Stopped by un-marked Police '2005' Corsa for speeding*

[BRIGADIER2JCS]

Me thinks TC must go back to the Peelers, Specials have ALL the authority of a Constable ON or OFF Duty.!!!

 

Also as of 2007 their authority extends to ALL areas of England and Wales.

Edited August 7, 2013 by BRIGADIER2JCS

[T.C.]

Me thinks TC must go back to the Peelers, Specials have ALL the authority of a Constable ON or OFF Duty.!!!

 

Also as of 2007 their authority extends to ALL areas of England and Wales.

 

My apologies, you are correct. I had very little to do with Specials during my service being on a specialist department and was therefore not aware the regs had changed.

 

So again, apologies and thank you for the correction.

[crem]

I mentioned nothing about lane separation, I simply mentioned that to be a dual carriageway there is no requirement for there to be a central barrier, but reading it again, then maybe I did select the wrong choice of words to describe a DC.

 

A dual carriageway is a road which has a central reservation to separate the carriageways. This can be a barrier, a central concrete island or even a grass strip, so long as there is clear separation. 99% (not all) of dual carriageways comply with this requirement, if it is a multi lane carriageway without the central division, then of course the national speed limit of 60 applies unless posted otherwise.

 

I agree

 

I did try to make that point clear in post #10 that the "seperation" can be by many different means, but there has to be something visible. Many drivers still mis-understand the national speed limit rule and apply it to the number of lanes, not carriageways.

 

I have even known my ADI colleagues misinterpret it sometimes which is a bit worrying. For example there is a dual carriageway near me that has 2 lanes each way (so they agree 70mph limit), but it then gets a bit narrower reducing each side to 1 lane, but still maintains a clear "proper" crash barrier down the middle. They insist that this also, therefore, reduces the limit to 60mph because there isn't 2 lanes anymore. I disagree of course.

[spurscls350]

The officers that stopped me did not have a common uniform, there were no Police logo's on their clothing. The only thing they all had the same were walkie talkie's. A warrant card & blue lights were the only identifiable means produced.

With regards to them claiming to be County Police. The PC issued me with a TOR Report which has the 3 separate Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire & Buckinghamshire logo's. So. it would seem that County Police for these area's do exist.

It was without doubt a 2005 Corsa. I am guessing mainly used for drug offences and the like.

I will be seeking help from a solicitor soon.

Just one question. I am not familiar with appearing at court etc. Can I recoup any fee's and expenses if it doesnt go to court after sending this 'Postal Requisition' ?

[MaisyMouse]

Could you post images of the documentation on the site ?

 

It might give somebody an idea of just how legitimate the stop was.

[raydetinu]

You could try posting this on the UKPOLICEONLINE forum, that may give you some more general info, although they wont allow discussion on particular cases.

[Nimrod205]

s54(1) RTOA 1988 states that an officer must be 'in uniform' to issue an FPN to someone who he believes committed the offence. However, the speed you were "alleged" to have been travelling would not attract a FPN anyway. He has simply reported you for travelling at xxx mph in a 70 mph zone and his report will be corroborated by his two colleagues who will be his witnesses. The Corsa speedo will most likely have been checked against a calibrated Radar speed gun within a few days of the report being made and corrections made to your alleged speed based upon the inaccuracies observed on this speedo check.

 

In my opinion, the stop was legitimate, the 3 policemen identified themselves correctly by showing you their warrant cards, a report was made and you have been summoned to appear in court. A specialist (read: expensive) solicitor might be able to challenge the charges against you but don't hold your breath.

[spurscls350]

NB; Only one of the officers showed me his warrant card.. The other two policemen just walked around by their vehicle and didn't seem interested in the stop whatsoever.I still can't see how they can prove what speed I was doing without a speed gun or not following me at any length of the road to judge my speed at any accuracy. They actually stopped me in the 30mph limit at the end of the dual carriageway where I was driving within the limit !

[spurscls350]

Hello, your info and knowledge has been very helpful and enlightening. Thank you. Can you recommend a traffic offence solicitor? I live in Bedfordshire so, the closer to me the better. Regards.

Shaun

[BRIGADIER2JCS]

CAG cannot recommend solicitors or other professional, check your local firms.

[honeybee13]

Shaun, you could check the Law Society website. The have a find a solicitor option that lets you type in the speciality you want and where you are. Then it shows you the firms you can approach.

 

I would call several and see which one you think you could work with, also check what they think the cost might be.

 

My best, HB

[wobbly]

May also be an idea to ask for a copy of the calibration of the speedo of the Corsa for that day.And hope they didnt have it checked

[T.C.]

May also be an idea to ask for a copy of the calibration of the speedo of the Corsa for that day.And hope they didnt have it checked

 

 

As I have mentioned already, details of the speedo calibration have to be included as part of the prosecution evidence and whether it was checked against a certified stop watch over the measured mile or against another calibrated speedo.

 

The speed o is checked at 30 and 60 MPH, and should take 2 minutes at 30 and 1 minute at 60 and this has to be included and recorded in the vehicles log book.

[MaisyMouse]

http://forums.pepipoo.com/index.php?showtopic=59926

[spurscls350]

I have seen a specialist traffic offence solicitor today. In addition to this possibly being an illegal prosecution due to the fact he wasn't in uniform it appears that the Traffic Offence Report was not signed by me and was left blank in the space for 'subjects signature'.

So, it looks that this may be another technicality of this offence being thrown out of court or not even reaching court at all !!!

Will update once my solicitor has sent and got a reply from the courts.....

[Kiki1]

Can you prove/confirm beyond reasonable doubt the officer was not in uniform ?

[spurscls350]

I can't prove it but, as I said they were dressed very similar to me... I can confirm there were no Police logos on any of their clothing !!