I was recently snapped by one of these static road cameras near oxford on the A420. As you might know already, except for the daul-carriageways the rest of the A420 from Swindon to Oxford is a single carriage way with a speed of 50mph for most traffic … except for lorries of course them being 40mph.
So, being an old crafty trucker I decided to travel up this road at just under the camera speed doing 48mph. On several trips up and down this road without any problems early in the morning usally between 3 and 4 am I gained a bit of confidence.
Alas, the other day having drove past every camera except 1 doing 48mph I was snapped by the last 1 just before Oxford. OH BUGGER!..How can this be I thought, is my speedo out? is the camera naff? after all, I was doing less than the actual speed limit for cars which the camera was set for. So, on christmas eve I get a ticket for speeding in a LGV at 48mph.
My question to all you guys out there is this:
If the camera is taking pics at the wrong speed setting can I argue in court that it was wrongly set and should not have triggered until a speed of 50mph had been reached by a vehicle first, and as such the police just took advantage of the pic of my lorry and thought will nab em etc?
Or:
Can I argue that if it was set to trigger at 50mph but went off at a lower speed prehaps the cameras naff and my vehicle speed should not be taken as actual because of a possible camera fault?
Or:
Any other possible arguement you chaps can put forward?
Unfortunately mate they have got you bang to rights. There are speed cameras which have a sensor built into them, which can tell the difference between a wagon and a car. As you say you were traveling at over the speed limit for your vehicle, you are stuffed I am afraid.
The arguement that it shouldn’t have taken a pic of you won’t wash either. It is quite legal for them to be taking the photo of a car speeding past you, and do you from the same photo, if you were over the limit for your vehicle at the time.
You can argue if you like but I am afraid that my advise would be to
teekaydee:
Take the rap and points n shut-uppa-myface.
Friend of mine is a JP who often gets speeding motorists up infront of him trying their luck by bringing the case to court.
Lets say they are being prosecuted for doing 43 in a 30. They say, “But I wasn’t doing 43, only 37”
What have they just done?
Yep, that’s right, admitted exceeding the 30 limit. They are being prosecuted for exceeding a statutary limit & have just admitted it! Sometimes, those on the bench have to try hard to maintain their composure.
Many cameras now have either height sensors, or sensors buried in the road surface which detect large vehicles & apply the appropriate limit.
SPECS cameras can be linked to the National Vehicle Database, they read the number plate & check it against the database.
First of all, welcome to Trucknet, you will enjoy this site.
Secondly, as with the above replies, you is banged to rights, most cameras now, have some some form of weight sensor fitted. You would be wasting your time arguing.
The only possible argument available, is, if you did not receive your Notice of Intended Prosecution, within 14 days of the offence, the offence then becomes invalidated.
i was caught on the A303 by a gatso for the same thing. i didn’t even bother arguing. i took the minimum penalty instead of risking a higher one. think about the increased risk of taking it to court
I tried that one on my speeding ticket a couple of years ago. The notice of intending prosecution got lost in the post and the first i had was the court summons some 3 months later.
I argued the 28 day notice period and was told it was untrue (they said it could be upto 2 years)
Because of the postal ■■■■ up I was given 4 points instead of 3 and fines and costs of £105 instead of £60
I would just take the fine and points if i was in that situation again. However it is a lot cheaper to stick to the limits
Sniper, you should have a look at the Pepipoo website.
The NIP has to be posted within 14 days of the offence, not get to you within 14 or 28 days. This is to allow for people driving hire cars/trucks, where the NIP has to go to the registered keeper first.
As for the 2 years thing, I don’t know about that.
There is lots of debate and campaigning on www.safespeed.org.uk about scamera’s and the scamerati, and other things driving.
Sorry about the mishap me old matey but if you were speeding then you have to wipe your lips and get on with it…35 in a 30mph…43 in a 40mph or 55 in a 50mph or whatever over the limit you are then you are of course guilty…if you did however take it to court…then you should ask for the printed read out of the calibration for that camera…it may delay the case if mr plod didnt take it to court and it will cost you more as a waste of court time…but…there are many out there who have got off on that technicality…is it worth the risk ? only you can decide that one…but good luck anyway…and next time stick to the limit and avoid any problems in the future…
have a nice day
cornish trucker:
The only possible argument available, is, if you did not receive your Notice of Intended Prosecution, within 14 days of the offence, the offence then becomes invalidated.
Legally, the NIP only has to be sent within 14 days to the last known address of the registered keeper. The driver concerned may or may not receive it within 14 days, it makes no difference.
Best to just accept the £60 and 3 points. Its not worth the hassle going to court. 99% of the time you will end up with a higher fine and more points. Put it down to experience and invest in a good quality radar detector.
welcome to trucknet,now you were speeding and got caught end of story pay the fine take the points and get on with it.your fault no one elses,but if you want to go to court get double points+ double fine and look like a pratt then carry on your choice.
There’s also one of those cameras on the A141 heading NE from the A14, past Huntingdon. How did I find that out…? Well, lets say ‘it was the hard way’
At the time I was with URTU and they would’ve paid the fine which was a suprise to me, although it didn’t go that far.
I sent Cambridgeshire Constabulary a letter explaining that the normal ‘punishment’ of points and fine would impact on me much worse than under normal circumstances as I was leaving the UK a couple of days later to work abroad. Without my licence in my hand (if I had sent it away for the points to be added) I couldn’t start the job abroad etc etc. I also offered to pay a larger fine if it was possible (which i knew it wasn’t!!) so long as I didn’t have to send the licence off.
I received a letter back with the first paragraph, all two lines of it, stating that no further action was going to be taken. The second paragraph, however, was about twenty lines long and expalined in detail what ‘a naughty boy’ I was and how they (Cambs Police) were working on reducing accidents etc etc in their area.
Lesson learned - I don’t rush anywhere now, especially for some one elses benefitt!!
Having said all that, I still think the 40mph limit should be raised to 50mph in about 90% of A roads!
Always been a bit worried about travelling that bit between Swindon and Oxford. Loads of cameras, and all on the single cariageway sections. What doesn’t help is trying to keep your own speed down at the legal mark when you have a train of artics stuck up your chuff trying to bully you into speeding up. I seemed to be forever pulling over to let them get ahead, and then watching them disappear into the distance. The cameras did not seem to bother them too much, but perhaps they have travelled that road enough times to know where all the cameras are at night.
the cameras work like a submarines radar equipment, they send out a beam/signal and then the sensors read the amount of bounce sent back, this informs the camera of the size of vehicle that is passing through and the speed the vehicle should be travelling at (of course some 7.5 tonners will also get flashed), your only course of action is to prove that the camera mailfunctioned or was not recording properly or use of your own tachograph records to prove that you were not travelling at above the speed limit at the time the offence occurred.
you could ask for the photographic evidence and check the findings yourself but as you say that you were travelling at that speed it is very unlikely you can find anything to contradict the speeding offence.
