“Do they really prosecute people for driving at 70 on the motorway when they put the temporary signs up? I was told the cameras are still set to 70+ anyway. And I always see people flying down through them ignoring it!”
The short answer to this is yes. They do.
We recently assisted a gentleman appearing in Mansfield Magistrates Court charged with driving at 72mph in a restricted 40mph limit on the motorway. It was late at night, the roads were poorly lit, there was little traffic and he simply missed the sign. He explained that he appeared to be travelling at a speed similar to the occasional other vehicle he saw. There were no roadworks or cones to suggest he should reconsider the speed and he saw the repeater and slowed down – he simply missed the first sign. Unfortunately by this point he had already been recorded on camera as exceeding the speed limit.
Our client had a clean licence. He had held his licence for over 20 years. He had never been disqualified. He drove thousands of miles each month, both for his work and as a volunteer with two local youth sport organisations. The sentencing guidelines for his offence are 7-56 day disqualification or 6 points. Our client advised us that a disqualification of more than a couple of weeks would pose a risk to his employment and potentially force the temporary closure of the youth groups – but that if he had to change jobs this closure could be permanent if he could no longer finish work slightly earlier those days to attend. Our client accepted that he was speeding, he was not trying to deny anything. What he needed to do was to try and make sure that the courts imposed points on his licence not a disqualification.
We worked with the client to prepare his case, we took a full statement from him about both the night of the incident but also his life as a whole. We ensured we had supportive documents to show the equipment our client needs to carry to the youth group, and we worked with the client to prepare references to show that the loss of his licence would have a detrimental impact on others. We arranged for our client to be represented in court by one of our expert, specialist barristers. We made sure that the court saw the bigger picture.
The client had 6 points imposed on his licence and was very pleased with this result.
We understand that for many people they do not want to fight the charges against them, they just want someone to guide them through the process and to try and help them ensure the best possible outcome.
by Helen Newman
If you are due to attend court for any reason then give the Forrest Williams team a call on 01623 600645 and we would be happy to speak with you and advise you as to the best course of action for you.
