Court Summons For Speeding: What Are Your Next Steps?

Receiving a Court Summons for a speeding offence can be understandably daunting, especially if this is your first experience of this nature. We receive daily telephone calls from people in the same situation who are concerned about the potential impact of their employment, finances and personal circumstances. Whilst finding yourself in this situation can be overwhelming, we assist our clients with circumstances like this on a frequent basis and we are well versed in how to tailor out advice and assistance to best suit you. The below article will outline the potential next steps if you have received a Court Summons in relation to a speeding matter.

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Talk to Caddick Davies Solicitors today

Use our contact page to send us a message or call us on 0333 443 2366 for a friendly chat.

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How You Were Caught speeding?

The manner in which your speeding offence was detected can often determine the type of notice you receive through the post. There are a number of ways a speeding offence can be detected such as:

Speed Cameras

Fixed Cameras; this is generally the most common method of detection and you will have likely seen stationary speed camera situation on a number of roads. These cameras will photograph vehicles that exceed the designated speed limit.

Mobile Speed Cameras; these cameras work in the same manner as a fixed speed camera, with the only difference being that these cameras can be moved to different locations.

Average Speed Cameras; these cameras with calculate a vehicle average speed between two fixed points. This will determine the alleged speed the motorist was travelling at.
SpeedCurb Cameras; these cameras operate by measuring how long a vehicle takes to cross designated sensors in the road. This will determine the alleged speed the motorist was travelling at.

Laser Guns

This method of detected involves the use of a laser beam to measure a vehicle’s speed. This equipment can measure a vehicle up to 1km away, but generally operates on a distance of 50 – 400 meters. These devices are operated by police officers, who are trained to operate it accurately.

Police Officers

This method is generally conducted as a ‘follow check’, where a police officer will use their vehicles speedometer to reaffirm their position that a driver is committing a speeding offence and to determine the alleged speed the motorist was travelling at.

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Talk to Caddick Davies Solicitors today

Use our contact page to send us a message or call us on 0333 443 2366 for a friendly chat.

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What happens after I am caught speeding?

If your alleged speeding matter has been detected by way of a fixed camera, mobile speed camera, average speed camera or a speed curb camera; it is very unlikely you will be pulled over by a police officer. Instead, you will likely have received a Notice of Intended Prosecution or Section 172 Notice. A Section 172 Notice should be sent within 14 days of the alleged offence. This notice is a formal request for you to identify the driver of the vehicle at the time of the alleged offence, whether that is yourself or a third party. This notice will contain details of the alleged offence, such as the road the offence was committed on and the date/time. You will need to respond to this notice within 28 days, providing the relevant information. It is important that this deadline is not missed and you do respond to the notice, as failure to do so can result in a further charge of ‘fail to ID’ being raised. This offence carries a sentence of a six penalty point endorsement and a financial penalty, which can often be greater than the initial offence.

If your alleged speeding matter has been detected by a police officer, by conducting a follow check or by a laser gun, you may be pulled over immediately by attending officers. After being stopped by police, the manner in which they proceed will be dependent on varying factors, such as how much you had exceeded the speed limit. Attending officers will either provide you with a verbal warning or notify you of their intent to prosecute and you will receive a further notice in the post outlining next steps. If you are pulled over and notified of their intent to prosecute then you will not receive a Section 172 Notice. If you are not pulled over, then you will be sent a Section 172 Notice, as referred previously.

After you have returned your response to the Section 172 Notice, you will then receive one of the following notices:

• A Conditional Offer of Fixed Penalty
  This is an offer of a fixed penalty made to you for the offence that has been allegedly committed. For example; you may be offered a three penalty point endorsement and a £100 fine for traveling at 28mph in 20mph zone. You have the option to either accept this offer or reject it. If you accept the offer, you must pay the financial penalty and send the requested details. After this has been received the penalty points will be endorsed on your licence and the matter will conclude. If you reject the offer or ignore the notice, you will then receive a Single Justice Procedure Notice in due course.
• An offer of attending a speed awareness course
  This is an offer to take a speed awareness course, as an alternative to a penalty point endorsement. If you accept this offer and complete the relevant course, the matter will conclude without further action. It is important to note that you can only attend one speed awareness course every three years. You are more likely to be offered a speed awareness course if this is your first offence in the last three years and you were only caught driving 10% plus 2mph over the speed limit, but below 10% plus 9mph. For example; exceeding a 20mph speed limit by travelling between 25mph and 32mph.
• A letter advising you that you need to attend Court/Court Summons
  This will either be a notice informing you a Court hearing will be listed in due course or a Court Summons to attend a hearing with details of the same. This is most common with speeding matters where the offender has travelled grossly in excess of the limit. For example; travelling in excess 101mph in a 70mph zone.
• Single Justice Procedure Notice
  This notice is a letter informing you that a case has been brought against you and providing you with information of the same. This notice with provide you with three options:

