What is the name of the Constabulary? -
Date of the offence: - April 2009
Date of the NIP: - 0 days after the offence
Date you received the NIP: - 11 days after the offence
Location of offence (exact location as it appears on the NIP: important): - Currently Unsure
Was the NIP addressed to you? -
Was the NIP sent by first class post, second class or recorded delivery? - Not known
If your are not the Registered Keeper, what is your relationship to the vehicle? -
How many current points do you have? - 0
Provide a description of events (if you know what happened) telling us as much about the incident as possible - some things that may seem trivial to you may be important, so don't leave anything out. Please do not post personal details for obvious reasons - Ok this is a bit of a long one, Ive completed the NIP wizard above there but some of the details I had to guess since my particular case was some time ago.
On roughly the 23rd March last year I got an NIP through for doing 44 in a 30mph zone – I completed it and sent it back
A week or so later, I got an NIP through for doing 62mph in the same place (same camera) - I completed it and sent it back.
(these are the big obvious yellow cameras by the way (not the gatso’s))
I honestly don’t think I was doing either of those speeds since it was a road I drove for 4 months prior to these incidents twice a day every day, and I had never managed to speed before.
My other point – is that the area in which the camera is located has numerous signs saying it is a 40MPH zone, not 30, so I was quite confused when I got the NIP saying it was 44 in a 30, when I was sure it was a 40!
Concerned I was, so I went out and took pictures of the signs and the area surrounding the camera to properly show that it was a 40 zone, not a 30 – I still have these pictures.
I thought they realized this error since I haven’t heard anything more about the two offences since then until today….
So a lot of time has passed and today a policeman arrived on my door, told me there was a warrant for my arrest and said it was for a ‘failure to appear’ and it was surrounding a speeding charge.
He told me he wasn’t going to arrest me because I had a stable job, no prior convictions and he didn’t think I was going anywhere (how nice)
However he tells me that I have to ring my local courts tomorrow to arrange a time to go to court to get this sorted.
So I’m going to do that tomorrow, since I don’t want to get arrested!
What im wondering is, what is my best course of action here?
Do I plead Not guilty and show the pictures of the camera being set wrong at 30? Instead of 40?
Do I plead guilty and ask for mitigating circumstances, since its my first offence, I’ve had my license for 3 years, im a teacher and I need my car to get to work?
Any help would really be appreciated here, im very troubled.
Rich
NIP Wizard Responses
These were the responses used by the Wizard to arrive at its recommendation:
Have you received a NIP? - Yes
Are you the Registered Keeper of the vehicle concerned (is your name and address on the V5/V5C)? - Yes
Did the first NIP arrive within 14 days? - Yes
Although you are the Registered Keeper, were you also the keeper of the vehicle concerned (the person normally responsible for it) at the time of the alleged offence? - Yes
Were you driving? - Yes
Which country did the alleged offence take place in? - England
NIP Wizard Recommendation
Based on these responses the Wizard suggested that this course of action should be considered:
- The law requires you to provide the information requested in the Section 172 notice within the 28 day period, naming yourself as the driver. If you are considering obtaining formal legal advice, do so before returning the notice.
You should note that there is nothing to be gained by responding any earlier than you have to at any stage of the process. You are likely to receive a Conditional Offer of a Fixed Penalty (COFP) and further reminder(s). If you want to continue the fight, you should ignore all correspondence from the police until you receive a summons. You need to understand from the outset that while you will receive much help and support from members on the forums, you will need to put time and effort into fighting your case and ultimately be prepared to stand up in court to defend yourself.
Generated by the PePiPoo NIP Wizard v3.3.2: Wed, 09 Jun 2010 19:42:36 +0000