What happens when you go to court for speeding??
Discussion
Last September I was stupid enough to drive at 101mph in a 60mph zone. I finally went to court on the 1st August 2018, with the inevitable outcome of my visit a disqualification.
If you happen to find yourself in the same situation as I did, please don’t panic! I did, and the last 11 months have been pretty awful, mainly as I didn’t know what to expect.
I have no excuses for my speed and although I’d argue that what I did wasn’t dangerous (I was on my own on the road, no passengers, good weather) it’s clear that I was driving too fast…...and my observation wasn’t that great as I didn’t see the camera van!
I’ve written the following as I couldn’t find anything on the net about what I should expect and to be frank I was s
tting myself and if I can help anyone in the same predicament, I’d like to!
I received the NIP a couple of days after the offence; I filled it in and send it off immediately.
That was all I heard until early 2018 when I received the paper work that gave me the option of pleading not guilty or guilty. This was done online and you might hear it referred to as the Single Justice Procedure Notice (SJPR).
I filled this in online, but unfortunately for me the offence was too big for this procedure and I had no choice but to attend magistrate’s court.
The lead up to the court appearance was pretty st. My Father in Law used to be a magistrate and my wife asked him what was likely and it didn’t sit well. On the day of the court appearance I was sick as soon as I woke up (this world was new to me!), Thankfully I had support in the shape of my brother in law who has always been quite relaxed about everything so proved to be a welcome calming influence!
This is important. Don’t go to court on your own. I chose not to have legal representation, I had pleaded guilty so didn’t see the point in paying for someone to come to court with me. However, a wingman was invaluable.
We arrived at court (Luton Magistrates) 30 minutes before it opened; surprisingly we weren’t the first there.
Once the shutters opened, everyone went inside, single file through an airport style metal detector. Once through this we found ourselves in a large reception room….imagine a doctors waiting room, but bigger.
At this point my head was all over the place and I was hot, very hot, even though it was air conditioned!
Once signed in, I was asked to fill in a form. I wasn’t expecting this.
You’ll need to know the following…..
Home and mobile number
National Insurance Number
Home address
Work address
Net monthly income (for you and partner)
Break down of monthly expenditure
….plus a few other things that I may have forgotten……just be prepared with this type of info. When you’re put on the spot, everything goes blurry and the simplest of things gets forgotten.
That was it for a bit. I’d like to say at this point that everyone was very friendly. I was expecting evil looks and to be treated like a murderer, that really wasn’t the case, from now on in, it was just a formality.
When I was called into the court it was weird, very weird. There were a few people dotted around me, I don’t know what they were doing, but they were typing away. I was asked to confirm name and address, and then a women in front of me read out the charge.
At this point it all seemed very, very real and I started to resign myself to the looming ban! After the charge was read out, I was given the opportunity to speak. I had prepared a letter detailing how a lengthy ban would affect my wife, parents (they would be needed for the drive to work) and son, who is starting foundation year at school in September.
The magistrate took this on board and gave me a ban that wouldn’t cause issues with my sons schooling. I was also given a fine. (banned for 30 days, fine of £870)
I was then asked to leave the court and that was it! An usher gave me some supportive words and the paperwork with the details that I required to pay the fine.
I was dreading my court appearance and although it wasn’t exactly fun, it was nowhere near as bad as I’d imagined it would be.
If you find yourself facing a court appearance for speeding, please don’t panic about it. It’s weird, uncomfortable and the chances are you’ll be inconvenienced by it in the short term, but it’ll soon be behind you’ll and you’ll be able to move on.
Oh, and don’t speed…………….
If you happen to find yourself in the same situation as I did, please don’t panic! I did, and the last 11 months have been pretty awful, mainly as I didn’t know what to expect.
I have no excuses for my speed and although I’d argue that what I did wasn’t dangerous (I was on my own on the road, no passengers, good weather) it’s clear that I was driving too fast…...and my observation wasn’t that great as I didn’t see the camera van!
I’ve written the following as I couldn’t find anything on the net about what I should expect and to be frank I was s
tting myself and if I can help anyone in the same predicament, I’d like to! I received the NIP a couple of days after the offence; I filled it in and send it off immediately.
That was all I heard until early 2018 when I received the paper work that gave me the option of pleading not guilty or guilty. This was done online and you might hear it referred to as the Single Justice Procedure Notice (SJPR).
I filled this in online, but unfortunately for me the offence was too big for this procedure and I had no choice but to attend magistrate’s court.
The lead up to the court appearance was pretty s
t. My Father in Law used to be a magistrate and my wife asked him what was likely and it didn’t sit well. On the day of the court appearance I was sick as soon as I woke up (this world was new to me!), Thankfully I had support in the shape of my brother in law who has always been quite relaxed about everything so proved to be a welcome calming influence! This is important. Don’t go to court on your own. I chose not to have legal representation, I had pleaded guilty so didn’t see the point in paying for someone to come to court with me. However, a wingman was invaluable.
We arrived at court (Luton Magistrates) 30 minutes before it opened; surprisingly we weren’t the first there.
Once the shutters opened, everyone went inside, single file through an airport style metal detector. Once through this we found ourselves in a large reception room….imagine a doctors waiting room, but bigger.
At this point my head was all over the place and I was hot, very hot, even though it was air conditioned!
Once signed in, I was asked to fill in a form. I wasn’t expecting this.
You’ll need to know the following…..
Home and mobile number
National Insurance Number
Home address
Work address
Net monthly income (for you and partner)
Break down of monthly expenditure
….plus a few other things that I may have forgotten……just be prepared with this type of info. When you’re put on the spot, everything goes blurry and the simplest of things gets forgotten.
That was it for a bit. I’d like to say at this point that everyone was very friendly. I was expecting evil looks and to be treated like a murderer, that really wasn’t the case, from now on in, it was just a formality.
When I was called into the court it was weird, very weird. There were a few people dotted around me, I don’t know what they were doing, but they were typing away. I was asked to confirm name and address, and then a women in front of me read out the charge.
At this point it all seemed very, very real and I started to resign myself to the looming ban! After the charge was read out, I was given the opportunity to speak. I had prepared a letter detailing how a lengthy ban would affect my wife, parents (they would be needed for the drive to work) and son, who is starting foundation year at school in September.
The magistrate took this on board and gave me a ban that wouldn’t cause issues with my sons schooling. I was also given a fine. (banned for 30 days, fine of £870)
I was then asked to leave the court and that was it! An usher gave me some supportive words and the paperwork with the details that I required to pay the fine.
I was dreading my court appearance and although it wasn’t exactly fun, it was nowhere near as bad as I’d imagined it would be.
If you find yourself facing a court appearance for speeding, please don’t panic about it. It’s weird, uncomfortable and the chances are you’ll be inconvenienced by it in the short term, but it’ll soon be behind you’ll and you’ll be able to move on.
Oh, and don’t speed…………….
nellyleelephant said:
I’ve written the following as I couldn’t find anything on the net about what I should expect
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