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Challenging a Speeding ticket

17 replies

TonTonMacoute · 18/06/2026 14:36

Has anyone ever done this and how did you get on?

I have just received a penalty notice for doing 37 in a 30 zone and I just don't believe it, and I am thinking of challenging it on the grounds that the camera is inaccurate. Is it worth it and would I have any chance of success?

The backstory is that I was caught speeding (also 37 in a 30 zone) in the same place last year, and although it was annoying I accepted that I had been speeding and took the online speed course.

I found the course very good and have been very aware of my speed since then. I am hyper aware of it along this particular road as it is notorious for catching people, including me!

Secondly, I had my 93 year old DF in the car with me, there is no way that I would be driving nearly 10 mph above the limit with an old in the car with me. I may have been doing 31 or 32, but 37mph? No way

Thirdly, last year I was able to access the photograph of the offence but this time I could not. They gave me a QR code, but there was no photo, which again suggests the camera was faulty.

Any professional opinion would be most welcome

OP posts:
Welldoya · 18/06/2026 14:51

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Welldoya · 18/06/2026 14:51

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HerLadySheep · 18/06/2026 15:42

If it is a hand held speed camera they are calibrated daily before the police take it out, you will need to get your own evidence about the camera which will be hugely expensive and you’re unlikely to succeed, just take the fine and three points.

TheresMillionsOfGeoffreys · 18/06/2026 15:48

They should be able to send you the photos. Can you ask the actual police staff that issued it in case there's a problem?

TonTonMacoute · 18/06/2026 16:33

It wasn't a hand held camera, it is a piece of road that has cameras mounted at regular intervals on tall yellow posts. They record average speed through a village as well as clocking people speeding.

The letter gave the camera number but no photo, so I cannot tell exactly where I was when I was supposedly speeding. I have asked them to let me see the photo.

Could the camera be wrongly adjusted, can they set it wrongly deliberately to catch people?

OP posts:
Eightdayz · 18/06/2026 16:36

Exactly the same speed in the same spot. But this time you dont believe it?

Ok then.

Namechangetheyarewatching · 18/06/2026 16:46

TonTonMacoute · 18/06/2026 16:33

It wasn't a hand held camera, it is a piece of road that has cameras mounted at regular intervals on tall yellow posts. They record average speed through a village as well as clocking people speeding.

The letter gave the camera number but no photo, so I cannot tell exactly where I was when I was supposedly speeding. I have asked them to let me see the photo.

Could the camera be wrongly adjusted, can they set it wrongly deliberately to catch people?

No dont be ridiculous 🙄

Take the fine and slow down

TheresMillionsOfGeoffreys · 18/06/2026 17:09

I doubt it would be wrong especially if it's a fixed one. However you should still be allowed to see the evidence.

The fact the Qr code doesn't take you to a photo does not suggest the camera was faulty, but that the link or website, database etc is faulty.

I would err on the side of paying it so don't let persuing the photo make you miss the deadline.

My police force were very helpful whem I rang and questioned aspects of the photo so it can't hurt to speak to them and ask. However I don't think you'd get anywhere re it actually being faulty.

AgnesMcDoo · 18/06/2026 17:14

Unless you have actual evidence that the camera was malfunctioning, I think your chances of success are extremely low. The fact that you don’t believe you were doing 37 mph, or that you had your elderly father in the car, won’t carry much weight. I’d contact the ticket office and ask for any available photographs first, as these can sometimes help identify the vehicle and confirm the circumstances, but challenging solely on the basis that the camera must be wrong is unlikely to get very far. Many people genuinely think they were only doing 31–32 mph when the recorded speed turns out to be several mph higher

TonTonMacoute · 18/06/2026 17:33

@AgnesMcDoothank you, that's sort of what I feared, I just was interested to hear from someone who had succeeded - people do.

I always regularly check my speedometer every time I drive that bit of road, and I know that could be not entirely accurate, however I do know the difference between driving at 30 and 37mph as it is significant

OP posts:
Seawolves · 18/06/2026 18:35

It's not unheard of for speed cameras to get it wrong, do you have any dash cam footage of the journey?

