Confused about the new speeding fines?

Are you confused about the new speeding fines? just in case you are here is a simple guide table of how the new system functions in legal system

If caught speeding you could be fined 150% of your weekly salary

For the most serious speeding cases in England and Wales fines will rise by up to 50% after a review of sentencing guidelines for magistrates' courts.

A driver caught doing 41mph in a 20mph zone, or 101mph on a motorway, could be fined 150% of their weekly income.

The Sentencing Council said it wanted to ensure a "clear increase in penalty" as the seriousness of offending increases.

It said the changes were not intended to result in significant differences to current sentencing practice, but to target specific offences.

The current limit for a speeding fine is 100% of the driver's weekly wage, up to £1,000 - or £2,500 if they are caught on a motorway.

When the new guidelines come into force on 24 April 2017, magistrates will be able to increase the fine to 150% - although the upper cash limit will stay the same.

The most serious speeding cases subject to the rise

• 20mph speed limit; 41mph and above recorded speed of driver
• 30mph; 51mph +
• 40mph; 66mph +
• 50mph; 76-85 +
• 60mph; 91mph +
• 70mph; 101mph +

Source: Sentencing Council

In 2015, 166,695 people in England and Wales were sentenced for speeding offences

• 166,216 were fined.
• The average fine was £188,
• two people were sent to prison.

The Sentencing Council held a consultation with magistrates and criminal justice professionals in 2016. The feedback was that current guidelines "did not properly take into account the increase in potential harm that can result as speed above the speed limit increases". As a result, it has increased the penalty to send a clear message.

Do magistrates have to stick to the guidelines?

• Sentencing guidelines must be followed, unless a judge or magistrate feels it is not in the interests of justice to do so
• If a judge or magistrate believes that a guideline prevents the correct sentence from being given in an exceptional case, he or she can sentence outside of the guideline
• Guidelines set sentencing ranges within the maximum for the offence as set out in current legislation
• When legislation changes, guidelines are amended as appropriate

Source: Sentencing Council

Speeding driver David Pickup ordered to pay £11,000

David Pickup was caught speeding and has to pay £11,000 for challenging his ticket after a prosecution expert hired an airfield and a sports car to prove him wrong.

David Pickup, 45, was clocked doing 101mph in his Audi R8 on the A55 at Lloc in Flintshire in April 2014.

Flintshire Magistrates' Court heard a police speed camera caught him and he asked officers: "Can we call it 98?".

Mr Pickup who is from Wilmslow in Cheshire, who has a holiday home in Abersoch, Gwynedd, was convicted of speeding.

He denied breaking the 70mph speed limit and said that a number of people from Cheshire had second homes in Abersoch, which he called a millionaire's paradise.

The defence questioned the accuracy of the in-car police speed camera so the prosecution hired an expert who rented an airfield and an Audi R8 to carry out tests, the results of which were presented to the court.

Pickup was fined £675, given six points on his licence and ordered to pay the full prosecution costs - which included the testing - of £10,384.

Tougher sentences for disqualified drivers

Brake has congratulated the Government on delivering tougher sentences for disqualified drivers as part of the Criminal Justice and Courts Act, which came into force on Monday, April 13).

Under the new rules anyone convicted of causing death by driving while disqualified will face a maximum of 10 years in prison, up from only two years previously.

There is also a new offence that has been created "causing serious injury by driving while disqualified" anyone convicted of this offence will face up to four years in prison.

Ed Morrow, campaigns officer for Brake, the road safety charity, said: “This is an important day for everybody involved in campaigning for better justice for victims of criminal driving.

“Getting behind the wheel when a court has already found you to be a danger on the road, and has disqualified you from doing so, is one of the most selfish decision you can make as a driver.

“It is entirely right that maximum sentences are being increased, and we hope that judges will make use of them where appropriate.

“This is a good first step to securing better justice for victims and families, many of whom have been left feeling betrayed by inappropriate charges and paltry sentences.”

The road safety charity says that there are a number of other urgent issues with how the justice system handles cases of criminal driving, and it will be pressuring whoever forms the next Government to follow the current Ministry of Justice review through to a satisfactory conclusion.

Source Fleet News

Electronic Tag Catches Speeding Criminal

Convicted burglar Darren Girling, who denied a speeding charge was placed at the scene by his electronic tag that was part of bail conditions for previous offenses.

He was caught speeding twice and decided that he didn’t really need it adding to his burgeoning rap sheet of over 50 previous convictions for burglary and car theft.

He was caught doing 41mph on his Piaggio X9 scooter in a 30mph zone and decided to not to pursue his defence in court when compelling evidence, in the form of his exact location provided by his GPS tag, was presented.

He initially denied the charge by claiming that someone had cloned his scooter and carried out the offence on the A13 near Leigh.

An Essex Police spokesman said: "Police were able to confirm he was at the scene both times the cameras activated because he was wearing a Buddi tag as a result of a bail condition imposed by Basildon Crown Court."

Chris Huhne Loses £77,750 Legal Costs Appeal

Photograph: Sean Dempsey/PA

Judges uphold ruling ordering former former cabinet minister Chris Huhne to pay £77,750 costs from trial over speeding points scandal. Huhne’s legal team’s original offer of £25,000 towards costs but this was rejected with "no hesitation". On top of this Huhne, was ordered to pay £1,279 prosecution costs relating to the appeal court proceedings.

