Most times when you receive a speeding ticket or are pulled over for breaking the speed limit, you have to admit it’s a fair cop. But, if you really think your ticket is unfair you can contest it. Here’s how.
A speeding fine is always unpleasant, but that doesn’t automatically mean you should contest it.
If you are going to fight the fine you need to have a very good argument, and be pretty confident you’ll win, because if you contest the ticket and lose you could see your fine rocket.
When to contest a speeding ticket
Crucially. less than 1% of speeding tickets are contested, and only around half of those go in the favour of the driver.
New rules mean more drivers face £2,500 speeding fines
If you receive a speeding fine from a speed camera the registered driver can respond to the Notice of Intended Prosecution (NIP) by claiming that they can’t remember who was driving the car when the speeding occurred.
But, this is a risky option as, if the magistrates don’t believe you, they can fine the owner of the car £1,000 for failing to identify the culprit and issue a driving ban.
In order to overturn a speeding fine you need to prove one of the following:
- You weren’t speeding
- You weren’t driving when the speeding took place
- There was no proper notice of the speed limit
- The vehicle caught speeding wasn’t yours
- Your car had been stolen
How to contest a ticket
First of all, you need to reply to your NIP with either a not guilty plea or guilty with mitigating circumstances.
If you aren’t facing a driving ban, then you can plead guilty with mitigating circumstances. You’ll need to outline why you were speeding and why you should be granted leniency. This will then be presented at court and it will be up to the magistrates to decide if you deserve a lighter punishment.
Anyone wanting to plead not guilty will need to respond to the NIP with a not guilty plea then attend a speeding charge hearing to enter your plea again. You’ll then be asked if you have any witnesses you wish to call and a trial date will be set.
At this point, you’ll need to decide whether you want to appoint a solicitor or represent yourself. If you choose to go it alone make sure you fully understand the law and have a solid argument for why you are not guilty.
Magistrates do not appreciate having their time wasted and you could find yourself facing an even more hefty fine if they think you are messing them around.
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Before your trial, you can request to see the police and prosecutor’s evidence. Go through this to see if it supports your argument – possibly that your car was misidentified, or you weren’t driving, or you think the speed was recorded incorrectly.
Once your case comes to trial it is down to the prosecution to prove that you were driving the car when the speeding offence occurred and that you were travelling faster than the legal limit on that stretch of road.
The verdict
If the magistrates side with you and find you not guilty then no further action will be taken.
However, if you are found guilty you can be fined up to £1,000 (£2,500 if the offence occurred on a motorway), receive between three and six penalty points and you may be disqualified from driving if you were more than 30mph over the speed limit.