Speeding Prosecutions

[MisterT373]

Just received my first ever speeding fine in 42 years of driving. It was on a stretch of road which last year was reduced from 40 to 30mph.

I'm freaking out because I went on this stretch of road 4 times in the following 3 days & am worried sh1tless that i will be done for all the times & lose my licence.

Have nobody to share this with, have spent all afternoon under the duver & cant focus on anything.

Why were you doing 40? I assume you were doing 40 every time you used that road. Was it a permanent camera that caught you or a police van?

In theory if you have a clear license and have not done a speed awareness in 3 years you will be eligible to take that one as a driver's awareness course and the other three will be fine and points if you have a clear licence currently you'll be on 9. Then you need to be really careful not to get anything else for 3 years.

Take a breath, it’s unlikely you’ll have been caught each time.

One of the times you’ll definitely get to go the speed awareness course so no points.

This.
Why were you doing 40 and was it a fixed camera which is likely to have caught you every time you were speeding?

very likely speed awareness for one, points for the other two and one fine (totality principal).

Doing 38 as thats what I am used to it being - its a 3 lane A road which goes to 40 as you head into London. It is a fixed camera.

Its actually 4 more times in 3 days - so 5 times altogether.

Did you know of the change? Is there not new signage to let drivers know it is now 40 mph?

Urgh!

It doesn't help you but your definitely not the first to have this situation and you won't be the last.

Wait for your notices to arrive but if you have five you might as well just take them all to the mags. One will auto go anyway so there's no point you paying £300 and turn £100 for a course and then what the magistrates add.

You'll have the opportunity to put forward any mitigation to the mags. My force do not take any mitigation and I'm guessing most others are the same.

This from an FOI request

Since the A4 Great West Road is a restricted road within a system of street lighting where the lights are not more than 200 yards apart, the urban default speed limit is 30mph. Additional 30mph repeater signs are not permitted on restricted roads under current law. Terminal signs have been incorporated where the change is from 40mph to 30mph at both sides of the carriageway and 30mph road markings installed at these locations.

So basically its against the law to put 30mph signs up.

It’s daft, and probably a little dangerous, that they can’t put signs up. So you weren’t aware of the change then?

Not at all - given there are so many speed changes in London I am always very alert & use the speed limiter on my car to keep within the limit.

The section of road is a 3 lane dual carriageway that has been 40mph since I can remember & Ive been driving it for at least 20 years.

Is the camera new? Why have you not been caught before in the last year?

I dont think so

I'm guessing luck or I have been caught at the lights before which slowed me down

Whats the £300 for?

3 x fines
It'll be £100 each

They used to always signpost new speed limits. However now round us they just change the limit - or worse just remove the ones that were there. This means that it's really easy to miss. If I hadn't known that the 50 sign had gone from one local (2 lane A road nice and straight with no houses off it and very few accidents in the last 25 years...) then I would have assumed that it still was 50. They didn't even replace it with a 30.

IF (big if) you have been captured muliple times then the outcome for each event will depend on the speed you were doing, but if you were in the lowest category (sorry, can't remember the various bands offhand) you will get a speed awareness course for the first offence, then £100 and 3 points for each subsequent offence. If that is going to result in more than 9 points you may as well try your luck in court, but don't expect an easy ride.

I know what you're going through. I receieved two NIPs in the post for two on the same day, same journey. I had covered the same route the next day so I was bricking it that I might get more in the post in the following days. I didn't, but if I had I would have gone from clean licence to ban in two days.

(Please don't anyone bother with the holier than thou "shouldn't have been speeding" posts; I know, tell me about it, and I would have taken it on the chin).

Sorry to tell you- I got caught a few years ago going along a road I thought was 40, and back again.
Got a fine for each.
I was able to do the course instead of points for one of them. Still had to pay for both.
I think you probably would have heard by now though.
Good luck!