105mph on motorway - consequences?

[TheCat77]

About a month ago i was pulled over by the police for speeding. I was clocked by a hand held radar gun at 105mph - police were in a static position in front of me. They pulled onto motorway behind me, caught up, and gave me a bit of a lecture etc. Apparently i'm going to be reported for travelling in excess of the speed limit as it was a tad too high for them to simply use discretion and just send me on my way with a flea in my ear. They did however mention that the road was clear, conditions/visibility were good, that I was in an immaculately maintained and modern car - blah blah blah.

I asked the copper what he thought the likely outcome could be and he said I would probably be invited to plead guilty to the magistrate by post - if I did this a ban would be impossible and I would likely face some points on my licence and a fine. My licence is currently clean and I'd prefer it to stay that way though.....

Can anyone say how many points I might get and how much the fine would be? My licence is absolutely critical for my job and I'd do almost anything to avoid a ban. Does anyone have any advice for "tactics" I can use to contest it? Something about calibration for the speed gun or something? And what about other technicalities like them having to write to me by a certain date? Its been a month already and I havn't heard anything yet. Would it be best to hire a solicitor who can "speak the magistrates language" and try to get off on some sort of technicality a la premiership footballer??!!

Any info much appreciated, thanks.

[LizB99]

My husband was caught doing 90 pmh down an A road duel carriageway. The police didn't pull him over, so the first he was aware of anything was about 3 weeks later, when a summons fell through the door. He went onto the website to see the pictures they'd taken, and like you, the day was good, with no other traffic for as far as you could see. The car was in perfect condition, and as it has a large engine, was very capable of doing that speed. (All be it 20mph over the limit!!)
He took advice, and pleaded guilty by post. Like you, he'd also been caught with a hand held gun, but was told it was unlikely he would get anywhere contesting that. He had the normal �60 fine and three points put on his previously clean license.
As yours is over the 100mph, it could well be more.

[ianess]

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but in this area 100mph results in a hefty fine and an automatic ban [length of ban varies]. Where you live you may if you're helluva lucky get off with a �60 fine and 3 penalty points. It's most unlikely that they'll just let the matter drop so I'm afraid your best bet is to wait and see.

[JudgeJ]

Firstly, if you had been travelling at a lower speed (but still breaking the speed limit) it is unlikely that the police would have simply given you a “ticking off”. What they may have done is invited you to accept a fixed penalty of �60 and three penalty points.

However, because of your high speed they believe that the fixed penalty is not appropriate and have asked for a summons to be issued, inviting you to attend court. With the summons you will be asked to complete a means form (to help determine the fine) and also be asked to send your driving licence (including the paper part if you have a new style photographic licence).

You need not attend in person if you intend to plead guilty, but I believe you would be better off to do so. A solicitor would certainly help put across any points you may wish to make, but you will not be entitled to legal aid.

Unless you have any evidence to substantiate the fact that the equipment used was faulty, or was operated incorrectly, you would be unlikely to succeed in a claim that the measurement was inaccurate

The magistrates’ guidelines for speeds in excess of 100mph are a fine of approximately one week’s net income plus either 6 points or a ban of up to 56 days. The fine will be reduced by approximately one third if you plead guilty at the first opportunity. They are not bound by these guidelines but will need good reason to depart from them. Whether they do and to what extent depends on a number of issues.

Lastly, the CPS has six months in which to issue you with a summons.