Court case Essex, faulty red light camera., Faulty red light camera timing |
Court case Essex, faulty red light camera., Faulty red light camera timing |
Fri, 14 Jan 2022 - 19:55
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#1
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Member Group: Members Posts: 38,006 Joined: 3 Dec 2010 Member No.: 42,618 |
Just a quick summary of a case concerning a PCN customer who contacted me by email about a criminal matter, specifically a red light camera. For whatever reason he did not want to put the case on the forum and the matter appeared straightforward so rather unusually, I provided off-forum advice.
In short, he went through what he thought was an amber light but in actual fact is was red, luck would have it that he had dashcam footage of the incident and while this confirmed he went through a red light, his rear bumper crossed the stop line at most some half a second into red. Oddly though the red light camera photos showed a time into red of 3.2 seconds, which was completely implausible considering this was a 40 limit and our OP was trying to get through on amber. Anyway to cut a long story short, the OP named himself as the driver and was duly notified that due to the timing into red the matter would have to go to court. On my advice he notified the police and the court that although he pleaded guilty he disputed the factual case put forward by the police, he sent the police a copy of the dashcam footage and put them on notice that he would if necessary request a Newton hearing. The outcome was that at the initial hearing (he declined the SJPN process), the CPS demanded a fine of at least £230 be imposed and the OP quoted all the right bits of the guidance and the final outcome was fine & victim surcharge totalling £100 + 3 points, so the same an an FPN. Apparently neither the CPS nor the magistrates were that interested in a contested hearing about the accuracy of the camera. -------------------- If you would like assistance with a penalty charge notice, please post a thread on https://www.ftla.uk/index.php
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Fri, 14 Jan 2022 - 19:55
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Sun, 16 Jan 2022 - 15:59
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#2
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Member Group: Members Posts: 56,198 Joined: 9 Sep 2003 From: Warwickshire Member No.: 317 |
My first thought is that the time into red was started when the light turned amber, given that the amber duration is meant to be 3seconds.
If the CPS didn’t want to challenge his facts I’d suggest the magistrates would accept that the CPS were accepting it, if you see what I mean? -------------------- There is no such thing as a law abiding motorist, just those who have been scammed and those yet to be scammed!
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Fri, 21 Jan 2022 - 00:26
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#3
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Member Group: Members Posts: 38,006 Joined: 3 Dec 2010 Member No.: 42,618 |
My first thought is that the time into red was started when the light turned amber, given that the amber duration is meant to be 3seconds. Yes that was my initial thought. If the CPS didn’t want to challenge his facts I’d suggest the magistrates would accept that the CPS were accepting it, if you see what I mean? As I understand it unless a fact-finding Newton hearing takes place, the court has to accept the basis of plea put forward by the defence. I wasn't there so can't say what was said or on what basis the CPS wanted a higher fine to be imposed. I was somewhat surprised at how easy it was to achieve the desired outcome. -------------------- If you would like assistance with a penalty charge notice, please post a thread on https://www.ftla.uk/index.php
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Lo-Fi Version | Time is now: Friday, 29th March 2024 - 00:30 |