Caught doing 89.91 mph in a 60.
Discussion
Sunny day, dry conditions,excellent vissibility, A515 Ashbourne road at Leanlow.
Was pulled by a Police Officer on a bike, I'd been timed at 89.91 mph over a pre-determined distance (Police Pilot I think it's called) in a 60 mph limit (single carrigeway).
Court appearance pending next month.
I have 6 points on my licence (9 if you count the last 4 years)
What am I likely to get ?
Is it worth getting a solicitor or do they cost nearly as much as the fine would ?
Was pulled by a Police Officer on a bike, I'd been timed at 89.91 mph over a pre-determined distance (Police Pilot I think it's called) in a 60 mph limit (single carrigeway).
Court appearance pending next month.
I have 6 points on my licence (9 if you count the last 4 years)
What am I likely to get ?
Is it worth getting a solicitor or do they cost nearly as much as the fine would ?
Well I got 89 in a 60 (Wendover bypass - very wide road and relatively straight) - I ended up getting 6 points and £250 fine. Was advised not to attend the hearing and offer to pay any fines immediately etc as that way it's less hassle for them to not ban you (don't mention the 'loss of job' card unless you have to as they remember when you say this and only get one chance).
Not sure how they'll view you with already having points (I had never had any points prior) but get some good advice!
It was a wake up call and I was 'Mr 30mph' for a few months and got myself sorted with some more training.
Not sure how they'll view you with already having points (I had never had any points prior) but get some good advice!
It was a wake up call and I was 'Mr 30mph' for a few months and got myself sorted with some more training.
I got pulled for 101.3mph in a 60 last year in similar conditions.
Went to court in Feb this year, was told by solicitor to expect a ban of up to 56 days but reduced by 1/3 for pleading guilty at earliest opportunity, I pleaded guilty etc and got 6 pts and £300, people tell me I was lucky not to be banned - I already had 3 (expired) pts on licence, they expired the day after I was nicked so they were valid at time of offence.
I'm not sure if the Mag's realised that the points had expired as they warned me - "you now have 9pts, mind how you go, we don't want to see you back here for totting up"
Solicitor cost me more than the fine but maybe he saved me from a ban ??? (I wouldn't have known what/how to say)
The Magistrates were OK really & treated me with more respect than I had expected, they even commented that the speed was not so bad as I had been overtaking at the time, they gave me the 'minimum' penalty available under the guidelines, the Cop however appeared to be absolutely 'shocked' that I had been going 'so fast' he seemed so shocked that I wonder if he gets out much! (it was a rural area!).
Anyway good luck with the court case.
Went to court in Feb this year, was told by solicitor to expect a ban of up to 56 days but reduced by 1/3 for pleading guilty at earliest opportunity, I pleaded guilty etc and got 6 pts and £300, people tell me I was lucky not to be banned - I already had 3 (expired) pts on licence, they expired the day after I was nicked so they were valid at time of offence.
I'm not sure if the Mag's realised that the points had expired as they warned me - "you now have 9pts, mind how you go, we don't want to see you back here for totting up"
Solicitor cost me more than the fine but maybe he saved me from a ban ??? (I wouldn't have known what/how to say)
The Magistrates were OK really & treated me with more respect than I had expected, they even commented that the speed was not so bad as I had been overtaking at the time, they gave me the 'minimum' penalty available under the guidelines, the Cop however appeared to be absolutely 'shocked' that I had been going 'so fast' he seemed so shocked that I wonder if he gets out much! (it was a rural area!).
Anyway good luck with the court case.
Only points current on the day of offence are relvant, which seems to be 6. 89 in 60 would suggest 4 to 6 points normally. As you have some current, and some others, expect the worst. I would either hone up on your speech or get good legal help as 6 points and totting up is a serious possibility.
I got nicked by a camera doing 72 in a 40 (Western Avenue, 5.30 in the morning, 3 lanes, no pedestrian access). (A few years ago). I already had 6 points on my licence at the time so I was concerned about the possibility of a ban. Had a word with a magistrate we knew who advised grovelling and repentance. This I did plus mitigation - 3 lanes, empty rd, dry etc... Got 5 points and big fine which I considered a real result.
Good luck.
Good luck.
