Speeding Offences
The offence of speeding
is outlined in Section 89 Road Traffic
Regulations Act 1984.
In essence, the prosecution
have to prove that a person drove a motor
vehicle on a road at a speed exceeding
the limit.
People often get confused
about the manner in which a speed limit
is imposed.
Quite often a defendant will
raise the issue that there were no signs
on the road indicating a restricted speed
limit.
Section 81 of the same
act indicates that a road is limited to
30 mph limit (even when there are not
signs in place) when there is in place
a system of street lighting furnished
by means of lamps placed not more that
200 yards apart. This means that if you
are driving on a road where there are
no specific speed limit signs and there
is a system of street lighting in place
and street lamps are no more than 200
yards apart, the road is automatically
restricted and the speed limit is 30 mph.
Therefore, if you get a Notice of Intended
Prosecution warning you that you are going
to be prosecuted for exceeding the speed
limit and you believe there were
no specific signs in place then you need
to check whether or not there was a system
of street lighting in place. If so, the
limit is lawful.
If there is no system
of street lighting in place then the road
can only be restricted to a particular
limit by specific signs. The requirements
for speed restriction signs are set out
in the Traffic Signs Regulations and General
Directions 2002.
The traffic signs must
comply with those directions in terms
of the visibility, size, shape and colour.
They must also be positioned at regular
intervals throughout the speed limit and
within set distances of junctions.
If the signs do not comply with these
directions then the speed limit is not
lawful and cannot be enforced.
Sentences
Speeding carries 3
to 6 penalty points and if it is a particularly
high speed then the Court can consider
imposing a discretionary ban under Section
34 of the Road Traffic Offenders Act.
Normally any discretionary
ban imposed by the Magistrates will be
up to a maximum of 56 days but Section
34, Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988 states
the period of any discretionary disqualification
can be for whatever period the Magistrates
feel is appropriate.
Discretionary disqualifications are
normally used as a short sharp shock.
Defences
Speeding allegations
can be defended on the basis that it was
not you driving at the time of the alleged
offence or on the basis that the evidence
put forward by the Prosecution is unreliable.
In theory, a speeding offence could also
be defended on the basis that you were
not driving on a public road at the time
of the alleged offence or that you were
not driving a motor vehicle.
These are all technical
defences and if you have any questions
in relation to the way in which these
defences can be raised then please ask
us.
The Prosecution have
to prove the allegation against you beyond
reasonable doubt. In order to defend this
allegation you have to cast a doubt.
One of the most common ways
of defending speeding allegations is by
showing that the speed detection
device has not been used in accordance
with the ACPO codes of practice. (Association
of Chief Police Officers)
In order for the Prosecution
to rely on the evidence from a speed detection
device, they have to show that the device
was being used in accordance with
Home
Office Approval. The Home Office Approval
involves the device being tested by ACPO
TET.
ACPO TET then set down
the criteria for use. If the device is
not used in accordance with that criteria
then it is not being used in accordance
with the Home Office Approval and the
evidence must be treated as unreliable.
Finally
It is important to note that a person
cannot be convicted of a speeding offence
on the uncorroborated opinion evidence
of a Police Officer. The procedure required
is that a Police Officer forms the opinion
that a vehicle is speeding and then uses
a device to corroborate his opinion. The devices
commonly used include hand held laser
guns, VASCAR device (which measures distance
and time) located in a Police vehicle
that effectively conducts a follow check.
A calibrated speedometer can be used again
by means of using a follow check. A further
method of detecting speed can be the GATSO
camera, which is a static box camera,
located at the side of the road, which
operates on the basis of a radar that
measures distance and time.
All these devices are
subject to stringent calibration requirements
and have to be used in accordance with
Home Office approval for the evidence
obtained from them to be treated as reliable.
