Been Caught Speeding?

Most of us have been caught speeding at one time or another, or if not we have got very close to it.

If you are caught and your speed has not been that excessive you may be offered the chance to attend a Speed Awareness Course or you may receive a fixed penalty, neither of which involves you going to Court.

However, if you have been driving well over the speed limit you are likely to receive a summons to go to Court.  If you plead guilty you will have to pay a fine, and prosecution costs and you will get points on your licence.  It is important to send the Court an appropriate statement in mitigation (saying the right things rather than the wrong ones) to help reduce the fine and in particular the number of penalty points.

For a very serious offence, the Court has the power to disqualify you from driving under their discretionary grounds even if you have a clean licence.

A further issue arises in respect of “totting up”.  If you accumulate 12 or more points over a three-year period (measured between dates of offences) you must automatically be banned for 6 months unless you are likely to be caused exceptional hardship.  That has a legal definition.  It is very important that appropriate submission or mitigation is made to the Court to reduce the period of disqualification or in appropriate cases persuade the Court not to disqualify at all.

There are also numerous technical points to be considered to avoid the case going further even if you have received a summons.

We have substantial experience in dealing with speeding and all road traffic matters and keeping our clients on the road.  It is always important to take early advice.

To discuss a speeding or any motoring matter please contact Richard Gregory at 01264 325811 or email him at rgregory@bsandi.co.uk