29836WW · 21/08/2026 09:42

@TonTonMacoute

Did you challenge it? DD has got 2 fines for the same stretch of road 8 mins apart and we want to challenge it but not sure if it is worth it (24mph in a 20mph zone - 8pm so not school time)

PoliteBee · 21/08/2026 20:10

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PlumPlumb · 21/08/2026 20:16

Absolutely go back to them and ask for a picture so you can identify who is driving. If they can't provide that then how can they/you prove it's true?

prh47bridge · 21/08/2026 20:25

PlumPlumb · 21/08/2026 20:16

Absolutely go back to them and ask for a picture so you can identify who is driving. If they can't provide that then how can they/you prove it's true?

They don't have to. The NIP gives the registered keeper of the car the opportunity to identify the driver or admit that they were driving. Given OP's posts, I presume she admits that she was driving.

ALovelyPinkUnicorn · 21/08/2026 20:28

29836WW · 21/08/2026 09:42

@TonTonMacoute

Did you challenge it? DD has got 2 fines for the same stretch of road 8 mins apart and we want to challenge it but not sure if it is worth it (24mph in a 20mph zone - 8pm so not school time)

So she was going 24 in a 20 but because not at school time thinks not fair?

Kimura · 22/08/2026 08:15

TonTonMacoute · 18/06/2026 16:33

It wasn't a hand held camera, it is a piece of road that has cameras mounted at regular intervals on tall yellow posts. They record average speed through a village as well as clocking people speeding.

The letter gave the camera number but no photo, so I cannot tell exactly where I was when I was supposedly speeding. I have asked them to let me see the photo.

Could the camera be wrongly adjusted, can they set it wrongly deliberately to catch people?

Could the camera be wrongly adjusted.

It's highly unlikely that the camera recorded your speed inaccurately. They're very closely monitored both in-house and independently. A physical/hardware fault with one particular unit would be caught extremely quickly. A software issue causing incorrect calibration would be widespread and easily flagged.

No technology is 100% infallible 100% of the time, but the the technology behind measuring your speed is extremely robust and the chances of a one-time freak calibration malfunction catching you out are ridiculously slim.

For context - The largest known speed camera glitch in the UK was identified last year, believed to have been caused by a software update to the around 150 cameras that interact with variable speed signs on motorways and A roads. The fault wasn't with the cameras themselves, but the way in which they communicated with the signs.

Essentially there was a delay of a few seconds between the variable speed signs updating and the activation threshold of the cameras following suit. So a sign might have changed from 40mph to 60mph, but anyone unlucky enough to have increased their speed above 40 in that brief window would have activated the camera.

The glitch was active for around 4 years; the only reason it wasn't caught sooner is that it was so rare. The affected cameras were activated over 6 million times during that period - of those activations only 2500 were caused by the glitch, and because not every activation leads to enforcement action, even fewer resulted in bogus prosecutions.

can they set it wrongly deliberately to catch people?

Even if we look past the issue of how they'd manage it without getting caught...why would they? Can you imagine the fallout when it inevitably came to light? It'd be bigger than the Post Office scandal, and that was caused by faulty software, not deliberate, malicious fraud.

Whether it was a national/force-specific directive, or a case of rogue individuals being able to adjust the hardware/software without detection, it would bring down the entire system. Not to mention the wider impact it would have on policing and the justice system.

When the glitch above was identified, they didn't just stop using the affected cameras, they paused the entire variable system. They cancelled all ongoing historical prosecutions involving all variable speed cameras and cancelled almost 40,000 speed awareness courses, regardless of whether they were impacted by the glitch or not. The small number of people actually prosecuted are having their fines refunded and points removed from their licenses, and will receive additional compensation from the government (as they should, not just for the hassle but more tangible issues like raised insurance premiums).

Imagine what they'd have to do if they were caught issuing fraudulent fines on purpose, just to bring in a few extra quid. It's an old conspiracy theory, and like most of them it doesn't hold up to scrutiny. The wider impact simply wouldn't justify the pocket change it'd raise.

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