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speeding
5 Answers
After a threat of a speeding fine by a mobile camera i asked for a photo which i received.This shows the back of my van taken from the other side of the road.When i wrote back asking how they calculated my speed,because i was going away from them,i got a terse letter saying this info amounted to mitigation and pay up or go to court.
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For more on marking an answer as the "Best Answer", please visit our FAQ.Assuming you have been offered a fixed penalty, your options are clear cut.
You can either:
Accept that you were speeding and pay the fixed penalty of �60 and have three points added to your licence.
Or
You can ask for a court hearing and either plead guilty and put forward any mitigation you wish to raise or plead not guilty and face a trial.
The fixed penalty office has no discretion and will not hear anything from you.
If you go to court, unless you are found not guilty at trial, you face a higher fine, more points (or possibly a disqualification) and prosecution cots.
It�s plain and simple.
You can either:
Accept that you were speeding and pay the fixed penalty of �60 and have three points added to your licence.
Or
You can ask for a court hearing and either plead guilty and put forward any mitigation you wish to raise or plead not guilty and face a trial.
The fixed penalty office has no discretion and will not hear anything from you.
If you go to court, unless you are found not guilty at trial, you face a higher fine, more points (or possibly a disqualification) and prosecution cots.
It�s plain and simple.
-- answer removed --
What you say is not quite right, Steve.
If you plead your innocence and the prosecution are unable to produce sufficient evidence to prove your guilt beyond reasonable doubt (quite a heavy burden), then you will be acquitted. In short, the good old British justice in which you seem to have no confidence, is still likely to prevail.
The fixed penalty system is designed to allow those that are guilty to avoid court action (and all the extra cost that entails, some of which will be borne by the defendant if convicted). It allows a considerably reduced penalty to be accepted than would be applied if a court hearing with guilty plea were held.
There is a considerable difference between pleading innocence and actually being innocent. There is therefore no discount for pleading innocence, only a discount for accepting guilt. There is, however, 100% discount for being innocent.
I�m only a simple soul and I don�t really know how else it could operate, but maybe you know differently.
If you plead your innocence and the prosecution are unable to produce sufficient evidence to prove your guilt beyond reasonable doubt (quite a heavy burden), then you will be acquitted. In short, the good old British justice in which you seem to have no confidence, is still likely to prevail.
The fixed penalty system is designed to allow those that are guilty to avoid court action (and all the extra cost that entails, some of which will be borne by the defendant if convicted). It allows a considerably reduced penalty to be accepted than would be applied if a court hearing with guilty plea were held.
There is a considerable difference between pleading innocence and actually being innocent. There is therefore no discount for pleading innocence, only a discount for accepting guilt. There is, however, 100% discount for being innocent.
I�m only a simple soul and I don�t really know how else it could operate, but maybe you know differently.