Seeking Legal Advice :(

[fastbob72]

Hey folks I was hoping that amongst the bright and knowledgeable members of our forum/owners club there would be someone with experience, a legal mind or even a considered opinion in my present predicament.

Dual carriageway heading back to work to reload and I'm intending to the large dual carriaged way suspension bridge over the river. On the approaches, over it to the big roundabout after there is a 50 mph speed limit. On coming around onto the bridge I get caught by a camera van but after that initial fright at seeing it i'm not concerned at all to the point it's not even worth relating to anyone or so i thought.This was two. weeks ago now.

On this occasion I was using the works Ford Transit rather than the 7.5 or other vehicles. A 3 year old van,good condition, well maintained and with a Badge on the rear door 'Vehicle is limited to 56 mph'.

Yes it goes up to 62 mph on the speedo but they aren't always accurate particularly Fords which are/were notorious for over reading on the speedo. Of 2 7.5 ton trucks we have both limited to 56 one reads 50 when it's doing 48-50 while the other indicates a speed of 57 mph at 50 mph.

Anyway, I've always assumed the speedo reads over and like it states on the back the van was speed limited to 56 mph. As such the fact I'd come off the throttle meant I believed I was doing tops 54 mph which would mean I was below the speed limit of 50 plus 10% or 55 mph that the speed van would be trying to catch people exceeding. That's why I felt relaxed about thd whole thing and saw no reason at all to inform my boss over 'alright, just went past camera van a whiskers below the effective speed limit, thought i best let you know', he'd wonder what i'd been smoking i expect.

Yet Sunday at work I'm informed about being caught doing 60 mph in a 5o zone, which obviously I admit to but it seems incredibly unfair to me.

I didn't question the vans top speed as it is stated clearly on the back,limited to 56.At no point did I think that the van was faster than what is stated on the back, if it could do 62 which is clearly what it IS limited to why does it say 56 mph.

If you're speedo read lower than actual speed so sittimg at 50 the car was doing 58 you'd surely have enough of a grey area to contest the charge even though you were doing that speed.

I see know diffeence in my situation

Somebody, the factory or the dealership set it be restricted to 62 mph so why not state the 62 mph speed limit because stating it's 56 means someone can fall. foul of the law without realising it.

I wondered if anyone has an informed opinion, advice or experience enough to tell me if it's worth taking to court and seeking a solicitor over

Bob [emoji27]

[FROSTYBALLS]

In the UK, regulations state that a speedometer should never under-read, and for speeds between 30mph and 70mph the maximum over-read should be 10% plus 6.25mph.

So for a true speed of 56mph, the speedometer should never show less than 56mph and no more than 67.8mph (5.6 + 6.25).

I suppose this raises roadworthiness and insurance questions as regards the vehicle for your company:

1. If the speedometer was showing under 50mph, get you've been clocked at 62mph, the speedo may be illegally under reading

2. If the company insurance policy contains a clause on the speed limitation of the vehicle, the vehicle is actually limited to a higher speed, and whether the insyrance is valid may be questionable

3. Your company needs to be involved in determining whether the speedo and speed limiter are correct, as other company drivers could be affected, and further speeding issues could affect insurance for the company due to the possibility of further speeding infringements, points on licences, etc.

On the other hand there could be a question over the calibration of the speed camera if the vehicles speed limiter is correctly set at 56mph.

If you could get could independent confirmation of what the speed limiter is set at, that would help confirm where the problem lies.

[alan333]

I was using the works Ford Transit with a badge on the rear door 'Vehicle is limited to 56 mph'.

it goes up to 62 mph on the speedo

I've always assumed the speedo reads over

I'd come off the throttle meant I believed I was doing tops 54 mph

Yet I'm informed about being caught doing 60 mph

it seems incredibly unfair to me.

I didn't question the vans top speed as it is stated clearly on the back,limited to 56.At no point did I think that the van was faster than what is stated on the back, if it could do 62 which is clearly what it IS limited to why does it say 56 mph.

If you're speedo read lower than actual speed so sittimg at 50 the car was doing 58 you'd surely have enough of a grey area to contest the charge even though you were doing that speed.

I see know diffeence in my situation

Somebody, the factory or the dealership set it be restricted to 62 mph so why not state the 62 mph speed limit because stating it's 56 means someone can fall. foul of the law without realising it.

I wondered if anyone has an informed opinion, advice or experience enough to tell me if it's worth taking to court and seeking a solicitor

Sorry but I think you're onto plums mate...

You knew about the 50 limit, and you saw the camera van.

The speedo says the van can do 62.

You can't assume a speedo over reads (although by law they shouldn't under read).

Coming off the throttle/limiter isn't a good indicator of how fast you're going.

You can have a sticker on the back saying anything you like. AFAIK there's no legal requirement to have a speed sticker on a vehicle under 3.5 tons. Actually there might not be a legal req for it on HGV's either, since tractor units don't have them - it's usually only trailers and rigids (I'd need to read up on it to be certain tho).

If the speedo real low I'd agree with you but your speedo said 62 (when you ASSUMED you were doing 56), therefore it's fair to say once you had came off the throttle your speedo was probably saying 60, which is what the camera van caught you doing.

Someone can only fall foul of the law if they choose to ignore the speedo.

Basically your argument boils down to you choosing to dis-regard the speedo, and instead relying on sticker on the van telling you how fast you were going. Sorry but I don't see a court giving your argument any merit. Swallow the fine and chalk it up as one of things.

Edit... Sorry for editing your text, I wasn't trying to change the way it came across, I was trying to answer your specific points.

[Heidfirst]

It's also worth noting that Scotland allegedly doesn't go with the ACPO Speed Enforcement Guidelines (i.e. 10%+2mph) in the same way that we don't offer speed education courses as an alternative to points/fine. Indeed Police Scotland recently announced that from this Autumn even 1mph over the posted limit will involve receiving a warning letter for the first offence, 2nd time £100+3pts.

[Parts-King]

I get customers complain that their sat nav displays say an old speed limit, but the new signs display a new lower limit, and they say if they are caught speeding they will blame Toyota! Well try that in court and see where it gets you Sorry but I think you need to put this down to experience, a bit of a downer I know. As it is a company vehicle ask them to have it checked out as it is likely to impact on other users of the van