got a NIP for speeding but the time of the supposed offence is wrong

[ericsbrother]

Received a NIP for going past a speed camera but at the time I was at home eating my dinner and watching telly. I did go past the same camera some time before the event but at a different speed. How do I respond?

[2ltr16valve]

Do you have any proof you were at home at the time of the offence ? Other than the word of family.

[BazzaS]

Received a NIP for going past a speed camera but at the time I was at home eating my dinner and watching telly. I did go past the same camera some time before the event but at a different speed. How do I respond?

 

Contact them : state that you did not go past that camera at that time. Ask to see the photos.

 

Is it possible your "plates" have been 'cloned'?

 

If it was a camera that takes photos from the front on the car (eg Truvelo,) not the rear (eg Gatso), the photos may show the driver .....

[ericsbrother]

I doubt the plates have been cloned but the time is about 40 mins wrong and the speed claimed is more than I was doing, the notice says I was photographed doing 4*mph at 20.** when I will readily admit speeding but only doing 3*mph at 19.**, so I am certain that the event is one and the same but dreadfully inaccurate. if I argue vehemently I will undoubtedly be prosecuted and cant prove that their camera is wrong but dont want to admit something that isnt true just to get a chance of going on the speed awareness course but still have it recorded that I did something that isnt true.

There is no guarantee that I will be offerd the course, it is touted as a possibility.

Gatso camera

[BazzaS]

I doubt the plates have been cloned but the time is about 40 mins wrong and the speed claimed is more than I was doing, the notice says I was photographed doing 4*mph at 20.** when I will readily admit speeding but only doing 3*mph at 19.**, so I am certain that the event is one and the same but dreadfully inaccurate. if I argue vehemently I will undoubtedly be prosecuted and cant prove that their camera is wrong but dont want to admit something that isnt true just to get a chance of going on the speed awareness course but still have it recorded that I did something that isnt true.

There is no guarantee that I will be offerd the course, it is touted as a possibility.

Gatso camera

 

The photos will show the distance covered for a known time between the photos being taken : the speed can be determined from this.

 

The incorrect time stated MIGHT call into question the accuracy of the timing between the 2 photos (if one could be wrong, could the other?) but it is 'a stretch', and might be held to be 'de minimis' if you accept it was you driving there, around that time of day.

[ericsbrother]

But the form asks you to identify the driver at tht time. well, no-one was driving at that time and hadnt been for the best part of an hour. It may be nit picking but I dont want to get done for doing a speed i wasnt doing and at a time I was at home watching the telly. My problem is that the NIP doesnt allow to you either explain this or challenge the actual claim without going beyond the stage that a speed awareness course could otherwise be offered.

The radar is a very accurate measure of time and distance but the geometry of the distance and angles between the road surface with its markers will vary between the different heights and shapes of different vehicles which can give a false reading when measuring the distance covered in a known time by using the photographs as the proof. Whether this in my case is erring to my advantage or disadvantage I cannot say unless I obtain the photographs and do the calculations.

Still doesnt help me repond to the NIP though.

[ericsbrother]

spoke to the office dealing with these matters, one person quite shirty and insistent that their cameras are always 100% accurate and the other more accepting that it would need a technician to visit and check the calibration of the timer and would I put my case in writing for consideration without prejudice to the offering of a course etc.

[JJShops]

I understand your frustration here because as you admit you were speeding but not at the same time or speed they've usggested and for someone to turn round and say their cameras are 100% accurate! Hopefully once you've put it in writing they will look into your case but I fear they will continue to say the cameras are accurate. Let us know how you get on

[ericsbrother]

They resent their form out for me to fill in and again I sent it back with a covering letter saying that at the time of the alleged offence I was at home eating my tea etc. I received a copy of the GATSO camera calibration and it was almost a year old and the camera has certainly been fiddled with since then otherwise the clock would be showing BST and not summer time etc. The only part that is manually tweakable in situ is the timer and they are claiming it is infallible (verbally). I have done the maths on the camera angle and the speed claimed is undoubtedly wrong and I was going slower than stated, just hate the idea of explaining the maths to a magistrate and then being ignored or told that it doesnt count because it is in the public interest to overstate the speed and then not prosecute those doing say 33mph as the car speedo is not accurate!.

I have done a FOI request to get the evidence I require regarding the timings for any other cars caught that day so I can measure the shadows on the road and prove the time, as a soft request the safety camera team refused that but I will demand it as evidence at court as it looks like I will be prosecuted because I wont admit the offence as stated and they wont admit that I might be right.

What do I do if the police refuse to hand over the evidence I need to show that there is an error in the recording of the data as I claim though or only hand it over at the court door so i cant do the necessary measurements and calculations?