Can You Go To Court For Speeding Ticket?

Did you get a speeding ticket and feel unsure about what to do next? This guide is here to help. Every month, more than 130,000 people visit this site seeking advice on fines and parking tickets.

In this article, we’ll cover:

• The meaning of a Fixed Penalty Notice.
• If it’s crucial to pay it straight away.
• How to challenge the notice.
• Situations where you might not have to pay.
• Possible outcomes if you decide not to pay.

It’s common to feel concerned about going to court due to a Fixed Penalty Notice. In fact, a group of MPs and Peers say FPNs, which can cost up to £10,000, are hard to understand and might be unfair.¹

Don’t worry; we’re here to help you figure things out.

How much does the fine for speeding cost?

You will receive three points on your licence and a minimum fee of £100 if you are issued a speeding ticket, but the fine will vary based on the severity of the offence.

Some people are offered a speed awareness course instead of points.

The National Speed Awareness Course is a short course that teaches attendees to: identify various speed limits and to stay within the limits, recognise why it is not safe to speed and UK road safety laws; and recognise the potential consequences if they speed.

According to how much you were driving over the permitted speed limit, you will be given a band A, B, or C speeding ticket based on which category your ticket falls under.

Speed limit (mph)	Band A Recorded Speed	Band B Recorded Speed	Band C Recorded Speed
20	21-30	31-40	41+
30	31-40	41-50	51+
40	41-55	56-65	66+
50	51-65	66-75	76+
60	61-80	81-90	91+
70	71-90	91-100	101+
FINE	25-75% of weekly income	75 – 125% of weekly income	125 – 175% of weekly income
POINTS	3	4-6	9
DRIVING BANS	–	7-28 days	7-56 days

If you were driving on a motorway when pulled over for speeding, the maximum fine increases to £2,500. Otherwise, the maximum fine remains at £1,000.

Your fine may be reduced based on a number of criteria, including whether or not you have a criminal record, how reputable you are, and whether or not the reason you were speeding was a genuine emergency.

If you are in doubt, you can use my free speeding fine calculator to get an estimate of how much your fine will be.

What happens if you are caught speeding?

A Notice of Intended Prosecution (NIP) outlining the infraction will be forwarded to the owner of the vehicle in question, as well as a document referred to as a Section 172 notice when you are found committing speedig violations.

Whether or not you agree with the NIP, you have 28 days to complete the Section 172 notification declaring who was driving the car at the time of the offence. 

If a police officer pulls you over, they can issue you a verbal warning of prosecution.

What happens next? 

After the NIP has been returned, they will send you an offer of a Fixed Penalty Notice subject to certain conditions (FPN).

You can either pay the fine and have the points deducted from your licence, take a speed awareness course, or contest the fine in court.

During legal proceedings, court needs to find evidence that you were going over the speed limit to uphold the fine.

It is not a valid defence to say that you did not intend to speed, were unaware that you were speeding, or just went over the limit for a very short period.

Fixed Penalty Notice Appeal Reasons

I’ve put together this table detailing FPN appeal reasons, categorized based on the specific traffic violation.

So if you exceeded the speed limit, we’re here to help you increase your chances of success.

What can you expect if you are prosecuted?

If you have eight points or more on your licence, or if you were driving considerably above the speed limit, the police may opt to prosecute you in court.

This decision may be made for them based on the circumstances described above.

A court summons will be delivered to your address in the event that this occurs. The police have up to six months to issue it.

Motor insurance premiums are more expensive if you have received endorsements on a driving license or have a criminal record, and fewer companies will cover you.

This is because insurance premiums are calculated by considering the risk factors associated with a given customer.

If a driver has endorsements, the insurer will predict that they are more likely to make an expensive claim.

It is also important to remember that you can only have a maximum of 12 points on your driving license before you receive a ban – and if you have been driving less than two years, you can only have six points before resitting both the theory and practical test.

Some professions may also have limits on how many points you can have on your license, such as taxi drivers, delivery drivers and couriers and HGV and bus drivers.

Appealing a speeding ticket

You have the right to appeal the speeding charge given to you if you disagree. Unless you can establish one of the following, it is extremely unlikely that a fine will be overturned:

• You were not speeding.
• You were not driving at the time the violation was committed.
• There was not an adequate sign indicating the speed limit anywhere.
• It was not your car that got caught going over the speed limit.
• Someone stole your car.

You have the option of initiating a formal appeal by making a request for a court hearing in the event that the police force in your area does not accept informal appeals or that your appeal is denied.

You can accomplish this goal by filling out the appropriate section of your fixed penalty notice.

It is in your best interest to consult an expert before going to court to determine whether or not you have a legal defence for speeding and what the repercussions of a loss will be.

Going to court for a speeding ticket

Plea and any mitigation

If a legal professional believes you have a good possibility of overturning the ticket under UK traffic law then you will need to fill out a plea and mitigation form and send it back to the traffic court UK.

You have the option of pleading not guilty or guilty while citing extenuating circumstances.

It is possible to enter a guilty plea by mail in most cases if you are not going to be disqualified from driving and there are mitigating circumstances.

In your statement of mitigation, you will be able to explain why you were speeding and why this justifies a less severe penalty than originally proposed.

This evidence will be presented in court, and the magistrate may be persuaded to reduce the severity of the punishment.

At the hearing regarding the speeding charge, you will enter a plea of “not guilty.” After that, you will be asked if you want to call any witnesses, and then a trial date will be set for your case.

In order to defend your plea, either you or your legal representation will need to attend the trial.

Sometimes you will be offered the option to progress through the initial hearing procedure by post, in which case you will not need to attend the hearing. In other cases, however, you must appear in person at the hearing.

Are you guilty or innocent?

If it is determined that you are guilty:

You might receive a fine of up to £1,000 (or £2,500 if you were speeding on a motorway), between three and six penalty points could be applied to your licence, and you could lose your ability to drive if you were going more than 30 miles per hour over the speed limit.

If you are found not guilty, no further action will be taken against you.

References

1. UK Parliament — FPN