Advice needed on "Notice of Intention to Prosecute"
Advice needed on "Notice of Intention to Prosecute"
Author
Discussion

ryanMIL

Original Poster:

180 posts

170 months

Sunday 7th December 2014
quotequote all
Hi there,

I'm aware that the penalties for speeding changed recently, but I have no real knowledge of what the current situation is.

I'll give you a quick breakdown of my case, it would be really appreciated if I could get some advice on the best way to proceed...

I received a letter today, dated 28/11/14, titled Notice of Intention to Prosecute.
Contained within the envelope is a Section 172 notice - request for information
The form states the following details of the offence;
Alleged Offence: Excess Speed (40mph) - Speed 57mph
At 11:01 on 03/10/14 at A5103, Princess Parkway, near M60

Because it's a company lease car, I presume this is why it's taken so long for the notice to reach me.

I notice that I can now view details online, including photo evidence, but haven't accessed them yet because I don't want to risk incriminating myself, without having first received some advice.

Why are they, at this stage, only requesting driver details, but not confirming how many points/fine amount will be enforced?

Appreciate any advice I can get.

Thanks,
Ryan.


TooMany2cvs

29,008 posts

157 months

Sunday 7th December 2014
quotequote all
ryanMIL said:
Why are they, at this stage, only requesting driver details, but not confirming how many points/fine amount will be enforced?
Because the penalty may vary according to who the driver is.

If you've taken an SAC within the last couple of years, you won't be eligible for another.
If you're already on 9pts, you won't be eligible for a 3pt FPN.
If you don't have a licence, or have a non-EU licence, you're going straight to court.

ryanMIL

Original Poster:

180 posts

170 months

Sunday 7th December 2014
quotequote all
Thanks, to clarify; I have a clean licence.

I had an SP30 which expired about 5 years ago.

Am I best to reply to the S127, await the response? Are there any grounds on which I might be able to appeal?

Vaud

59,868 posts

186 months

Sunday 7th December 2014
quotequote all
ryanMIL said:
Am I best to reply to the S127, await the response? Are there any grounds on which I might be able to appeal?
Were you speeding?

Were there circumstances that required you to do that speed?

Stoofa

959 posts

199 months

Sunday 7th December 2014
quotequote all
ryanMIL said:
Am I best to reply to the S127, await the response? Are there any grounds on which I might be able to appeal?
Tell us what grounds you'd like to appeal, and we'll probably be able to tell you if it is likely to succeed or fail.

Respond to the driver request? I would do. Otherwise it's 6pts for failure to furnish.

anonymous-user

85 months

Sunday 7th December 2014
quotequote all
There is no "appeal" here as the OP has not been convicted yet.

OP, you MUST complete and return the s172, as if you do not you may land in more bother. This is a standard request for the name of the driver. Once the driver is named, the next step is an offer of a fixed penalty, a course, or a prosecution. There are guidelines about what you get offered and when, and in due course someone will post them up here.

You could defend a prosecution if you maintain that you weren't speeding, but give up any dreams of getting off on some mythical loophole. If you were speeding and cannot or choose not to do a course,, you usually get a few points and pay a fine and it really is no biggie in most cases.

TooMany2cvs

29,008 posts

157 months

Sunday 7th December 2014
quotequote all
ryanMIL said:
Thanks, to clarify; I have a clean licence.
How do they know that? At the moment, they don't.

ryanMIL said:
Are there any grounds on which I might be able to appeal?
That depends if it really was you exceeding the speed limit or not.

Edited by TooMany2cvs on Sunday 7th December 22:18

ryanMIL

Original Poster:

180 posts

170 months

Sunday 7th December 2014
quotequote all
Yes, it was me speeding and any reason I have for speeding wouldn't justify my actions.

In the past, I know a lot of people dodged tickets by requesting photographic evidence and copies of calibration certs, but both of these appear to be readily available to me.

Perhaps I should just do the honourable thing...

Flibble

6,538 posts

212 months

Monday 8th December 2014
quotequote all
ACPO guidelines for 57 in a 40 are a fixed penalty (ineligible for course due to speed). It's not really worth contesting if you did it as the likelihood is that you'd be found guilty in a court and get a larger fine and more points.

Surprised that you got caught on Princess Parkway though; usually everyone slams on for the cameras (having razzed it through the 40 limit from the motorway at 60+) so you are forced to go through them at 35 mph regardless of your desire to speed or otherwise.

BertBert

21,318 posts

242 months

Monday 8th December 2014
quotequote all
ryanMIL said:
Perhaps I should just do the honourable thing...
That's a bit drastic just for a speeding ticket surely?

anonymous-user

85 months

Monday 8th December 2014
quotequote all
ryanMIL said:
Yes, it was me speeding and any reason I have for speeding wouldn't justify my actions.

In the past, I know a lot of people dodged tickets by requesting photographic evidence and copies of calibration certs, but both of these appear to be readily available to me.

Perhaps I should just do the honourable thing...
Internet myth suggests that people get off on piffling technicalities, but in real life they don't. You accept that you were speeding, so why be reluctant to pay up? Only a tiny amount of speeding offences are detected, so a few quid every so often is a cheap deal. I bet that, like most of us, you speed without getting caught quite often, so be sanguine about the rare occasions when you get nabbed.

Boosted LS1

21,200 posts

291 months

Tuesday 9th December 2014
quotequote all
ryanMIL said:
Yes, it was me speeding and any reason I have for speeding wouldn't justify my actions.

In the past, I know a lot of people dodged tickets by requesting photographic evidence and copies of calibration certs, but both of these appear to be readily available to me.

Perhaps I should just do the honourable thing...
Were they honourable? I wouldn't want to fall on my sword to hastily. Honour doesn't come into it. You either pay the tax or don't.

pork911

7,365 posts

214 months

Tuesday 9th December 2014
quotequote all
Boosted LS1 said:
ryanMIL said:
Yes, it was me speeding and any reason I have for speeding wouldn't justify my actions.

In the past, I know a lot of people dodged tickets by requesting photographic evidence and copies of calibration certs, but both of these appear to be readily available to me.

Perhaps I should just do the honourable thing...
Were they honourable? I wouldn't want to fall on my sword to hastily. Honour doesn't come into it. You either pay the tax or don't.
the stupidity tax

xjay1337

15,966 posts

149 months

Tuesday 9th December 2014
quotequote all
ryanMIL said:
Yes, it was me speeding and any reason I have for speeding wouldn't justify my actions.

In the past, I know a lot of people dodged tickets by requesting photographic evidence and copies of calibration certs, but both of these appear to be readily available to me.

Perhaps I should just do the honourable thing...
Ahh yes, try to dodge it by asking online for advice! :P