KNOW YOUR RIGHTS Q
I was caught speeding at 101mph by a fixed camera on a smart motorway when there was no variable speed limit in place.
I shall give you some examples:
A pub car park would almost certainly be a public place even though privately owned. But outside of licencing hours if the owner restricted access perhaps by putting up a chain, it might become private property. But if I take for example a bank car park, that would almost certainly be private land outside of opening hours unless there is a public cash point attached to the bank in which case that might make the land public.
A field for example would almost certainly be a private place. Unless that field is being used for a festival in which case it might become public because the general members of the public are utilising access.
A Golf Club car park may well be considered private if it is restricted for members only. But if attached to the Golf Club there is a restaurant that is open to the public then it would become a public place.
So, as you can see there are a number of factors to take
into account, and everything is always dependent on its own facts.
The second aspect is whether you were driving or not. What have you been charged with?
If it’s driving with excess alcohol, then you have another line of defence on the basis that you were not driving. However, if you have been charged with being drunk whilst in charge of your vehicle then that is a different story. It is an offence simply to be drunk whilst in charge of a car. You were drunk, and you were in charge of the car. There is not much to deny there. However, it is a defence to being drunk in charge if you can show there’s no likelihood of you driving whilst being above the prescribed limit. So, if that is the charge we would defend it on that basis.
If you can come back to let me and let me know about those points, then I can advise further.
PHTM OCTOBER 2022
Please can you explain what is likely to happen following this. I have sent off the Intention to Prosecute form saying I was the driver. The only argument I have is that the camera in question was only two months away from calibration and therefore has incorrectly clocked my speed and argue I was travelling less than 100mph. The offence also happened on a dry quiet night with minimal traffic. I have been driving for ten years and I am a safe driver, having no accidents and work in a hospital with no criminal convictions.
A
Driving at 101mph in a 70mph speed limit is above the threshold for a course or even a fixed penalty of three points. So after you have nominated yourself, you should receive
a letter explaining that it is too fast a speed for this and you will be summonsed to court. In two to three months’ time you will receive a ‘Single Justice Procedure Notice’ asking you to plead guilty or not guilty.
At that point, you could check the evidence against you and if you don’t believe that the calibration is adequate, enter a not guilty plea and challenge it. But – on the face of it, two months within calibration is still within time, so I wouldn’t challenge it on that basis.
This offence places you at risk of six penalty points or a discretionary disqualification of up to fifty-six days together with financial penalties. So, if you agree in the first instance, we will respond to the Single Justice Procedure Notice on your behalf formally entering your guilty plea, requesting that the matter is dealt with in your absence with penalty points only.
However, if that fails and the court insists on seeing you, we will instruct a barrister to represent you, fully prepare you both for the proceedings and arrange for you to meet at court. We will present mitigation asking the court to impose points.
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