Speeding Ticket Photo Evidence & Speeding Fines
If you have received a speeding ticket it’s likely you’ll want to see photographic evidence. This is because the evidence that the photo holds could be vital to your case.
A photograph can determine whether you were driving at the time of the alleged offence.
Proving you were Speeding
It is up to the police to prove that you were caught speeding. The police might decide that their photographic evidence is sufficient to prosecute you.
If you were driving at the time of the offence it is your decision as to whether you should plead guilty. However, if you think someone else was driving your car you should ask to see the photo evidence.
How to See the Photo Evidence
Unfortunately, policing officers are unlikely to offer you a chance to see the photo evidence. However, if a handheld speed camera caught you speeding a police officer is likely to have stopped you.
The officer may have shown you their evidence. The evidence can be seen by viewing the speed gun that ‘caught’ you and reading the speed that it displays.
The police may also have a video of you speeding. However, if the police officer who pulled you over did not show you the video you can request to see it.
Caught by a Speed Camera
If a speed camera caught you allegedly speeding, and you are the vehicle’s registered keeper you will be served with a Notice of Intended Prosecution. If you were not driving at the time of the alleged speeding offence you can return the NIP with a letter.
The letter can state that you request to see any evidence the police might have. Unfortunately, the police do not have to show you any evidence at this time.
However, some police forces will happily show you the photographic evidence. When your NIP arrived it would have contained a personal identification number.
This is the number you will need to access the photographic evidence on the police force’s site. Whether you were the driver of the vehicle at the time of the alleged offence or you think someone else was driving you need to return the NIP within 28 days.
Refusing to Show you the Evidence
In some cases, the police might refuse to show you the speeding ticket evidence. However, you do not need to be too concerned.
This is because it is the police that are in the wrong here. Guidelines set out by the police and courts state that they have to provide you with the evidence at the first opportunity.
If the police insist that they do not need to show you the evidence and you’re still found guilty all is not lost. At this stage you might want to ask the court if they could refrain from increasing your penalty.
You might also want to mention that you have made no unreasonable requests and you’ve not attempted to delay your hearing. This could encourage the court to look a little more favourably on you.
If you were Speeding
If you were speeding and this is the first time you’ve been caught you could attend a speed awareness course. This is a course that the police offer first-time ‘offenders’ and attending the course results in no points being added to your driving licence.
However, you will have to pay a £100 fine but no driving bans will be given unless you exceeded the speed limit by an excessive amount. Please note, Drive Protect’s lawyers have managed to get the police to offer a driver a place on a speed awareness course even when a place was not originally offered.
If you were speeding, there is no need for you to request to see the photo evidence. This is because it’s unlikely that seeing the evidence will be of any benefit.
However, if it turns out that the speed camera’s calibration certificate was out of date then it could be good to see the evidence. If your car’s number plate is not shown in the photograph there is always a chance that you were not speeding.
However, this is unlikely to happen as many modern cameras ensure the number plate is ‘clocked’.
Mitigating Circumstances
If you were speeding due to mitigating circumstances it is worth mentioning this to a lawyer. The court might take the circumstances into account but this depends on your case and how fast you were driving.
If you’re not sure who was Driving
If you are not sure who was behind the wheel of the car you could ask for photographic evidence. The police might send the evidence to you but at the same time mention that the photograph doesn’t need to show who was driving.
The photograph only needs to show the vehicle and how fast it was travelling. This is why a lot of photographs used as evidence do not show the car’s driver.
When There are 8 – 12 points on your licence
If you already have 8 to 12 penalty points on your driving licence you could be facing a driving ban. Bans such as these could last from 6 months or up to 56 days.
However, if you were travelling at excessive speeds your ban could last for from a 3 year period upwards.
Speeding Fines
If you have received a speeding ticket your fine is likely to cost £100. You’re also likely to get 3 penalty points added to your licence.
The maximum fine that you’ll have to pay is £2,500. A magistrates court can fine you this amount if you were caught speeding on a motorway.
However, you would have had to been driving at a very excessive speed to end up with this huge fine.
When can you Contest a Speeding Ticket?
If your NIP took more than 14 days to arrive you can contest it. This is because the police have 14 days from the date of the alleged offence to send you the letter.
In addition to this, you can contest the ticket if:
- The alleged offence’s time, nature, or location are incorrect
- Road signs were unclear or missing
- Measuring equipment had been misused or it had not been calibrated
The above defences are common in British courts but you have to show enough evidence to support your defence. This is why you should consider hiring one of our lawyers to help you.
Our lawyers have a lot of experience dealing with speeding tickets and fines. As we have already seen, Drive Protect’s lawyers have managed to get the police to offer a driver a place on a speed awareness course even when a place was not originally offered.
However, to have your say in court means that you will have to plead ‘Not guilty’ to the alleged offence. You will then be expected to go to court and put your case across.
In this case, it would be wise if a lawyer represented you. This is because court’s do not look favourably on those who try but fail to navigate the complicated legal system.