In 1996 I was done for 98mph in a 50 limit (M6 southbound through roadworks, was a temporary limit). Up until recently I always thought it was 98 in a 70 but I looked at my licence (never sent it off to get them removed) and it is an sp50 offence code. This was when I was a student (in a Nova 1.2!) and I got 6 points and £120 fine by pleading guilty by post. In retrospect I think I was lucky, I still dont remember going that fast, especially through roadworks on the M6 in a Nova 1.2, perhaps if it happened again I would challenge it.
Edited to say I wasnt pulled over either, just got an NIP in the post, still never found out how I was bagged.
>> Edited by Neil_H on Wednesday 9th July 11:03
Edited to say I wasnt pulled over either, just got an NIP in the post, still never found out how I was bagged.
>> Edited by Neil_H on Wednesday 9th July 11:03
I read about all these low fines with anger. I say "low" because I was fined £450 (plus 5 points) for 87 in a 60 three years ago!
Do you know what my mistake was? I told the truth on the form that goes before the court informing them of what savings you have. At the time I was fortunate enough to have about £40,000 sitting in an account which I declared.
So the point is lie on the form and plead near poverty. Fines are linked to your means.
Do you know what my mistake was? I told the truth on the form that goes before the court informing them of what savings you have. At the time I was fortunate enough to have about £40,000 sitting in an account which I declared.
So the point is lie on the form and plead near poverty. Fines are linked to your means.
The court case for the above subject was adjourned in my absence (had option of pleading guilty by letter as it was an 8 hour round trip for me plus a day off work) until this Friday the 29th.
Letter they sent me said due to the number of points on my license they were considering a ban and that I had to attend.
I was really expecting a short ban or 5 points max !
A short ban I can accept but 12 months for totting up (if they chose to give me 6 points this time) I cannot.
What sort of mitigation should I go armed with to court ?
Will 'I cannot get to work if you take away my license' work or do I need anything stronger ?
I consider this type of action totally unjust as I am a hard working tax paying citizen of this country, always pays my taxes, never parked illegally, dodged council tax etc and consider my driving to be very safe.
Any help would be greatly received.
Letter they sent me said due to the number of points on my license they were considering a ban and that I had to attend.
I was really expecting a short ban or 5 points max !
A short ban I can accept but 12 months for totting up (if they chose to give me 6 points this time) I cannot.
What sort of mitigation should I go armed with to court ?
Will 'I cannot get to work if you take away my license' work or do I need anything stronger ?
I consider this type of action totally unjust as I am a hard working tax paying citizen of this country, always pays my taxes, never parked illegally, dodged council tax etc and consider my driving to be very safe.
Any help would be greatly received.
cat7 said:
I consider this type of action totally unjust as I am a hard working tax paying citizen of this country, always pays my taxes, never parked illegally, dodged council tax etc and consider my driving to be very safe.
You forgot..But been caught speeding!
If your looking at a ban for totting up offences then you really need to prove to the Court that losing your licence will cause you and your family serious hardship.
I would definately get some legal advice because you really do need to get someone to put together a strong case as to why you need to keep your licence.A letter from your employer would also help.
Good luck.
The policeman that stopped me said that he had timed me over a 0.25 mile section of road using a marker on the road.
That would mean a time of 10.01 secs at the speed stated.
If he had incorrectly timed me 0.5 of a second either side, I could have been doing 81.74 mph (11.01 seconds over 0.25 mile)
So really its down to how accurate the policeman presses a button.
The policeman said they have regular training and have to get 97% in a test to use it.
Now my licence rests on a fraction of a second.
That would mean a time of 10.01 secs at the speed stated.
If he had incorrectly timed me 0.5 of a second either side, I could have been doing 81.74 mph (11.01 seconds over 0.25 mile)
So really its down to how accurate the policeman presses a button.
The policeman said they have regular training and have to get 97% in a test to use it.
Now my licence rests on a fraction of a second.
Mr2Mike said:
Out of interest how accurate are these things? I'm think it's very unlikely that they are accurate to 0.01mph (and probably not even to 0.1mph), so why do they quote the speed to that accuracy?
I could be wrong, but I guess it's something to do with the distance divided by time calculation both of which don't need to be measured that accurately e.g. 3/4 mile covered in 43 seconds = 0.750 miles / 0.0119 hours = 63.0252 mph
But I could be wrong
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