Avoiding Points and Fines on your Driving Licence: Roadside Stop by Police

Police vehicles can record your driving speed from in front of your vehicle and behind, and they can use video recording cameras to do this. Again, they will be anxious not to be the inadvertent cause of a road collision should you accidentally stop suddenly, so you might find that it's easier for them to catch you speeding late at night on an empty motorway
 

You unfortunately cannot rely on always seeing street lighting alongside the road to indicate that an area is a 30mph area. The 30mph speed restriction can be imposed on unlit roads i.e. some country roads might be restricted. Councils and Local Authorities can now impose speed restrictions pretty much wherever they want, because the conditions for 30mph and 40mph are advisory. However, there are sometimes flaws in the traffic order and a good solicitor might be able to get you off the charge on a technicality relating to this. If speed signs, for example, are obscured by plants and trees, or if at the beginning of a restricted area there is no proper signs placed on both sides of the road then this might be sufficient to get you off, but you might be advised to try to prove this with photos. Always carry a digital camera in your vehicle for situations such as this.
 

A few tips if stopped by traffic police
There are around 10% less police patrols around on the roads nowadays compared to ten or so years ago. It's speed cameras that are more likely to do the damage nowadays. Whatever you do, don’t argue with a policeman who stops you in your car, but equally, you must not simply admit the offence to him, even if you clearly committed it. Any admission, however insignificant it may seem, and you could have just thrown away any defence you may have had. Just state that your solicitor advises that you should always say nothing until he is with you. Your aim is to stop the charge at notification stage.

The notification must be sent to you within 14 days from the time of the incident occurring. It will normally ask you to state the name of the driver at the time of the alleged incident. Whatever you do, do not lie on the form and tell them it was your wife/husband, or someone completely different.  Some cameras are very advanced and can record good quality pictures of the driver of a vehicle and you could risk BOTH being prosecuted for the very serious offence of Perverting the Course of Justice, which normally carries a prison sentence, which you are sure to want to avoid. Don’t do this, however tempting it may be.

The letter you write at first, when you initially get the police notification will be important. Talk to your solicitor at first and find out what defence, if any, you may have and always include this in your first reply. This alone may be sufficient to get you a simple warning rather than facing a full prosecution, especially if you have no points (or very few points) on your licence, and you are polite and sensible in your submission. You should try everything you can to get a basic caution at this early stage. Always do your research after the incident.

This site gives information, advice, help, hints, tips about how to get rid of points from your driving licence, or how to avoid points on your driving license or how to stop getting points on your licence/license/lisence. 3 points on your licence can have a big effect on your life, so we aim to show you the best way to avoid getting the points, especially those you received as a result of speed cameras or a roadside speeding ticket from a police officer. Speeding tickets or speed cameras can give you speeding points or penalty points which could lose your licence. Let us help you to avoid you losing your licence and getting the points. Going to court because of a speeding ticket or speeding fine or any other kind of traffic offence, can mean a driving ban, which you will need to avoid. You must avoid a driving ban and get off a speeding fine, as this is very serious. Get advice on the court process and how to defend yourself at court and avoid getting a ban or points on your licence.

Your defence, even if you think you may be guilty:
You should try to find something wrong with the police officer's procedure, or the speed camera functionality, or with the speed restriction signage (wrongly positioned, obstructed, no repeated frequently enough or at the correct distance).  Take photographs of the road and its surroundings. There might be something seriously wrong with the traffic orders, which you can find from the Local Authority or Highways Agency. Such cases are pretty common. You will need a very specialised solicitor in order to find the documents and use a defence such as this. Sometimes Magistrates themselves have some level of discretion, and a good letter can often do wonders.