Essex police today confirmed that they are investigating claims that thousands of speeding tickets issued are in fact invalid.

The reason for this is that the correct procedure was not followed invalidating the speeding tickets.

This opens the door for the speeding fines to be overturned and the points removed from the licence. This has proved too late for some motorists. We were contacted by Andy who said "I went to court because I had 9 points on my licence, stupidly I did not get a motoring solicitor to represent me. The magistrates gave me 4 points and disqualified me from driving for 6 months. This meant I lost my job as a delivery driver, this has had a huge effect on my family. It's all very well taking the points off my licence and refunding me the fine but that won't get my job back"

Motoring Solicitors have confirmed that applications could be made for compensation for loss of employment arising from this.

Should the procedure prove to be defective, the police could face a flood of claims from motorists who were convicted by magistrates of speeding since March 2007.

It would not apply to those motorists who were dealt with by post and paid the fine on receiving a Notice of Intended Prosecution by the police. Drivers who went on speed awareness courses would also not be covered.

Donna Veasey, a force spokesman, added: “We are currently looking into whether there is an issue with the Section 20 notices we have served. It should be stressed, even if this does prove to be an issue, it would only affect a proportion of cases where the person went to magistrates’ court since March 2007.”

This comes on the back of 2 other errors we discovered this week relating to thousands of speeding tickets in Dorset and Lancashire.

If you have been affected by this and want to make an application to have the points removed from your licence, speeding fine refunded or compensation apply at info@motoringlawyersonline.com and we will investigate your matter and advise you whether you have a claim.

More common questions we get about speeding fines.

Q - I have received a notice of intended prosecution for speeding, I have 9 points. Should I say it was my wife driving?




A - A speeding fixed penalty will carry 3 points and in this case will lead to a disqualification under the totting up provisions unless a good motoring solicitor can convince the court not to disqualify. If you tell the police someone else was driving and they weren't that's called 'Perverting the course of Justice', that carries a maximum life imprisonment for you and your wife. There are plenty of cases where people have been convicted of pretending someone else was driving and have been sent to prison. Hmmm losing your licence or spending years in prison??? If you are that desperate to avoid a disqualification just take good advice as soon as possible from a motoring solicitor.




Q - I have been summonsed for speeding - the police say I was doing 37 in a 30. I have been back to the area and there are no 30 signs just a 40 later on. Is this a defence?

A - There is no requirement to put speed signs in 30mph limits if there is street lighting and the lamp posts are less than 200 yards apart. In fact it is prohibited to put what is called 'repeater' signs in these zones. Any area that has street lighting and no speed signs is a 30mph - the only exception is motorways.

Q - I have 9 points and have just received a summons, I know I will be disqualified if I get 12 points, it will be hard to get to work without my licence - will the court let me keep my licence?

A - Probably not if you phrase the application like that. The law states that the court must disqualify someone for 6 months if they get 12 points within 3 years, the only way you can argue this is to show it will cause exceptional hardship. Note the word Exceptional, it is assumed that there will be hardship if disqualified - that's the point of the punishment.
You will need to show it will cause exceptional hardship, a well constructed application will often succeed but it has to be well presented. If you can show that it is not realistic to get to work on public transport and that as a result you will have to give up your job then this may be enough provided you also show that it will mean financial difficulties for your family. If your partner can still provide for both of you then it will not be enough. This is an area where many people try to save costs and do it themselves. I have sat through no end of cases that I am sure the magistrates would have allowed the person to keep their licence but it is not presented well and the important points are missed meaning they lose their licence.

In a scene reminiscent of George Orwells 1984 novel Transport for London (TfL) are planning to introduce measures that will prevent people from exceeding the speed limit.

They have launched a technology called Intelligent Speed Adaptation for all their buses. Basically it is a gizmo on board that uses GPS to identify the speed limit on the road you are driving and then limits your speed. Put the pedal to the metal and it brakes. The bus takes over and will not let the driver go any faster than the speed limit.


TfL want to introduce this to cars, initially voluntarily. There are 2 systems, one where you are notified (no doubt by an annoying nagging voice) that you are speeding and 'advised' to slow down and one where you are physically stopped from going any faster. Suggestions that such a system already exists and is called The Mother in Law have been made but we could not possibly comment.

TfL, however, believes ISA has several benefits, including a lower chance of speeding tickets, an associated reduction in CO2 and fuel costs and - 'improved driver style'

I wonder whether this sort of system could be extended? How about Burglars have a chip put in their arm and if they try to enter your house they are physically stopped by an electric shock...... but of course we couldn't do that because it is against human rights.

If you have any questions you can call or email us for a FREE initial advice - visit our website at http://www.motoringlawyersonline.com

I read an interesting survey today that said only 12% of over 2000 people questioned could correctly identify 8 road signs.

Even more staggering was that 67% did not recognise the signal for a zebra crossing and 15% did not know the national speed limit!

This of course has a huge impact on motoring offences and speeding tickets. The government tell us repeatedly that their priority is safer driving and yet no resources are used to ensure drivers are aware of the signals.

We take a test, which in my day consisted of the examiner showing you a couple of signs and if you didn't get them right he would show a few more until you did. After that test there is no further education, no need for a refresher, no adverts, no information sent through with your licence, nothing. We are expected to remember all that we were taught, sometimes over 20 years ago.

Motorists are keen to keep up to date with this knowledge, in the same report 40% of motorists wanted to see more speed signs to help them keep within the speed limit.

If the government is serious about the speed limits being for road safety and not to generate cash then they should do more to make it easy to keep up to date with the law.

If you have any questions you can call or email us for a FREE initial advice - visit our website at http://www.motoringlawyersonline.com

In April 2007 the Government introduced a controversial scheme - the Victim surcharge.

This meant that anyone who was fined in court also had to pay an extra £15 towards a fund for victims.

This was seen by many as an unfair 'tax' - the majority of crimes where there is a direct victim, for example burglary, assault etc are too serious to be dealt with by way of a fine.

Fines are for the less serious offences and as usual motorists fell into this category. So someone appearing in court for driving at 76 on the motorway would also have to pay £15 for the victims fund, someone who broke into an elderly persons home and stole their life savings would be exempt from paying into the victims fund!! Fair? We know where motorists are concerned fair is rarely an appropriate word.

The good news was that motorists who paid a fixed penalty were exempt from this. Until now.

A Ministry of Justice spokesman said: "The surcharge has, to date, been applied only to fines, at a rate of £15. The Government is considering whether to extend the surcharge to certain types of penalty notices and other court disposals."

So it looks like the motorist will be funding the victim surcharge even more!

If you have any questions you can call or email us for a FREE initial advice - visit our website at http://www.motoringlawyersonline.com