Possibly Getting Banned?

[mactell]

Hi guys,

I have been caught speeding 66 in a 30mph. It was around 23:30 at night and on a dual carriage way .

I am 4 months away from completing my first year of driving.

What do you think will happen?

I was told by the officer I will receive a letter in the post saying if I have a fixed penalty or a summons. He said I will recieve this in 2 weeks however It has now been 3 weeks?

Yes I know it was stupid, I don't need anyone to comment you deserve to be banned...

[Hyrule]

Won't rain on your parade too much....However.

Don't speed to that excess ever, just not worth your life or the life of someone you could potentially hit or injure in an accident, to save a few seconds. Dual carriageway or not, there is no excuse for going over double the speed limit.

Learn from this mistake.

Some info for you from .Gov website:

The minimum penalty for speeding is a £100 fine and 3 penalty points added to your licence.

You could be disqualified from driving if you build up 12 or more penalty points within a period of 3 years.

By law, the vehicle’s registered keeper must be sent a notice of intended prosecution within 14 days of the alleged speeding offence. (this hasn't happened but I'd still expect something).

More importantly:

New drivers

If you’re still within 2 years of passing your driving test, your driving licence will be revoked (withdrawn) if you build up 6 or more penalty points.

[mactell]

By law, the vehicle’s registered keeper must be sent a notice of intended prosecution within 14 days of the alleged speeding offence. (this hasn't happened but I'd still expect something).

So if it doesn't come within 14 days does that mean its not valid or?

[Hyrule]

So if it doesn't come within 14 days does that mean its not valid or?

You could argue that, but it might still stand. Not 100% sure. Didn't mean to come across preachy, just I've seen too many parents, brothers, sisters etc, grieving, as a result of a family members death as a result of speeding.

[mactell]

No it's fine I fully understand. It's made me realise now about speeding so it may have been a good thing.

[Stoney871]

You should get a notice of intended prosecution within 14 days of the offence but that is usually for a fixed penalty notice.

As you were 100% over the posted limit and within 2 years of gaining your licence I would be very surprised if a ban was not imposed.

Rule of thumb is that if you are caught going over a third above a posted limit a ban would be considered.

As you were pinged at 66mph I would say with certainty that your speedo was showing over 70mph (allowing for 10% over read).

I strongly suspect that a court letter is looming.

If you are incredibly lucky you may get away with 6 points but taking the short time you have held a licence into consideration, anything less than a ban will be a miracle.

66 in a 30 zone is irresponsible and damned dangerous.

Sorry for being blunt but I have attended far too many fatal RTC where speed and inexperience are a major contributing factor to be subtle in situations like this.

[jeebowhite]

14 days is the point you can argue, you could claim you dont recall who was driving, but as the officer in court would testify it was you who he spoke with, you would have no grounds to stand that argument on. Unfortunately even if it hasnt arrived yet, you should allow up to 6 weeks before thinking that you may be clear, but you may find that if your address is incorrect with the DVLA, worst case scenario a marker is put on your car and a summons issued for your attendance to court.

If you havent heard anything, I would contact your local police station after 4 weeks and ask if there was anything further you should be expecting, better that than being pulled and chucked in the wagon like a true baddie.

On a serious note though, if you rely on your car for work, and you have not got any points on your license already, you MAY get 5 points and a damned hefty fine if the judge feels good, if he doesnt, you will be made an example of, and a ban, extended test, fine and court fee's are likely to be the expected outcome.

[mactell]

Do you know how long a court letter takes to come at all?

I do need my car for work as well.

[Stoney871]

Police have 6 months from the date of the incident to start the Court process. Some Police forces will serve papers within weeks of the offence, whereas others will not actually get a file to Court until the 6 months is almost up. You do not have to be served with the Court papers within 6 months, the Police merely have to start the process in that time. Consequently, it may be 7-8 months from the offence before you actually attend Court.

[Stoney871]

Have a read here for facts.

http://www.motorlawyers.co.uk/procedure/notice_of_intended_prosecution.htm

[gregers]

might be time to eat that humble pie,so when you do go to court.stand up apologize profusely,and perhaps say you are willing to be banned so that you can learn from this.and say you will never take your licence for granted again.

remember its a privilege not a right.

[mixmasterlooney]

Just to add to that 14 days topic, that is 14 days to send the letter, postage delays are not a valid reason even if you never receive the letter at all, as long it was posted within 14 days it's valid the police takes no responsibility for postage issues, Furthermore the 14 days is really for speed camera related issues rather than actual police officers

Correct me if i'm wrong but if the officer did not confirm any fines or points on the spot does that not mean he did not issue any and has left it to the courts?

Therefore is it also not possible to ask about going on a speed awareness course since it's his first offence? (assuming you don't already have a nasty criminal record)

That request would probably be rejected because the speed is more than double anyways...

