vel boy

I had a similar experience. I got done for doing 108 on the M1 the officer said we clocked you at 113 but we are going to do for 108 (nice I thought not!) I thought I was buggered.

In court I produced a letter from my company (Which I happened to be a director of ;-) ) which basically said I was working on a project that was in the early stages and I had to visit the customers site who were in rural area not served by public transport.

Also I employed two developers who would be out of a job if the project were to fail.

Laid on bit think...

End result 2 week ban; 350 quid fine; no points...Result :-))))

Just have a good story it does work


[Edited by vel boy - 9/3/2002 4:19:31 PM]

MickeyG

Does anyone know the likely outcome of this? I will have to go to court, however does anyone have experience of this? Will I automatically get a ban? How long will this be for? - my brother reckons that a ban would be at least 6 months.

Any advice welcome.

Mike

ice man

In a word mate you are buggered

MRK

Mickey relax, your not buggered, completely.

First do have any other points on your licence?? If not then you'll probably just get a right ticking off and between two weeks and a months ban plus fine, depending on road conditions at the time.

If you have points on your licence, say 6, you will be classed as a 'totter', no thats not 'tosser' If you are a 'totter', your considered a higher risk, and therefore may get 6months :eek

So good luck chapper, and it may be advisable to get a Barrister to represent you, it helps.

M

Paulo P

iTrader: (42)

There seems to be no answer for this question person A can get 3 week ban and person B can get a 6 month ban seems to be down to how the judge feels a mate got caught a few years ago doing that speed and got a 6 month ban and he had a clean license before hand he tried explaining that he needed his license for his job (mechanic) but I think that made it worse he then got sacked Sorry but there is no answer just alot of flaming for driving over 71 mph on here

Mad4it

I was clocked, and prosecuted for 102 in a 70, and got off with 6 points and 350 fine.

I was not banned, becuase I said the following -

I have my own business, and require the car for work as an essential part of the job.

If I cannot get, or use the car for work, then I will forced to lay off my staff. It is because of this last point, why the court did not ban me.

I would recommend, pleading that you need the car for work, and that it was a small oversight for speeding, which does not normally happen.

I would guess that you will be banned for 2 - 4weeks, and this would be pretty reasonable, but if you pile in the sympathy, you might be lucky

The Crushinator

uktony

I fear it may be bad news Mike

It might make a difference where it happened. I got caught in Surrey doing 101 on the A3. Went to court and pleaded that I needed the car for work, visit the kids and generally live a life.

The magistrates said they were sympathetic and then banned me for 3 weeks and hit me for £500 Then my g/f hit me

Tony

Scooby Snacks

You will probably get a months ban and a heavy fine.
Good luck though!!

MattW

Guy at work just got 28 days + £260 with no points. That was 100+ on a motorway.

Does n't need car for work, under 25 years old etc etc. Magistrate must have got laid that morning!!!

MickeyG

Thanks for the advice. For info I was stopped by the police. They were very polite and even appeared sympathetic, however they were still going to "do" me.

The officer said at the time that in all other respects my driving was fine and the road conditions were good. I also have a completely clean license, this is my first offence in over 16 years of driving.

Looks like the best I can hope for is a short ban or a bucket full of points.

Cheers for the advice.

Mike

Dirty_Den

Mickey -

Put a suit on and be prepared to eat a lot of humble pie. Your attitude and the mood of the court are going to be important here.

Good luck,

Den

MarkO

I went to court for doing 102mph on the A34 near Newbury. I didn't want to end up with a licence full of points, so told the judge I didn't need my car (railway station and shops within walking distance).

I got a 21-day ban and a £200 fine. Better, IMO, than ending up with 9 points on my licence (I already had 3) - so just a gatso away from a statutory 6-month 'totting-up' ban - and a huge fine.

Paulo P

iTrader: (42)

MarkO

That fits in with my thinking. I think if you need your license they think its more of a punishment to take it away for a long time A friend of mine just got caught the other week doing 120 on the M1 but the police said they would just do him for 100.6 mph. He is another mechanic though and thinks that the "I need my license for my job" is going to get him off

MrShades

Having been there, and been done for '100 in a 60' (actually doing 130, but didn't catch me until I slowed down, so they went for 'travelling at 100') - single carriageway A-road, 1am, nothing else around, etc. I would suggest the following:

1. Don't wear a suit. I did, and was the only tw@t in court with one on. The assumption is that you've got money and can afford any sort of fine. Smart casual - jeans wouldn't be uncommon. In total, my best Hugo Boss suit has now cost me more in fines than the suit cost....

