If you have received a speeding fine there are numerous things you can do to defend yourself against the police force and there's a high possibility, dependent on where you are in the process, to fight and even reverse the alleged offence against you.
What I aim to do is outline the methods available to you at each bit of the process and tell you how to protect against it beginning with even before you even get a ticket.
Before being pulled over.
The most straightforward way to fight your fine is to not get a ticket in the 1st place. You can achieve this with a radar detector device. These things will stop a fine before it has even occurred. The device is downloaded with the position of every camera and blackspot known and will also alert you to mobile vans etc. It'll then warn you when you are close, with live updates when using the "connected" version. Connected means the updates to your radar detector are done in real time through a sim card so you will never need to fret about a new camera catching you out.
Being pulled over.
This could well be be one of the critical points when receiving a fine whether you get it reversed or not. The police are trained to say particular things to get you to confess you are guilty. If you are mindful of their process and what to say back then this may well stop a fine taking place right there and then. It's a bit of a catch 22 though, there has to be some forward thinking on your part because if you do not know what to point out beforehand then to stop a ticket at this point will be too late. It's easy to get the info you want from my website
Right after the event (both fixed speed camera and being pulled over)
Ok so you will have some time to attempt to work out the next move. When the section 172 arrives in the post you have 28 days to appeal a claim. Now depending on whether you received a FPN (Fixed Penalty Notice) straight after receiving your section 172 or not will decide what road you would like to travel down. A fixed penalty speeding fineis kind of considered guilty before proven innocent as there will usually be some kind of photographic proof and it's your decision to turn that around. This is done sometimes by not going to court but using template letters to appeal the decision. If this does not work you may either decide to accept the fine in the 28 days and get the 3 points or prepare yourself to apply to the courts.
Going to Court
There is much to be said for going to court if you've a strong enough legal case, starting from having your fine reduced and being utterly over turned and not paying any money. There are 3 tactics I know of to prime yourself for this scenario. One is to do it yourself taking proof of another court case that is similar to yours where the person has won and use that as a precedent. Another way is to put a legal case together as a motoring lawyer would and represent yourself. a little known ebook on my website should be able to help you in putting up a good legal defence. You can also use an honest to goodness motoring lawyer which we all know does work as we see high-profile cases in the news. This can be very costly particularly if you lose, though there should be a free consultation option so they can gauge what your possibilities are.
When arriving at a decision keep in mind that it isn't just 3 points and a fine, that fine is considered for the next 5 years with the insurance firms, so at last they will get much additional money from you, not to mention moving closer to that 12 point ban.
What I aim to do is outline the methods available to you at each bit of the process and tell you how to protect against it beginning with even before you even get a ticket.
Before being pulled over.
The most straightforward way to fight your fine is to not get a ticket in the 1st place. You can achieve this with a radar detector device. These things will stop a fine before it has even occurred. The device is downloaded with the position of every camera and blackspot known and will also alert you to mobile vans etc. It'll then warn you when you are close, with live updates when using the "connected" version. Connected means the updates to your radar detector are done in real time through a sim card so you will never need to fret about a new camera catching you out.
Being pulled over.
This could well be be one of the critical points when receiving a fine whether you get it reversed or not. The police are trained to say particular things to get you to confess you are guilty. If you are mindful of their process and what to say back then this may well stop a fine taking place right there and then. It's a bit of a catch 22 though, there has to be some forward thinking on your part because if you do not know what to point out beforehand then to stop a ticket at this point will be too late. It's easy to get the info you want from my website
Right after the event (both fixed speed camera and being pulled over)
Ok so you will have some time to attempt to work out the next move. When the section 172 arrives in the post you have 28 days to appeal a claim. Now depending on whether you received a FPN (Fixed Penalty Notice) straight after receiving your section 172 or not will decide what road you would like to travel down. A fixed penalty speeding fineis kind of considered guilty before proven innocent as there will usually be some kind of photographic proof and it's your decision to turn that around. This is done sometimes by not going to court but using template letters to appeal the decision. If this does not work you may either decide to accept the fine in the 28 days and get the 3 points or prepare yourself to apply to the courts.
Going to Court
There is much to be said for going to court if you've a strong enough legal case, starting from having your fine reduced and being utterly over turned and not paying any money. There are 3 tactics I know of to prime yourself for this scenario. One is to do it yourself taking proof of another court case that is similar to yours where the person has won and use that as a precedent. Another way is to put a legal case together as a motoring lawyer would and represent yourself. a little known ebook on my website should be able to help you in putting up a good legal defence. You can also use an honest to goodness motoring lawyer which we all know does work as we see high-profile cases in the news. This can be very costly particularly if you lose, though there should be a free consultation option so they can gauge what your possibilities are.
When arriving at a decision keep in mind that it isn't just 3 points and a fine, that fine is considered for the next 5 years with the insurance firms, so at last they will get much additional money from you, not to mention moving closer to that 12 point ban.
About the Author:
Ben Walsh has experienced first hand the advantages of using legal strategies to prevent 6 points being added to his license, get the data at Speeding Fines UK. Need info on Motoring Lawyers? See our page first.