[georgen]

This happened to my old apprentice, within two years of passing his test, was his dads car so the police turned out to the house as it was mobile camera, after his dad asked what would happen and the answer being fixed penalty, he told the officer his son was driving, few weeks later a summons came through the post and he attended court. he got 6 points and a fine and nothing was mentioned about a ban, his speed was very similar to yours. three days after the court date, he received a letter from DVLA saying as he had got 6 points for speeding within his first two years his licence was now revoked from the following day, he also needed car for work as he had a 10 mile commute at times that was impossible to get to work by public transport, he had to rely on friends, me and family and went straight back in for theory then his test, from revoke to re-passing his test was 6 weeks. he learned the lesson the hard way and yes you would have to resit theory, only plus from this is if you dont learn your lesson, you can only get done for the 6 points in first two years of driving once, but your insurance would soon make you pay.

[mactell]

Correct me if i'm wrong but if the officer did not confirm any fines or points on the spot does that not mean he did not issue any and has left it to the courts?

He simply said another officer or something will look at your offence and decide whether its a fixed penalty or a court summons. You will be told within 14 days.

[GrahamJC]

If you were stopped by the police who spoke to you and cautioned you for speeding a Notice of Intended Prosecution is not necessary as far as I am aware. This means that a summons can be issued against you without further notice.

[mactell]

Well he said I would be told lol :(.

How long should I wait before I know I'm clear?

[jeebowhite]

6 months as Stoney said, and he should know!

after 6 months you will probably be fine...

[mactell]

6 months :O that's going to be horrible

[b1g_dav3]

Shouldn't have doubled the speed limit >_>

[Lenny]

Well he said I would be told lol :(.

How long should I wait before I know I'm clear?

Hi,

I've read the whole thread and I sympathise with you to an extent,

I men 23:30 at night the roads are more dangerous with pubs closing and people staggering home etc.

We all speed but keep I to motorways, I've driven on a provisional licence for 4 years with no full licensed driver,

I've broken the 100mph licence losing barrier many times before actually holding a licence

I was young and stupid, part of my life I had to complete, now for me its handling and mpg

But I must ask you about the above post,

Because you are currently free to drive and obey the rules of the road as always,

What would change if you found you were clear?

Haven't you learned a lesson and since began to obey the rules of the road 100% of the time?

Sorry but it does beg for the question to be asked.

Personally I think there gonna leave you hanging so you teach yourself to be more competent,

Speed if you want to but keep it to motorways you will get to know areas where you can and cannot,

[jeebowhite]

I can see Lenny's point, its a lesson alright. I got blue lights flashed at me, I was doing the upper end of 110 on a motorway and an undercover pulled behind me and flashed his lights at me - scared the bajeebus out of me. Now, I wont say I never ever reach that direction of the speedo, I slip up, and I do on occasion speed (most of us do!) but I dont push my luck anywhere near as often or as much as I used to. Purely for the fear of those blue lights!

These things can be a hard life lesson to learn and thats with a positive outcome, I truely hope that you dont lose your license, but make sure if you do end up in front of a bench, you grovel! you apologise and enforce the idea that you have spent every waking moment since your incident regretting the stupidity of your errors. You have lost sleep because you have awoken from dreams where you were in the exact same situation and the worst happened, someone stepped in front of you and you killed someone. You tell them that the worst of it has slipped into reality and you have developed a fear that you would today be standing up not for speeding but death by dangerous driving, and that you cannot emphasise how stupid you were and how much you have learned from the experience.

Now I am not telling you this to help you "get off" with it, I personally have had this experience, I (touch wood) have not had to face the consequences of speeding, and have a clean license, and have had these dreams, I have had these moments where for a month after I was in fear of how my life would change should I have lost my license, and I can tell you - its horrific!

Since christmas eve last year, my speeding is barely existant compared to how I was before. I focus more on MPG than I do reaching dizzy heights of the speedo and think I have learned a great lesson from it, and I really hope that you do to.

On a serious note, you need to do a lot of reflection. I hope that you do learn from it and I hope you fill your boots with remorse and reflection because if you do end up in front of a bench, you will need every ounce of that to save your license and your wallet.

[Lenny]

I agree with jeebo,

If you wanted to use his example, you could go to your doctor, tell him the story,

He will prescribe you anxiety medication you don't need to take it, just be prescribed something.

Then if it does go to court,

You have medical records to support your story of anxiety and loss of sleep,

May help you get off

[mactell]

What would change if you found you were clear?

I would be !Removed! lucky if I was clear. I would defiantly stick to the speed limit around built up areas. Save the extra speed for motorways. Though I don't think I would go above 80mph now.

Haven't you learned a lesson and since began to obey the rules of the road 100% of the time?

Yes. Once being pulled over you realise how bad it is to speed and drive dangerous. I haven't gone quick since.

[jeebowhite]

Glad you have learned a lesson fella, this is why most counties offer speed awareness courses for those who speed a little. its better to educate than punish...

if you do end up in front of a bench, regardless of the result, ask if you could be placed onto a speed awareness course, as you have heard that it can further educate you to such dangers of speeding. The extra effort for you to learn more about the consequences of your actions will go in your favour...

[mactell]

Yeah sounds like a good idea to me. I hope nothing happens as I need my car for work. Its just annoying waiting 6 months knowing I could get banned any time soon. I don't want to fill up my tank or do any more mods to my car.