2. Agree with previous posters - plead that your job depends on it. I had a letter from my employer which stated that my job entails travelling around the country supporting the business and that any ban would be detrimental to the company and possibly risk my position within it. This was mainly BS, but my great boss at the time was keen to help as much as possible and laid it on thick - in this case it helped being a large multinational company with a very recognisable name.

3. Advice from a friend who is a JP was that I should grovel and humiliate myself as much as possible. DON'T GIVE EXCUSES FOR SPEEDING (unless guaranteed to be accepted and get you off - wife in labour, etc.). Just accept that you did it, and are VERY sorry for having to waste the court's time dealing with it, etc. etc.

4. You will probably be banned, but should be able to limit it to something like 4 weeks - as I did, with groveling.

5. You will also get points - they have to give a minimum of 3, but these come off when you get your licence back after the ban.

6. I received - 4 week ban, 250 fine (it was a few years ago, so allow for quite a bit more), and 25 costs.

For info, the normal speeding rules that the Police (strangely) apply are:

Up to 25 over the limit = fixed penalty.
25 to 30 over the limit = officers discretion, fixed penalty or court.
30 over the limit and above = court appearance and probable ban.

Good luck!

Shades

MarkO

That bit about wearing jeans in court is BS.

A friend of mine has a dad who's a Magistrate, and he's said that if people actually bother to turn up to court, looking presentable, they're far more amiable as it shows a respect of the proceedings...

hail-hail

Have a look at my "Court Today" thread. I just got 5 points and £300 fine for 98. The fine is based on your means, the points/ban is up to the magistrates.
Others have done worse i.e 111 got 6 points and £200.

Ensure that you go to court dressed smartly, look as if you are sh1tting yourself (I was, so no acting skills required).

I pleaded guilty, apologised for speeding, and explained that I wasn't used to the speed of the car. I had performed an overtake and didn't realise the speed I was doing (again true).
I also explained that my car is essential for work.

I was given the points and fine and told that I was close to losing my license and should be careful in future, I thanked them for thier time an toddled out with my tail between my legs.

Not a particulary pleasant experience, and one I hope to avoid in the future.

MrShades

Well, the three lads up before me were wearing jeans and t-shirt and all were treated very leniently... low fines, reduced costs and all paid in instalments.

On the day in question, there were 8 motoring cases being heard together - I was in a suit, the three lads before me that I saw go through were in jeans/tshirts, there was one girl and three more lads after me - all dressed pretty casually. I don't know how the others were treated, but I KNOW that I came off worse than the jeans/tshirt brigade.

Wear a suit, but make sure your cheque book is inside the jacket pocket! Dress casually, but still smart, and I believe you'll get off lighter.

I'd never wear a suit to court again, for a motoring offence.

Shades

hail-hail

I had to fill out a means form describing what I earned, paid out every month etc. Fines are based heavily on your ability to pay.
Looking smart shows respect to the court, which is exactly what they want to see.

I can only imagine they will be harsh if you fill out a form saying you earn 100K and turn up in Jeans and an t-shirt.

There was a guy before me who got done with no License, no insurance yadda yadda.....
He got 8 points and £75 fine, he earned £120 a week working in a cafe and supported him and his family on this.
In this case £75 seems reasonable, I earn loads more hence the £300 fine.

bashful

Offhand, does the time of day make much difference?

hail-hail

I went to court at 2pm and it didn't seem to make much difference

You'll find more cameras and cops about during the school start and finish times, which is exactly what I want to see.

Ian E

iTrader: (1)

I would say its by no means definite that you will get banned. I got caught on the bike doing 98 in a 60 (i.e. 38 over the limit) and didn't get banned I did get 6 points and a £555 fine though.

Do you have legal cover with your insurance? This may cover you for a Solicitor to represent you in Court. Mine covered it which saved me £400

Good Luck,

Cheers,

Ian.