1. Pleading Not Guilty: If you choose this option, a not guilty plea to the alleged offence will be entered and a trial hearing will be listed for you to present your argument. If you wish to dispute the offence you have been charged with and believe you are not guilty, this would be the relevant option to select.
2. Pleading Guilty and not attending Court: If you choose this option, a guilty plea will be entered and you sentence will be decided in a closed Court (SJPN Court) without you attendance. You will then receive details of your sentence by post. It is important to note that this option provides you with very limited input, therefore, if you are at risk of a driving disqualification and want to avoid this, it may not be the appropriate option.
3. Pleading Guilty and attending Court: If you choose this option, a guilty plea will be entered and a sentencing hearing will be listed accordingly. You will receive a Court Summons through the post, informing you of the time, date and location of your hearing. If you select this option you will need to attend Court on the designated time. Failure to do so, could result in you being sentenced in your absence.

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Talk to Caddick Davies Solicitors today

Use our contact page to send us a message or call us on 0333 443 2366 for a friendly chat.

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Do I need to attend Court for a speeding matter?

The majority of speeding matters will be dealt with by way of a conditional offer of penalty notice or without the requirement to attend Court. If you wish to contest you speeding matter, then you will need to attend Court to do so. This is to allow you the opportunity to attend a trial hearing in relation to your matter and present your argument to the Court for consideration. Your matter may automatically be sent to a Court hearing if you have exceeded the speed limit excessively or if you are at risk of a disqualification under totting up procedures. If you are looking to advance a special reasons argument or exceptional hardship argument for your matter, you will need to attend Court to present the argument.

What potential defences are available for a speeding matter?

There are a range of defences available for speeding matters, however, these are dependent on the circumstances of the incident and how the speed was detected. If you are looking for contest a speeding matter, we would always recommend obtaining legal advice to determine if you have reasonable grounds of doing so. A Solicitor will also be able to advise you of any potential defences, you may not be aware of. Examples of defences are, but not limited to:

• You were not speeding
• You were not the vehicle detected by the speeding device
• You were driving the vehicle at the time of the alleged offence
• The Notice of Intended Prosecution (Section 172 Notice) was served out of time
• The speed detection device was not calibrated, approved or operated correctly at the time you speed was detected.

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Talk to Caddick Davies Solicitors today

Use our contact page to send us a message or call us on 0333 443 2366 for a friendly chat.

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What can I do at my Court hearing, if I am at risk of a disqualification for ‘totting up’?

If you are attending Court as a result of being at risk of driving disqualification under ‘ totting up procedures’ (accumulating 12 or more penalty points), you would most likely be looking to present an Exceptional Hardship Argument. You can run an Exceptional Hardship argument on a range of grounds, dependant on how a driving disqualification would affect your life. A successful application of exceptional hardship will result in you having 12 or more points endorsed on your license, without receiving a driving disqualification. It is important to note you can only advance exceptional hardship on the same grounds once every three years. At the point of sentencing, you for you most recent offence, the Court will consider whether or not there are sufficient grounds to reduce or avoid a totting up disqualification. The Court will take into consideration factors which amount to hardship being caused. The Court must be satisfied that these factors amount to more than just an inconvenience  and that the hardship the person would be subject to is exceptional in nature.

A driving disqualification will inevitably cause some nature of hardship for the person disqualified and their immediate family, therefore the exceptional nature of the hardship faced must be demonstrated to the court sufficiently.

However, the court will not take into consideration the following, pursuant to Section 35(4) of the Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988.

• Any circumstances that are alleged to make the offence (or any of the offences whose penalty points are to be taken into account) not serious,
• Hardship, other an exceptional hardship
• Any circumstances which, within the three years immediately preceding the conviction, have been taken into account to reduce or avoid a totting up disqualification.

For more information on what grounds an Exceptional Hardship Argument can be run on, please see our article ‘Understanding Exceptional Hardship’.

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Talk to Caddick Davies Solicitors today

Use our contact page to send us a message or call us on 0333 443 2366 for a friendly chat.

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Do I need a solicitor to attend Court for a Speeding Offence?

If you have received a Court Summons in relation to a speeding matter and plan to contest the offence or feel there is some complexity you need help with, we would recommend contacting a specialist solicitor, who will be able to offer you guidance on whether you would benefit from legal representation. If you are at risk of a driving disqualification or looking to advance an Exceptional Hardship Argument; we would also generally recommend engaging a solicitor to represent you. This will provide you with the best possible chances of defending the charge and/or avoiding a driving disqualification.

If you have been charged with speeding and are unsure on your next steps, please telephone our office and one of our motoring specialists will be able to provide you with guidance at [email protected] or on 03301756851.

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Neil Davies

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I am a criminal lawyer with over 25 years of experience and specialising in the defence of Road Traffic (driving) prosecutions and the founder and Senior Partner of Caddick Davies Solicitors.

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