at the evidence with resignation: two photographs accompanied the notice, one clocking his car 260 yards (239m) from the camera, the other at 54 yards (50m).
But Mr Ives had never had points on his licence and wasn’t about to start now. Determined to fight the case, he investigated, using the Freedom of Information Act to find out at what distance mobile speed cameras are guaranteed to be accurate. The manufacturer replied with some interesting information: the tripod-mounted laser mobile cameras were accurate only up to to 109 yards (100m).
Armed with this knowledge, Mr Ives pleaded not guilty at Norwich Magistrates’ Court to speeding, arguing that the camera reading may have been inaccurate. In response, the prosecution considered the number of experts it would have to call – and the cost of bringing them to court – and announced that it was dropping the case. Peter Tidey, the Chief Crown Prosecutor and chairman of Norfolk Criminal Justice Board, said yesterday that a “pragmatic decision” had been taken and proceeding with the case was not worth the aggravation.
“Here was a man who was challenging everything and we were going to have to get witnesses in from all over the country,” he said.
“As far as I’m concerned, Mr Ives is the fortunate one and if it was a case that people thought that they would challenge things and would just get off with it, the public interest would soon demand a different reaction.
“This is an isolated case and Mr Ives is a fortunate individual.”
But Mr Ives, who is regarded as a pillar of his community who never breaks the speed limit, might argue that he was the manufacturer of his own luck. He researched the law for months while defending himself, and said after the case: “There could be thousands of motorists out there who are getting fines, who could appeal on the basis that they were zapped at more than 100 metres away.
“I was caught 239 metres away when the manufacturer can only guarantee the camera to be accurate at 25, 50 and 100 metres. If I’d been going at over 45mph I probably would have paid a fine – but not when I was accused of doing 37mph.
“It makes you wonder why someone operating the camera was not aware of the manufacturer’s recommendations.” The alleged speeding offence took place in Norwich on October 5 last year and the case was finally dropped by the Crown Prosecution Service this week.
Mr Ives added: “I’ve had a clean driving licence for 45 years and didn’t want points on it now. I’m delighted with the result of the court case – I didn’t think they could afford to lose.” Chairman of the East Anglia Philippine Society, Mr Ives has been married to his Philippine-born wife, Generosa, for 26 years. The couple offer an advisory service in the region to nurses from her native country. Mrs Ives, 59, said: “I’m really proud of him. He is a good citizen and he doesn’t like breaking the law. He wouldn’t dream of speeding.”
Covered halfway down the page here:
www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&t=388756&i=0
within it I quoted SafeSpeed's response.
www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&t=388756&i=0
within it I quoted SafeSpeed's response.
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