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Speeding Archives
19 January 2010
As motoring solicitors we are seeing more and more cases inolving average speed cameras.
Initially they were used on motorways when there were road works. Anyone who drives along M1 between junctions 25-28 will be familiar with them.
We have now been told that the average speed cameras will stay on the M1 after the roadworks are finished. It was also announced today that average speed cameras will be introduced into an urban area for the first time. Average speed cameras will be installed along a 7 1/2 mile stretch of the A13 east of London.
So how do average speed cameras work? Unlike traditional speed cameras it is no use braking when you see one and then speeding up, as the name suggests they work out the average speed between 2 points.
The cameras can be located between 200 yds and 10Km apart, normally they are fairly close together.
Each camera has a ‘pair’, an entry and exit camera. The camera recognises your number as you go past the entry camera and then again as you go past the exit camera. They then work out the time it took and your average speed. If you are above the speed limit then you will be prosecuted. The cameras to be installed in London are made by RedFusion – thier website states -
“Initially, lane specific cameras, utilising Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) software, capture and record details of a passing vehicles license plate. This information is then sent via a public network to a centralised computer. As the vehicle travels along the carriageway it then reaches a second set of cameras at which time its license plate details are captured and recorded for a second time. Again this information is sent to the central computer where the data from the two readings is matched and analysed. By using the data from this analysis it is possible to measure a vehicles average speed by looking at the time taken to travel a known distance. When the system calculates a speed that is above the desired threshold a violation file will be created.
Within the violation file all the high resolution images and data collected by the camera system relating to that particular offending vehicle are collated. This violation data is then transferred into specialist computer software for back office processing. From here violation notices can be created against which payments can be made.
All data that is sent to the central computer system is encrypted to ensure the nature of the data is unrecognisable to an unauthorised observer. This allows for total security and ensures complete evidential integrity.
By using multi point to multi point technology, RedFusion is capable of offering accurate speed measurements even if a vehicle changes lane or leaves the particular carriageway being monitored, reducing potential incidents caused by vehicles changing lane in order to avoid detection and in turn ensuring maximum possible offence detection.”
The good news is that there will be a series of photographs. This should help identify the driver and avoid the many cases where drivers are unable to recall who was driving and face 6 penalty points as opposed to the 3 for speeding.
28 July 2009
Q. How many points do I have to have before I am liable to be disqualified under the totting up provisions?
A. 12 within a 3 year period going from the date of conviction to the date of latest offence.
Q. If I delay the court proceedings can I take it over the 3 year period?
A. NO. The time limit starts on the date of the oldest conviction and runs to the date of offence. So if you have 9 points and the oldest was imposed on 12 September 2006. You are stopped for speeding today (28th July) it’s todays date that counts not when it is dealt with in court so even if you delayed it until after 12 September at the time of the offence (28th July) you would have had 9 points.
Q. I think I was flashed by a speed camera a few weeks ago but I still haven’t heard anything how long do I have to wait to see whether I get a speeding ticket
A. The Police have to issue a notice of intended prosecution to the registered owner of the car within 14 days so assuming the car is registered at your address you should have heard within 2 weeks. If you haven’t then they are out of time (assuming it hasn’t got lost in the post!)
Q. There are road works on the motorway and a temporary speed limit of 50 I was doing 70. I have been told that temporary speed limits don’t count. Am I right.
A. No, you can still be fined and points imposed for exceeding temporary limits
14 July 2009
This is a common problem and is getting worse. Basically someone with the same make, model and colour car as you copy your number plate and fix it to their car and hey presto they can go through all the speed cameras they want and guess who gets the tickets? – You! 
I spent this weekend helping a great family who have suffered with this.
The father of the family received a summons for speeding, he knew that he couldn’t have gone through that light at that time because he knew where he was at that time and he wasn’t anywhere near the camera.
He had evidence from about 10 witnesses confirming where he was. He co-operated with the police from the start and sent all the details he could.
You would think that this would be enough, but no. He was pursued by the police to court. This despite various letters offering witness details, proof of purchases showing he was somewhere else and even a visit from the police to check his car against the photo taken from the speed camera.
His daughter decided they needed the help of a specialist motoring solicitor and called me last week in a panic, her father was very stressed about this, he was a proud man who had never been involved with the law before. He could not understand why they wouldn’t accept his and his witnesses word that he wasn’t the driver who went through the camera.
We spent sunday going through the case and playing a game of spot the difference, armed with the photo from the camera and his car. We spotted 4 minor differences, a sticker in the back window, a slightly different colour bumper etc. We also got all the witnesses together and got his case fully prepared ready for trial the next day.
Despite all of the evidence we provided the police at court still didn’t accept it was a different car. Fortunately the court did and it was thrown out and the fees he had paid me were ordered to be repaid to him by the court forthwith.
The relief was visible, he had had 6 months of stress, at times questioning whether it wouldnt just be easier to pay the £60 fine but he was a man of principles and refused all offers of help to pay the speeding fine insisting that he was not going to admit something he hadn’t done.
He was lucky in many ways, he is a well known character and lots of people were able to confirm where he was. He had evidence of purchases and was determined not to give in.
But how do we avoid this happening to us? It is so easy for someone to copy our number plate and you may be faced with having to remember where you were 10 days earlier. The only thing that you can do is make your car distinctive, I’m not suggesting you ‘pimp your ride’ but something like a sticker in the back of the car and a dated photo or maybe something distinctive on the number plate.
