Speeding offence solicitors/advice

[pandjack1]

Hello all

After a restless night I'm still kicking myself (hard) for overtaking a line of slow traffic on the way back from a drive to the coast yesterday without noticing a camera van parked behind a tree halfway down a long downhill straight stretch of road.

The road ahead was clear, weather & road condition were good, & as I was committed to completing the overtake I ended up travelling much faster than intended. I noticed the camera van, glanced down & saw 89mph before slowing.

I'm expecting the worst & have already started researching regarding a letter of mitigation.

I'm 65 years old, drawing down a small pension, clean driving licence, live in a rural location (so a ban would really hurt me) & otherwise accident & claim free for almost 50 years of driving.

Whilst I have no excuse I'm sure I'm not alone. Any advice/recommendations would be very much appreciated.

Many thanks in anticipation

[av185]

What was the speed limit?

[alscar]

Firstly what was the actual speed limit ?

[CanAm]

pandjack1 said:

Hello all

After a restless night I'm still kicking myself (hard) for overtaking a line of slow traffic on the way back from a drive to the coast yesterday without noticing a camera van parked behind a tree halfway down a long downhill straight stretch of road.

The road ahead was clear, weather & road condition were good, & as I was committed to completing the overtake I ended up travelling much faster than intended. I noticed the camera van, glanced down & saw 89mph before slowing.

I'm expecting the worst & have already started researching regarding a letter of mitigation.

I'm 65 years old, drawing down a small pension, clean driving licence, live in a rural location (so a ban would really hurt me) & otherwise accident & claim free for almost 50 years of driving.

Whilst I have no excuse I'm sure I'm not alone. Any advice/recommendations would be very much appreciated.

Many thanks in anticipation

And where did this take place?

[dibblecorse]

These chatbots are getting quite convincing, whats the odds the OP never returns ?

And if it is real, letter of mitigation ? sounds like a single carriageway so max speed limit 60mph, close to 90mph when you looked down, you knew what you were doing.

[pandjack1]

Speed limit was 60mph. Location A169 North Yorkshire moors (Whitby-Pickering) on the straight just south of Saltergate

[gshughes]

Looking at the thresholds information elsewhere in this forum, you'll get a fixed penalty up to 85 mph, so I guess you have to hope your speedo over-reads a bit (as most do).

[pandjack1]

Not a helpful response dibblec. We all make mistakes. Or did you/do you always drive/ride your Ducati, Porsche, BMW's within the speed limits? No, didn't think so.

[pandjack1]

Thank you gshugh - much more constructive, & gives me a little hope

[alscar]

QB's matrix posted seems to indicate B applicable .
I think you need to wait until the letter arrives before doing anything though.
Not sure I see where then the mitigation comes in especially post your " slow line of traffic " comment but I guess writing a letter stating your driving age and experience and clean licence etc might carry a tiny bit of sway but that's presumably " before " it goes to court -assuming that this even would ?
Equally stating you're a Pensioner and of limited income probably also won't help much but along with the letter may help be a bit cathartic for you.

[LunarOne]

Nothing useful to add OP, other than I hope you get the best possible outcome for you. It's very easy to get swept up in an overtake and to continue to accelerate as you pass the other cars rather than to cruise past them in an effort to complete the manoeuvre as quickly as possible. Out of interest, how fast were the other cars going? Was it the usual snake of drivers following a 40mph-everywhere driver, or were they faster but not fast enough for you?

[QBee]

As far as I can see, it's a Band B offence, even if you were actually only doing 82, but so long as you weren't at 90 or above.
Penalties are 4-6 points OR a 7-28 day disqualification, plus a fine of 100% of your weekly income.

https://www.themotoringlaw.uk/speeding-calculator/

[RedWhiteMonkey]

29mph over a 60mph limit, according to the RAC you're looking at disqualification for between 7-28 days OR 4-6 points AND a fine or 100% of weekly income.

[Super Sonic]

I think a ban is unlikely. I wouldn't mention the 'overtaking a line of traffic' in any defence, as the more cars you overtake in a single maneuver, the more dangerous.

[Honourable Dead Snark]

dibblecorse said:

These chatbots are getting quite convincing, whats the odds the OP never returns ?

And if it is real, letter of mitigation ? sounds like a single carriageway so max speed limit 60mph, close to 90mph when you looked down, you knew what you were doing.

Comments like this are strange, not to mention entirely useless.

Op, there are plenty of firms that specialise in road traffic law who will give you initial advice for free so I would phone a couple of them. I would expect points and a fine based on what you have said but if not I would definitely consider paying for legal representation to help avoid a ban. You’ll have to wait and see what comes through the post.

[alscar]

Super Sonic said:

I think a ban is unlikely. I wouldn't mention the 'overtaking a line of traffic' in any defence, as the more cars you overtake in a single maneuver, the more dangerous.

Definitely not mention -I hope the OP was only including this for our info as opposed to a suggested line of mitigation !

[pandjack1]

Many thanks for your responses. The cars I was overtaking were doing 40-45mph, & had been dawdling at 25-30mph for the past mile or so through some twisties - hence my misplaced impatience/frustration! Also as pointed out - FYI only & definitely not for use in any 'mitigation'

[QBee]

The matrix I posted and then removed was from the RAC's site, but on looking at another thread a similar post was called "incorrect" by AGTlaw, whom I hold in great respect.

I suspect the matrix reflects the situation if a case goes to court, but that the upper speed band limits for the lower severity offences are in fact higher if the matter can be resolved without a court hearing.

The OP seems at first sight to be above the lower end of severity, though a lot depends on the accuracy of his speedo and the actual speed as shown by the camera.
My own Nissan X Trail's speedo reads high. If it ever got up to an indicated 89 mph, it would actually be doing 80 mph per Waze. Perhaps an extreme example, but the OP might not have been going quite as fast as he first thought.

[martinbiz]

It’s just a waiting game now for 2 weeks. You may get lucky and the camera operator was having a sandwich, up to 85 should see a FP over and it will be an SJPN. Nothing you can do at the moment so I wouldn’t go panicking over mitigation letters until something turns up in the post

[trickywoo]

Try not to worry until the letter arrives.

I had something similar at the end of summer last year.

Cop with a hairdryer. I was on a motorbike.

Still makes my day thinking how I got away with it.