Merton Solicitors

Road Traffic FAQs

I was caught speeding by a speed camera.  However, I don’t believe I was speeding at all.  What is my legal position?

Obviously, your legal position will vary according to whether you were in fact speeding, which is naturally based on the speed limit on the section of road you were driving along at the time.  Speeding is generally a strict liability offence meaning that you can still be charged irrespective of whether you knew the speed limit for a particular section of road or not.

However, if you were genuinely not speeding, then there are several lines of attack you could use to fight the charge against you.  Many speed cameras in the UK are of the GATSO type (usually those familiar yellow cameras that litter the roadside up and down in the UK).  You could argue that camera was not properly calibrated and/or in poor working order.

If you were caught speeding by a mobile speed camera or hand-held speed camera operated by the police, again, you could argue that the devices were not properly calibrated and/or in poor working order.  In addition, for hand-held speed cameras, you could challenge the police officers ability to use the camera.  It could be the case (although, admittedly, rare) that the officer did not use the camera correctly at the time of the offence or did not receive the correct training to use the device in question.

I wasn’t actually driving my car at the time of an offence, yet I face prosecution for the offence.  What is my legal position?

In order to be successfully prosecuted for any criminal charge, the prosecution will have to prove, beyond reasonable doubt, that you were driving the car at the time of the offence.

What does beyond reasonable doubt mean?

Beyond reasonable doubt, in the context of criminal offences, can be generally taken to mean that there is a greater than 99% chance that the alleged offender committed the offence.

What else would the prosecution have to prove to charge someone with a road traffic offence?

As well as proving beyond reasonable doubt that the alleged offender was driving the car at the time of the offence, it will also have to be shown that the offence was committed whilst the car was on a public highway or any area to which the public have access, which could include car parks to supermarkets and the like.

Are there any defences to the offence of using a mobile phone whilst driving?

Strictly speaking, the only defence available is that you had no other choice but to use your mobile because there was an emergency situation i.e. you had to make a 999 call to the emergency services.