Speeding cameras and traffic red lights?

Question

Hope you can help. Husband and I were nearly breaking up. I left home late night as i was really upset, and he was devastated that i left. I agreed to come back to him. He was having a nervous breakdown in the car, and was really worried about me, as it was really late night and i was on my own. So he was speeding to come pick me up, he was crying, and having a panic attack. he passed 3 cameras and 4 red traffic lights. will his licence be banned? how long for? do police ever let you off if you tell them the reason he was speeding? He is a very good driver, and is always always careful. It was just that date he did this. we both made up, but we're both worried about his driving licence. any tips advice part from not to speed again? what can we do? how long does it take for the letter to come to our house saying he cant drive anymore? we're both really worried. i asked him did you see cameras flash, he said he is pretty sure it did, but not 100% as he was in so much tears

Answer 1

With regards to the speed cameras, yes he will receive notifications totalling 3 points and £60 per offence (providing they were live at the time). With regards to the red lights then it depends if they had cameras situated on them. If yes then again 3 points and £60 per offence. After 12 points your licence is automatically revoked.

If he wishes to plead his case then he can offer to have all the offences heard in a court of law. At this point though, just him saying his reasons would probably not hold up. He needs proof of the circumstances i.e. you had left so the persons whose house you went to should testify and someone will need to confirm his state of mind due to this.

One word of caution, if you elect to go to court and he is still found guilty, then they usually hand out punishment more severe than the standard (e.g. friend tried to say he was speeding due to family illness. Judge said no excuse 5 points and £100 fine plus costs). Not saying this is the norm but beware.

Also, it depends on the speed he was going at. If he was going more than 25mph over the speed limit then it is an automatic court case. At these speeds, multiple offences will probably earn him a ban.

Fines issued within 28 days usually however, if all the offences are from same court area, then they could just collate and send to court for their action.

Maybe his previous driving record will stand him in good stead, I don't know. Contact a solicitor in the meantime to find out all the answers. There are several that give fixed price advice for the first interview.

Best of luck and no matter what the problems, stick to the limits.

Answer 2

Unfortunately, there is no point trying to take this up with the ticket office that would be responsible for this. His best thing would be to go to court and explain his case, however the chances are without any medical evidence than he will loose his license if he gets more than 12 points. It is not the police that decide if he should be banned it is the CPS and the court.

It may be found that he should not have been driving due to the emotional state he was in, in which case again he will be banned.
It is important to remember that he could have killed someone, particularly jumping red lights. The courts will see this the same as someone that has had a bad day, even though there is more to this.

It is 3 points per camera so thats 21 points so once the ban is finished the additional 9 points will stay on his license and quite a large fine.

Really speaking his only hope is that not more than 3 cameras actually went off. Might be worth speaking to a solicitor, most give legal advice for the first 1/2 hour or so for free.

Answer 3

There is no way they will let you off, no matter what had happened. They will say that he is not trained to such an advanced level that he can drive safely when breaking the speed limit (I have just been on a "oops I was speeding and got caught" course, so I know what they will say!)

It took a couple of weeks for the letter to come out to say I had been caught.

A guy asked a similar question not so long ago.

http://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AnDbGtoGwsqfPcVC9bVQrFwgBgx.?qid=20061127023907AAulKQS&show=7#profile-info-2aa521b5a8f620a3cc7c7deb0845cd16aa

Some of the cameras flash, but are not in action (they are not issuing tickets) so you still might have got away with it.

Chances are he will get at least 3 - 6 points and a hefty fine. I doubt (if he has got caught bymore than 1 camera) that he will be offered a course as an option.

Good Luck!!

Answer 4

He's had it. Banned.

No just speeding and doing red lights, but driving without due care & attention, dangerous driving etc. Who's to say that he was all upset and crying? He might have just held-up the local off-license, stolen the car, murdered someone, anything. His word against photo evidence? won't stack up I'm afraid.

If he wasn't in a fit state to drive, it just makes things worse.

Might not get a letter - it could be that the old bill will come a-knocking bright and early one morning with a warrant for his arrest.

Best to be prepared for the worst, I'd say. Anything better is a bonus.

Answer 5

first things first.
try not 2 panic and remember losing his driving licence is nothing compared 2 losing u.
the letter, if the cameras were indeed working, will arrive fairly shortly. on it u will b asked ur views, take it along 2 the Citizens Advice Bureau and ask 4 help.
people have challenged their speeding tickets in circumstances outta of their control and been given the benefit of the doubt.
buy a sat-nav and a snooper, a device 2 warn when u r approaching a camera and update it regularly.
try not 2 listen 2 any1 on here that's 2 busy judging 2 help.
now dry ur tears and buy the stuff above and await the letter, if and when it arrives.

Answer 6

If he appeals against the speeding tickets etc for the reasons you give he'll be banned as he was not in an appropriate mental state to drive the car. If he doesn't appeal, 4 speed fines = 12 points = loss of license.....

sorry

Answer 7

Prove to the court that the acts of speeding were committed due to nervous breakdown and passion due to an impending event regarding your relationship. Present the past records of being a good driver.

Answer 8

some cameras flash but do not take images so you might get away with that, as for the lights if he was seen then unfortunately he will pay the price. even if you explain the situation i dont think it would help your case as the police hear all sorts of stories why people are speeding. sorry. i doubt he will lose his licence but he will get points and a fine so prepare yourselves for that.

Answer 9

Get an attorney. Being that these were all part of the same series of incidents an attorney may be able to get a reprieve such as deffer ed prosecution. The idea being he was distraught and it would not happen again. Good luck.

Answer 10

if you get a number of different speed camera fines, go to court and state that once you broke the speed limit you never actually slowed down, therefore you only broke the speed limit ONCE.

Then just pay one speeding fine.

worked for me