Three judges at the court of appeal rejected his case at a hearing in London on Tuesday.
The costs order was made in May by Mr Justice Sweeney at Southwark crown court in London.
Prosecutors claimed more than £100,000 from Huhne, who pleaded guilty last February.
His former wife, the economist Vicky Pryce, who was convicted by a jury, was ordered to pay £49,200.

Both have served prison sentences for perverting the course of justice after she took speeding points for her then-husband in 2003.

Dr Pryce has abandoned her own application to challenge the costs order as against her

Pop-up Courts For Speeding Fine Cases

Motorists who wish to challenge their speeding fines will be forced to attend new “pop-up” courts that will temporarily open in their own neighbourhood. These are the plans currently being considered by ministers.

The Proposals to be put forward for roving magistrates who will hold court hearings in village halls and community centres. Magistrates could sit for two days per month in a civic centre in one town in an area before moving to other locations on other days, he said. A court clerk, officials, one or two magistrates and a police officer would be able to set up a temporary court in a town or village hall. The move is designed to end the requirement for all defendants charged with low-level offences to attend a central court building. 

Mike Penning, the Conservative minister behind the plan, believes it would force people to think twice before challenging speeding tickets and other low-level penalties if they are faced with having to argue their cases in public in their own neighbourhoods.

The percieved benefits include

• Community justice - allow residents in an area to see justice being done
• Save money by reducing the backlog of cases at magistrate

Mr Penning said he had “a very open mind” about the potential offences which could be dealt with by roving magistrates in this way, adding that the plan was expected to be put to a formal public consultation.

Taxi Driver Tries to Pin Speeding Offence on Former Employee

Jamie Lyons, a taxi boss attempted to pin a speeding offense on a former employee who owed him money, Dorchester Crown Court heard before finding him guilty of perverting the course of justice

Lyons claimed that it was a former employee was the driver of a Vauxhall Zafira (the car was registered to Lyons) that was caught speeding on Blandford Road in Hamworthy, through a doing 45mhp in a 30mph zone.

Lyons said that Gary Dunlop, had been driving the vehicle on the date in question. However, Mr Dunlop, who worked for Lyons’ for less than a week in May 2013(quit the job after just six days when he struggled to make enough money), was working for Weymouth and Portland Borough Council on the date in question and told the court he only ever drove a Toyota Avensis while working at Streetcars.

Mr Dunlop told the court that after leaving Streetcars he owed Lyons money, due to the cost of getting Mr Dunlop insured to drive the cars, and said his former boss had threatened to ‘break his legs’ and ‘burn his house down’ if he did not pay him money back.

Defending, Timothy Shorter, argued that the only thing Lyons was guilty of was stupidity and carelessness.

It took jurors just over an hour to reach a guilty verdict.Lyons will appear at Bournemouth Crown Court for sentencing on Friday, November 7.

Taxi Driver Jailed After Claiming 'American Friend' Drove Speeding Cab

Taxi driver Nigel Taylor, from Sherbourne Grove in Birmingham, has been jailed for perverting the course of justice after falsely claiming a friend visiting from America was at the wheel when his cab was caught on camera speeding.

Mr Taylor had claimed he was asleep at home when his private hire vehicle was flashed by a speed camera in Pershore Road in August 2012, he said that a friend from Los Angeles had used the car without his permission.

In light of his information the prosecution was discontinued, however the enquiry was passed to West Midlands Police at the camera enforcement unit who probed the claim with Birmingham licensing enforcement officers. Taylor’s driver records from his taxi base showed that he was working at the time of the speeding offence proving that he had invented the story to avoid points ( he already had seven points on his licence).

Taylor was interviewed and admitted driving the vehicle at the time and was charged with perverting the course of justice after refusing a fixed-penalty ticket. He was jailed for four months at Birmingham Crown Court and ordered to pay £580 costs.

10 Speed Cam Facebook Page Fans in Court

In France ten motorists are due in court in September, because they are active members of a Facebook page that identifies the location of speed cameras. They have been accused of using “a device capable of detecting radar”. This is illegal in France (not illegal in the UK) The Facebook page has 9,000 members, all of who can update it in real time with the location of permanent and mobile speed camera sites using their smartphones, this will instantly notify all other members of the page.

David Alegre is one of the 10 defendants, he is a truck driver David Alegre, said he was stunned to receive a summons. He admitted he regularly contributed to the Facebook page, but said he had no idea it would land him in trouble with the law.

He said: “I am being treated like a radar detector.”

Mr Rémy Josseaume his lawyer argues that communicating information on the Internet does not fall under the ban on using radar detectors in France.

 Read the story on our site about this french facebook story

Sources: connexionfrance.com

In Case You Missed It

last week Ex-minister Chris Huhne was ordered to pay £77,750 in legal costs

The costs were relating to his prosecution for passing speeding points on to Vicky Pryce his ex-wife (she herself was ordered to pay £49,200) for her part in the crime. It seems to me that this is a very clear message from the government that you are always better just taking the points! Remembering that both parties got jail time as well. To read this story please visit our news page http://www.radar-detectors.co.uk/page/speeding-news#chrishuhne Tags: #chrishuhne #speeding #fined #points #drivinglicence #vivkypryce