I know I wasn’t speeding when I got caught – how can I prove it?
Few things are worse than seeing a speed camera flash go off and knowing it’s for you, or arriving home to a ‘notice of intended prosecution for a speeding offence’ in the post.
A lot of the time, you will likely know you were in the wrong and have to accept either a speed awareness course or a fine and penalty points on your licence.
But what if you know you categorically weren’t speeding? Though it’s rare for police equipment to be faulty, or errors to slip through, it can happen. Here are some ways of proving it.
First steps
If you have been caught speeding, you will receive a ‘notice of intended prosecution for a speeding offence’ through the post within 14 days, and the first thing you need to do is return the ‘Section 172 notice’ within 28 days, telling the police who was driving the car. If you don’t do this, you may have to go to court.
After you’ve sent this notice back, you will be sent either a fixed penalty notice (FPN) or a letter telling you to go to court. If the police stop you, they can give you an FPN on the spot or send it through the post.
Once you get the FPN, if you want to prove you weren’t speeding you will need to enter a ‘not guilty’ plea. This will result in you being summoned to a court hearing.
Dashcam footage
Fitting a dashcam to your car is a great idea. Not only can it help settle disputes if you are involved in an incident, but some insurance companies will lower your premiums if you have a dashcam fitted.
Generally, having a dashcam is best for proving you weren’t in the wrong, and that might also apply when it comes to speeding. You will want to ensure your dashcam shows clear images and has GPS to monitor the speed, though.
You also can’t appeal directly to the police, as with all speeding tickets, they have to go to the courts to be appealed.
Has your car been cloned?
In recent years there has been an increase in car cloning. This is where crooks ‘steal’ the identity of your car by cloning the number plates. They then drive around and can pick up fines and tickets – including those for speeding – at your expense.
Usually cloned number plates are used on a matching car – another white Volkswagen Golf, for example – so you’ll need to prove that you weren’t at the place where the ticket was issued at the time. If you suspect your car has been cloned you should report it to the police too.
Get a good solicitor
If you want to go down the route of proving you weren’t speeding, you should be prepared for it to be both time-consuming and expensive. Though you can contest the offence on your own, you should be prepared to thoroughly research the law and be confident to face a magistrate’s court alone.
It’s why it’s often a good idea to consult a solicitor. There are dedicated lawyers that specialise in traffic offences and are best served to help you. But again, be prepared to pay. It is often when drivers risk losing their licence that this route is adopted.
Common reasons to contest speeding fines
There are four main common legal defences for a speeding fine, which can be used to defend yourself. These are
- The notice of intended prosecution had incorrect details about the speeding offence, such as the time and location.
- The alleged motorist caught speeding wasn’t actually driving when the offence happened.
- The equipment and cameras used to measure the speed were faulty, and not correctly calibrated.
- The road signage for speed limits was missing or wrong.
Request a calibration certificate
The police have an obligation to have certificates proving their speed cameras and equipment is correctly calibrated to be able to show motorists were speeding.
If you want to prove you weren’t speeding, you can request a calibration certificate from the police, though they do not have you give you this information immediately. You might be able to access it on the police force’s website, but if not it’s only during a court hearing when the police have an obligation to show you it.
If a calibration certificate was out of date or there is no evidence of a certification, you will be able to use this to help build your case.
Be aware that going to court could end up with a worse result
Even if you think you weren’t speeding, you should be aware that contesting a speeding fine is a challenging process. It’s estimated that less than one per cent of speeding fines are appealing, and of those that are, only around half are successful.
If you have any doubts about your case, then likely it is not worth pursuing. Going to court to contest an offence puts you at risk of further fines, and a judge will not appreciate it if they think their time is being wasted.
By Ted Welford | July 11, 2023