12pts in a week - driving ban

This is the thing @Jarofgoodness . You didn't get just one, so you could realise your error, you got 4 all at once, for 4 different speeding offences. Yes you should have known, and surely not ALL signs could be obscured/hidden, but this seems ridiculous and unfair.

It really does need challenging, but I'm not sure how you'd do it. May be worth getting legal advice. An automatic 6 month ban is odd. I have never even heard of a 6-month ban. Also, like a pp said, I don't understand why you were not offered a speed awareness course for the first one. This sounds like a glitch in the system.

I'm sorry this is happening to you, and I hope you can get it sorted.

I would try and go back to the place where you got the fines and check the signage. Because if you are as careful a driver as you say, its hard to see how you got caught out so many times. How precise is the location of the fine? Presumably a specific camera. Is it possible you joined the road at a point where there was no signage between that and the camera?

I think your argument for why you shouldn't have the fines is a bit ludicrous though. Having zero points of fines previously doesnt automatically mean you have never been speeding or driven badly. It just means you have never been caught!

The self righteousness is strong on here today.
We all know speeding is illegal and very dangerous, the OP knows she did wrong and is contrite but nonetheless posters are still queuing up to berate her.
What's the point? There but for the grace of god etc.

I remember this happened to a work colleague of mine who got clocked 4 times in one day on same road. It was a 40 limit they had cut and signage wasn’t clear. I’m sure they kept their licence due to circumstances but had to go to court and got a large fine.

It's outrageous that you can get fined 4 times whilst in these circumstances being unaware of the first incident.

Why is it outrageous?

Aren't you basically arguing that OP should have been warned about the fact that she was speeding so she doesn't do it again? Surely the counter argument is that if you can speed four times in the same area, you're not paying enough attention...

Given the impact it's had, I would absolutely go back there to check the signage, and get legal advice on whether the repeated error in short period of time can be argued.

It might be that nothing can be done, but it's worth checking.

Be careful as others have said...driving in an unfamiliar area and not making sure you understood speed limit is the opposite of mitigation! Suggests high level of carelessness.

i’d go back and check the signage. (asap before any wrongs are righted by the council)
there should be a large sign at the start of the area and smaller speed signs repeaters can be used after that.
if there is no big speed sign at the start it’s wrongly signed.

if the signage is correct you cannot challenge in those grounds. but i’d still try and go to court to see if i could do a course. it cannot get much worse than youve already got ie lost your license.

hiring a lawyer such as nick freeman to fight for you in court will cost multiple thousands.
he would check with the council to see what the speed limit is supposed to be and check the signage is correct. you can do those yourself.

if you represent yourself and lose your license it would probably be cheaper using taxis than paying for his fees until you can regain your license. but check out his costs by all means.

you can argue hardship in court ie carer for kids or parents, need car for work, live rurally etc.

Definitely worth appealing. You only have 21 days so you need to do it ASAP. Appeal the notices on the grounds of poor signage, and also appeal the ban on the grounds of “exceptional hardship” due to loss of work or undue impact on family. Given the circumstances I think you’d have a fair shot at the latter.

It's outrageous that you can get fined 4 times whilst in these circumstances being unaware of the first incident.

Pre cameras if you were stopped for speeding you could take responsibility for you actions and then choose how you continue to react.

Not having instant knowledge of your intended prosecution is huge backward step

Usually first speeding ticket you are offered to do a speed awareness course instead of receiving 3pts (prob depends on speed though) but perhaps you then end up with 9pts and no ban?

Where was this @Jarofgoodness

If any of us live close we can go and check out the signage for you.

This

It surely all depends on the signage - if it genuinely isn't there I'd have thought you have a case, but if it is then "not noticing it" again and again suggests an unaware driver who we could do with fewer of

Oh, every sympathy. Not Plymouth, by any chance? That's where I got two on the same journey, so course for the first, poipnts for the second. I was there for two days and I was absolutely bricking it that I might have done the same on day two (after I got the letters in the post for day one). Thankfully I didn't. But if I had done the same again (24 and 25 in a 20 - in other words carefully complying with a 30 limit) I'd have also gone from 40 year clean licence to ban in two days.

Like you I never knowingly speed, aways use the speed limiter, but in this case I didn't see (or register) the 20mph speed limit two days running. Nothing I could do but pay up and look big, but when I subsequently read about the number of people who had been fined at the same point I did wonder about the way the signs are laid out. But in the end I had to tell myself to concentrate harder and not make the same mistake again (and never to go to Plymouth).

I’d also recommend always driving on sat nav and having it set to beep

If this is available I would recommend undertaking it.
I did a speed awareness course last year and most of the attendees had been caught out by new reductions in speed limits from 30mph to 20mph.

I’d go back and look at where the signs are. If there aren’t any that’s ridiculous! You could seek legal advice if you can definitely say there were no signs. Go back and take pictures of video of the road. Good luck xx

If you can afford it get a good lawyer who specialises in this area e.g. Nick Freeman

Can you take a speed awareness course to reduce the number of points down to 9

You can ask the police to take it into consideration, if both were in the same force area they will take it into consideration, sometimes a yes sometimes a no

Definitely get specialist legal advice and go to court. The court are a check and balance on the automatic penalties. It may also be worth asking on local facebook or via foi to local council if any issues re inadequate signage.

Sympathies @Jarofgoodness.

I have been driving since 1977. Except for once, all my fines points have been in the last five years. I don't think the signs are as clear as they should be and I think there is significant memory muscle vis a vis driving at a safe speed for the road conditions when the limits have just changed 40 to 30, done for 35; 30 to 20, done for 24. Both on clear, empty roads. It's about cameras and revenue rather than safe driving.

Drivers do that all the time, in the one way street my grandchildren live in. It's getting more and more and it'll take an accident for it to stop. Just go back to reading road signs. That's what it boils down to, complacency. It's a big cause of accidents and road rage incidents eg not bothering to single anymore.

It’s worth using Waze when your driving op, even if you don’t need it for directions it’ll warn you if you speed then. It is worth noting though that you do still need to pay attention to signs, especially on to motorway - last week the M40 was down to 60mph on the signs on a clear, dry and bright midweek afternoon and there were police on the bridges at Warwick with handheld cameras! No-one can persuade me that that is anything other than a revenue stream for them.

Again, evidence please