I got 2 speeding tickets within 4 minutes on a smart motorway

[Ged millington]

I was driving on the m62 at 4am on Easter Sunday morning in perfect driving conditions( virtually no othe cars on the road).

I was doing 81MPH and got 2 tickets in 3 minutes from cameras on the overhead gantry on the smart motorway.

No speed restrictions were displayed at the time ,

I believe that the cameras are not operational when there are no reduced speed limits.

Should i go to court on try to defend it.

I also think maybe it is just one offence not 2 as my speed was the same on both 

[theberengersniper]

What do you propose to defend if you go to court?

You say no speed restrictions were in force, but you're not on a German Autobahn, the speed limit on the UK motorway network, unless otherwise indicated, is 70mph as I'm certain you know, so to have been driving at an admitted 81mph, what do you intend to say that would justify your excess speed?

I'm afraid your argument about a single offence is a no-go also. Each time you are detected breaking the speed limit by one of these cameras it is a separate offence.

Do I think 81mph is dangerous? Of course not, assuming your car is in good order, but with these cameras I'm afraid the issue is black or white. Were you speeding above the pre-set threshold or were you not.

[honeybee13]

Thread moved to the motoring offences subforum. 

HB

[dx100uk]

[Man in the middle]

6 hours ago, Ged millington said:

I believe that the cameras are not operational when there are no reduced speed limits.

Wherever you gained that belief you are wrong and you have no basis to challenge the charges on that basis. 

The only avenue for consideration is whether or not the two instances constituted one single offence. At 80mph in four minutes you will cover a little over five miles. Was there any change of speed limit in that time? You could try a begging letter to the police asking them to consider the offences to be one continuing offence. If they refuse your only other option would be to decline any out-of-court disposals and have the matters heard in court (making the same request). Here's the likely outcomes:

If the police accept your "one offence" argument you should be offered a course (provided you have not done one in the last three years - with the offence dates being used to calculate that period). If they do not accept your argument you should be offered a course for one offence and a fixed penalty (£100 and 3 points) for the other.

If you decide to take the matter to court and the court accepts your "one offence" argument you should be sentenced in accordance with the normal sentencing guidelines (but see below). These suggest a fine of half a week's net income (reduced by a third for your guilty plea) plus around £90 prosecution costs and a "Victim Surcharge" of 40% of the fine. If they do not accept your argument, you face two fines at that level, but only one lot of costs and one Victim Surcharge. Three points  (for each offence, whether one or two) will also be imposed.

In the event the court accepts your argument you might ask them to sentence you at the fixed penalty level. The court has guidance which says this:

"Where a penalty notice could not be offered or taken up for reasons unconnected with the offence itself, such as administrative difficulties outside the control of the offender, the starting point should be a fine equivalent to the amount of the penalty and no order of costs should be imposed. The offender should not be disadvantaged by the unavailability of the penalty notice in these circumstances."

Whilst you being unable to accept a FP was not due to administrative difficulties, that reason is not exclusive and if you could persuade the court that you would have accepted a fixed penalty for the single offence had it been offered, you may be successful.