Got Flashed By A Speed Camera

WylieCoyote · October 24, 2007

It happened to me before some years ago where I got flashed when I was going under the speed limit. I was doing about 35 in a 40 and got flashed. Cameras are, after all electronics and can, and do have electronic hissy fits every now and again!!

Keith :)

c4shr · October 25, 2007

Got flashed 2 and a half weeks ago and i'm yet to receive a ticket through the post.
Does anyone know if the issuers have a certain ammount of time in which they have to send me the fine?

Someone has already mentioned time limits but if you do receive a ticket due to the postage problems, I can give you some astute advice by way of PM (as each case hinges on its own facts).

Kash

Mr Pants! · October 26, 2007

What form must the N.I.P take?

It can be :-

a) given verbally at the time of the offence, or

b ) by a summons being served on the offender within 14 days of commission of the offence, or

c) a notice of intended prosecution, specifying the nature of the offence and the time and place where it is alleged to have been committed, must be served on the offender, or the registered keeper of the vehicle at the time of the offence, within 14 days of the offence.

These provisions are deemed to have been complied with unless or until the contrary has been proved (ie you will have to raise it).

If you have not been given the notice within 14 days (ignoring the day of the offence) then they cannot proceed against you unless an exception applies (see below).

Exceptions & Get Outs

a) No such notice is required if a full or provisional fixed penalty notice has been given or fixed under the Provisions of the Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988

b ) A notice sent by post must be dispatched so that it would reach the driver within the 14 days within the ordinary course of the post. If this is the case then it will have been deemed to have been served even if it is delivered outside the 14 day period.

c) If there is an accident involving the vehicle in question, of which the driver is aware, then the police do not need to provide a Notice of Intended Prosecution.

d) Failure to comply is no bar where the police could not with reasonable diligence have ascertained the name and address of the accused in time for service of the summons or notice within the 14 day period, or the accused contributed to such failure. [These are our highlights - might apply for example if you drive a hire car, company car or you were not the registered keeper]

e) Service of a notice at the last known address of the accused will suffice for good service.

Do you need to respond to a Notice of Intended Prosecution?

Under European legislation and now our own Human Rights Act, the answer was thought to be "No". But this loophole now seems to have been closed by the courts

HUMAN-ERROR · October 28, 2007

each flash has to be looked at before sent out, so if you were flashed doing 35 in a 40 they wont issue anything, the camera records the speed

puresilk · October 28, 2007

I was flashed by a Tru Velo (forward facing camera I was doing 50mph in a 40mph zone nr feltham on 1st July!

Nothign has come through so far thank ***!

DINO · October 28, 2007

don't want to upset you but my wife just received a birthday card today 12 days after her birthday, and it was sent a couple of days before that, so some post is 2 weeks delayed. Hopefully you won't get a ticket.
one bit of advice i have read is if you do receive a NIP keep the envelope it came in and check the date, as I believe there is not only a time limit for you to receive but also for them to issue the NIP.

Thats right, I got snapped by a Gatso twice, I checked the Internet and it said they have one month to process and send it to me. If I recieve the fine after a month its not valid and i'm free. But they do not send them out if the fine will not make it to your adress within the month. They could not keep up with the processing of the Gatso cameras as they require regular maintenance, replacing film calibrating etc. hence why the digital cameras came about, no maintenance required. Even if you did get flashed by the Gatso and got the fine you can still contest the fine and take it to court requesting the calibration certificate. If the certificate is a month old you will be scott free. There were plenty of cases were people took it to court and the Police could not produce a certificate, so in nearly all the cases the driver got away with it.

By the way I never did get then fine through the post.