Intention to prosecute 58 in a 30 zone

[Ruzza]

Hello all,

 

Just looking for a little help, have received a letter from Essex police for the identity of the driver as I was clocked by a speed camera doing 58mph in a 30mph (i know very stupid of me)  - i have no previous and a clean licence, what is the likely outcome of this?

 

Date of the offence is 4/3/19 and the date on the letter is 21/3/19, I read somewhere that they only have two weeks prosecute however i received the letter 18 days after the offence so is this still valid or have I read nonsense?

 

Thanks

[dx100uk]

id respond as not replying is more serious that the speeding offence

https://www.sentencingcouncil.org.uk/offences/magistrates-court/item/speeding-revised-2017/

[BazzaS]

The 14 days also depends on the circumstances.

was it a hire car?

has the address of the registered keeper changed and not been updated with DVLA?

[Man in the middle]

They have six months to prosecute. Where 14 days comes in is that they have that time to serve the first "Notice of Intended Prosecution" (NIP) on the Registered Keeper at the address held by the DVLA. The notice is deemed served two working days after posting unless the contrary can be proved. If you are either (a) not the Registered Keeper or (b) you have changed your address or (c) have recently acquired the vehicle the NIP you have received is almost certainly not the first and the 14 day rule will not apply. There are no time constraints on second or subsequent NIPs. Late first NIPs are extremely rare (in fact the system used to produce them prevents them being sent late without manual intervention).

 

Regardless of any issues with the NIP you must respond by naming yourself as the driver within the 28 days allowed. Failure to do so will see you face a "Failure to Provide Driver's Details" charge. If convicted this carries six points, a hefty fine and an endorsement code that insurers dislike.

 

That speed is too fast for a course or a Fixed Penalty. It will dealt with by court proceedings and the first you will hear is when you receive a "Single Justice Procedure Notice". As I said, they have six months (from the date of the offence) to begin those proceedings and in many areas they take all of that. This means you may not hear anything until early September.

 

The guideline penalty for speeds of 51 and above in a 30 limit (assuming you plead guilty) is a fine of a week's net income. You will also pay £85 in costs and a Victim Surcharge of 10% of the fine (Min £30, Max £170). It also carries either a ban of up to 56 days or six points. Six points is the most likely outcome but if the single justice believes a ban should be considered the matter will be adjourned to a full court hearing and you will be given the opportunity to attend (you cannot attend a Single Justice hearing).

Edited March 22, 2019 by Man in the middle

[renegadeimp]

6 points and a fine if you plead guilty. If you get a good judge, perhaps 3 points.  Thats the usual around here anyway.    But the norm is as outlined above.  Dont try and get out of it,  the court is very good at knowing when someone is pulling a fast one.

If you dont name the driver, then it gets VERY serious, and a bunch of punishments come into play

Edited March 22, 2019 by renegadeimp

[Man in the middle]

4 minutes ago, renegadeimp said:

 If you get a good judge, perhaps 3 points.  

Not much of a chance of that, I'm afraid. That speed is well into "a ban or six points" territory and unless there are compelling reasons to depart from the guidelines six points (most likely) or a ban is all but inevitable. 

[renegadeimp]

Just saying around this area, a few people were given 3 points when it should be the mandatory 6.  But then again this is north wales, and north wales police/courts  are a world unto themselves

 

[ericsbrother]

my younger daughter got stopped for doing 58 in a 30 limit and she accepted the charge and got 3 points and a small fine. Now as that was a face to face encounter the administration of justice was no dounbt slightly easier so I would be tempted to let the team that deals with traffic matter know that  it was you, you realise you have been stupid and would like to have the matter disposed of as quickly as possible so would it be possible to do this without the matter going to a court hearing?

You may be lucky and get offered a speed awareness course ( depends how full they are and the local police's attitude to their use for the speed you were going). It is likely that a quick response will result in a lower penalty though.

[Man in the middle]

10 hours ago, ericsbrother said:

You may be lucky and get offered a speed awareness course ( depends how full they are and the local police's attitude to their use for the speed you were going). 

Not a chance. The National Police Chiefs' Council's guidance for speed awareness courses is they should be offered up to 42mph in a 30 limit. Even accepting that North Wales don't necessarily comply with the guidance, 58 is too much of a stretch.

[ericsbrother]

guidance, ACPO arent the lawmakers yet. Wont hurt to suggest it as the worst they can say is no chance!

[renegadeimp]

On 25/03/2019 at 20:03, Man in the middle said:

Not a chance. The National Police Chiefs' Council's guidance for speed awareness courses is they should be offered up to 42mph in a 30 limit. Even accepting that North Wales don't necessarily comply with the guidance, 58 is too much of a stretch.

Nw police dont comply with any guidance. They have their own rules 

[Man in the middle]

3 hours ago, ericsbrother said:

guidance, ACPO arent the lawmakers yet. Wont hurt to suggest it as the worst they can say is no chance!

 

Not only are they not the lawmakers, they don't exist any longer. The ACPO was replaced by the NPCC (National Police Chief's Council) in 2015. However, the NPCC has adopted the ACPO speeding guidelines.

 

That said, the OP is not in a position to suggest anything. Whether or not to offer a course is entirely at the discretion of the police. But I'll stick my neck out and say the chances of a course being offered for 58 in a 30 - anywhere in England or Wales -  are vanishingly small.