Help! Speeding but I wasn't!

[pickledandpuzzled]

Anyone know anything about ‘notice of intended prosecution’ for speeding? My black box says I wasn’t!

I was surprised as I’m careful. How do I dispute?

I've never had one before, in 35 years driving. How does it work?

Absolutely Ukelele.

I'm not that person, honest. I'm actually hanging on to my belief that I'm a competent adult despite making mistakes rather than insisting on infallibility!

We can't state that definitively - it depends on the area, there are locally determined limited. Very likely to be offered the course but not a statement of fact on here.

Are you sure it's not a scam? When my DS got a speeding letter, they assumed it was the registered owner so the letter came automatically to his sister. She then had to complete the form saying it wasn't her and giving his details. Seems odd they have written to you asking for who was driving.

Guidelines are not a statement of fact

Google maps shows it's a 30.
I don't use my satnav for speed as it's v old and not up to date. I use the signs.
The 30 zone starts very near the petrol station I pulled into, which makes it even less likely I was doing 40 there.

Not quite clear what you mean- are you saying that you now do agree that the place where the van was waiting WAS a 30 limit, when you previously thought it was a 40? However you are now thinking that you could not have been doing 40 there because you’d have slowed down to turn into the petrol station?

Did you even read OP's posts?

She has been told she was doing 40 in a 30 zone. She's said that more than once.

At no point has she claimed it was a 40 zone!

Not a very pleasant surprise for you OP and hope you are ok now. It was a mistake, a lapse of concentration which we all have, so don’t worry.

I did a course a few years ago, it was very dull and boring but I didn’t have to declare it to my insurance companies so once it was done I could put it behind me.

Yes, I did actually, and there is no need to be so rude.

What OP is saying is that she drives by keeping an eye out for speed limit signs and sticks to them. She is bemused because she knows she would never consciously do 40 in a 30 and that she is usually attentive enough not to do it unconsciously. What she is saying is that she thinks she would only have done 40 if there were signs to make it a 40 limit. There are only 2 possible explanations, right?

1. she saw a 40 sign but missed a subsequent 30 sign and was doing 40 in what she thought was a 40 limit.
2. she was not doing 40 and the police data is wrong.

She speculated at one point that perhaps there had been a speed limit change nearby and she hadn’t noticed it

I wouldn't know if it had changed as it's an unfamiliar area. I don't remember signs about it, but I wouldn't have been keeping track of that kind of sign.

@OP the police should have included in the letter a description of the evidence that they have that you were doing 40 eg a description of the monitoring device used. If not, you may get that info in the next letter after confirming you were the driver. It is possible that a mistake could have been made so do look at this carefully. The police near us often stand on a corner with a hand held device to capture people doing over 20 and they let passers-by have a go so they can see how it works (it’s part of awareness-raising). I had a go of one and it could be misread if you don’t have the knack.

Ok so some of the mystery is solved!

The limit changed in 2018, so I guess that's why my black box didn't agree.

I'm still waiting for the rest of the information. I can accept loss of concentration given the bloke waving wildly at the side.

They will have done well out of their camera that day- it's obviously an area the traffic stream hasn't learned to slow down yet.

It was a cracking holiday, driving wise. Lots of single track lanes with birds bobbing across and fords. I grew up with country driving, but my husband's a city boy and found it alarming!

My car has a built in SatNav which tells me the speed limit on the road I'm driving on. It can be wrong if the limit's changed. Do you think there could have been a bit of road you and your black box thought was 40 but that was in fact 30? That would be my guess.

And for some reason I missed that you'd updated to say that!

And the letter has come. I'm booked on a virtual course, £89.

Thanks guys.

I'm surprised so many people including @BarbaraofSeville
insisting that they wouldn't accuse you wrongly. They do, often accuse wrongly, many times it's wrong. I know a well known driving lawyer and he argues the cases for some clients in dubious grounds, but many on completely legitimate grounds where police etc are wrong.

I would be surprised if I were doing 40 @Oblomov23 but not surprised that I was speeding- I remember being distracted by waving man.

If you pleaded not guilty to the charge you would have to go to court to defend yourself . That would most likely be a court local to where the offence was committed .. As it’s your word against the police , the magistrates would have to decide whose evidence they believed .
The prosecutor would most likely bring an expert witness to court who would state how often the police camera was calibrated etc together with proof of the 40mph speed restrictions
You would need to bring evidence of how often your equipment ( black box ) was calibrated & proof that you were not speeding . If you were found guilty you would recieve 3 points and have to pay a fine & court costs .
Presuming you haven’t got any points or haven’t done a speed awareness course in last 3 years you could please guilty , do a course local to you , pay a fixed penalty of £100 and no points would be applied . Often courses can be done online .You don’t need to advise your insurance as nothing will be recorded on your licence
I hope this helps

Whoops just seen that this is an old post . Glad all worked out ok Op !!