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

Speeding charges thrown out because 30mph sign was unlit

Two motorists have had their speeding cases thrown out after a court was told that a 30mph sign on the road was not lit up. 
 
The light n Woodside Road (next to the University of Nottingham) was out on January 30 last year - and more than a year later, it is still not working properly is still without a lighting unit.

The problem was identified by specialist traffic lawyers when they noted a large number of cases coming from that stretch of road.

When two cases were taken to Court on Monday 27th March, the prosecution offered no evidence and the matters were dismissed. The motorists left court with no penalties.

The drivers thought they were in a 40mph limit in January last year. But their vehicles set off cameras because the road has a 30mph restriction.

Solicitor Lucy Whitaker of Pragma Law, who represented one of the drivers, said: "Both were travelling in the dark along Woodside Road from University Boulevard in the direction of Derby Road. University Boulevard is signed as a 40mph limit, and neither had seen the speed limit signs purporting to decrease the speed limit to 30mph as they entered Woodside Road. One of the two signs located on either side of the dual carriageway was unlit. That is in breach of the mandatory requirements. As a result our clients believed the speed limit continued to be 40mph, as it is along University Boulevard."

Her colleague Maria Moore, of Moore Motoring Law, added: "We were both delighted when the prosecution offered no evidence and the cases against each of our clients were dismissed.
"We wonder how many other motorists have been caught speeding in the dark, because of inadequate guidance of the speed limit."

Earlier in the day, two other drivers failed with claims that the road signs were inadequate during daytime when they were caught driving at over 30mph.

After seeing a video of a journey along the road during daylight, the judge said: "For the vigilant and observant driver, it provides adequate guidance. There is no room for confusion over the speed limit."

Source Nottingham Post

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

Sharp rise in speeding tickets on 'smart motorways'

The introduction of smart motorways has seen a big rise in speeding fines. According to data collated by the BBC's The One Show, between 2010 and 2015, fixed penalties issued on smart sections increased from 2,000 to a whopping 52,000.
There are more than 236 miles of smart motorways in England, which use the hard shoulder and variable speed limits to control traffic flow. The government says they are not there to generate revenue but are used to improve capacity.

Smart motorways are operated by Highways England, which uses overhead gantries to direct traffic into open lanes and change speed limits depending on the volume of traffic (the gantries also containing speed cameras).

A further 200 miles of smart motorways are currently under construction or in the planning phase.

Revenue increased The One Show asked 12 police forces in England which monitor major stretches of smart motorway, including parts of the M1, M25, M4, M42 and M6, for the total number of speeding tickets and fines collected.

The majority of forces responded, with half supplying directly comparable data, showing that a total 52,516 tickets had been issued on these stretches in 2014-15 compared to 2,023 in 2010-11.
That meant the revenue going to central government every year increased to more than £1.1m, from £150,600 five years ago.

There is just one stretch of smart motorway on the M9 in Scotland - this saw tickets increase from 9 to 41 over the 4 years. No data was supplied by police for the stretch of the M4 in South Wales.
On one section of the M1 in Nottinghamshire, police issued 8,489 tickets, amounting to £425,000 of fines, in 2015. In 2010, it issued no fines at all.

Nottinghamshire police defended the figures, saying the speed cameras had only been fully operational since 2013.

Safety concerns Nottingham-based motoring lawyer Paul Wright said he had seen a "deluge" of cases along one stretch of the M1.

He told the BBC: "A cynic might say that it's another way of getting more and more money out of the motorist, over and above what we're paying already.

"And it's an easy way to extract fines from people, because once you're clocked over the limit by the camera, it's very difficult to fight against that."

And the AA told The One Show "questions need to be answered about the money being recouped".
It has also raised safety concerns about drivers having to use emergency refuge areas when the hard shoulder is removed to operate as an extra lane.

AA president Edmund King said more emergency refuges were needed and they should be twice as long, adding: "Only a couple of weeks ago one of our members broke down on a smart motorway. There was a red 'X' up but they still got hit from behind."

Cut congestion With motorway traffic forecast to increase by up to 60% from 2010 rates by 2040, the government is pressing ahead with its £6bn investment in smart motorways.

A spokesman for the Department for Transport said: "Smart motorways smooth traffic flow and cut congestion for millions of motorists, with evidence from trials showing they are just as safe as regular motorways.

"Enforcement is a matter for the police and it is clear that speeding costs lives. However, we have been clear for a number of years that speed cameras should not be used to generate revenue."
Shaun Pidcock, head of Highways England's smart motorway network, said they were "the safest motorways on the network".

"We have 100% CCTV coverage and we have people watching over them, making sure they're safe, and we can get people in the traffic office to them far safer and quicker than we can do on normal motorways."

For a full report, watch The One Show on BBC One, at 19:00 GMT on Monday 7 November.

Source: BBC

Speeding taxi driver avoids jail after lying about driver

Image:castletaxiscanterbury.com

62-year-old Mohammed Malik claimed a mechanic was driving his Toyota Avensis when it was clocked traveling at 37mph in a 30 zone in Washwood Heath Road, Birmingham, in April last year.

Officers then wrote to the mechanic, only to have the letter returned saying he no longer lived at the address given. They also visited the address and found it was a residential property that had never been a garage.

This aroused more suspicion, so police then spoke to the cabbie's firm to get a print out of his journeys on the day in question - they clearly showed Malik had actually picked up a fare at the time, with the person clearly visible on speeding camera footage sitting in the back seat.
Still, Malik insisted it was his mechanic at the wheel.

With the evidence stacking against him, Malik finally admitted the speeding offence and was subsequently charged with perverting the course of justice for lying about who was behind the wheel.
The driver, of Coleshill Road, Ward End, pleaded guilty to the charge and on 31 March he was handed a four month prison sentence - suspended for 18 months - plus 80 hours unpaid work and costs of £400. He was also banned from driving for six months.

PC Steve Jevons said "Malik may have avoided jail but the suspended sentence is hanging over him for the next year-and-a-half and it’s likely he will now be stripped of his taxi licence. With no livelihood, clearly this will have a huge impact on his life and he will have to ask himself if all his lies were worth the risk. We hope this case serves as a warning to others that lying to the police and the authorities is a serious offence and can ultimately land you behind bars."