oj_wrx

Hi everyone.

First of all, i know many of you will slate me for this, i know your point and i take it into consideration, but at the end of the day im a speed freak -and i have 8 years ncb and have never had a crash since passing my test at age 17.

Anyway, my friend has just bought an evo 5, so we decided to go out tonight for a little drive (each of us in our own car). We were driving down a 40mph limit dual carriage way, when a vectra comes steaming up behind us, slams on the brakes, tailgates me til he see's a gap in traffic then floors it again - undertaking us both in the left hand lane. we stupidly decided we were having none of it.

So me and my friend catch him up, though i stayed behind both of them travelling a fair bit slower, more to get a view of what was going on, when all of a sudden flashing blue lights come up behind, so all 3 of us slow down, and the cop overtakes us all and then (for some reason) does a handbrake turn in the road blocking both lanes

So next more cops turn up, and long story short the outcome is all 3 of us are being done for "racing on a public highway". apparently i reached 73 mph.

My case is that i was not racing, for the following reasons: i did not undertake any cars, i hung back travelling slower than the other two, and did not weave in between lanes or traffic at any time.

I explained all that to the cop, and he said the video will be reviewed and it could be reduced to speeding, however i will certainly have a court appearance within 6 months. if done for racing, it is an automatic ban. however i already have 9 points on my licence (two SP30's and a CU80) so i guess whatever happens im gonna get banned.

My reason for posting this is, can anyone shed some light on the likely punishment? ban length, fine etc.

Many thanks in advance.

Trout

iTrader: (1)

freakin

lol thats mean, funny but mean.

gpssti4

iTrader: (6)

Pop over to www.pepipoo.com, you'll get 'real' advice. Good luck.

Bungleaio

iTrader: (1)

Pepipoo will give you good advice but with the amount of points on your license it does sound like you'll be catching the bus for a while.

Stevesbluewrx

iTrader: (4)

Buckle up mate.

I don't know you fella but your not painting a very good picture in my head "already have 9 points on my licence (two SP30's and a CU80) so i guess whatever happens im gonna get banned"

We love our cars and who doesn't get a rush of blood to the head with the loud pedal but to get SP30's and CU80. Come on. Never put your foot down in a 30MPH simple.

Steve

greendragonkungfu

hmm, i had a run in with a speed camera on a few occasions in the space of a month some yrs back. it didnt look good me keeping my licence so i buggered off to new zealand for a few months backpacking. when i came back i had a letter from the dvla asking for my licence so i sent it in and it came back with 17 points on it and no ban. i rang them up to ask about this and they said that i had been taken to court and i was dealt with in my absence, since i was not ther with my licence they never new what points were on the licence and gave me 4 for speeding, week or 2 later im in court again(im in nz still) no licence to see what ive got, 3 more points for speeding. 17 being the total i ended up with. unless the court knows youve got to 12 points and bans you, you keep gettin points, the dvla cant give bans! ur still legal to drive and i still got insurance. still have the licence as a souvenir.

markjmd

iTrader: (11)

The question I've got here is how do they know exactly what speed you reached. The guy in the vectra wasn't apparently a cop, and from your description of events it doesn't sound like the panda who overtook sat behind you for any length of time, so they can't know for certain either. Definitely worth getting proper legal advice, if only to keep the size of the fine down that you'll get if you're banned.

f1_fan

iTrader: (9)

To the OP,

Get yourself a good solicitor, Pepipoo can help you there.

My suggestion is you try and get your charge reduced to that of speeding which I think with the video evidence and as long as you were doing exactly as you say should be fairly simple with a good brief in tow.

Yes you may still get a ban, but better to have speeding on the record than racing on a public highway... insurers will take a dim view of that.

To the holier than thou brigade, yes it was a stupid thing to do, but at least he hung back a little and didn't get directly involved. I am sure many of us have done stupid things on the road yet we have been lucky enough to do it when a cop car was not around.

scooby seb

iTrader: (1)

As said, get a solicitor(worth every penny) and wear a suit when in court, every little helps

Terminator X

iTrader: (7)

1. Were you racing? 2. Were you doing 73mph? If no to both then contest it. I'd also pay a lawyer to delay it as long as possible (legally of course) so by the time it gets to court some / all of your current points will have dropped away (totting up system is over 2yrs isn't it?).

Why on earth were the fuzz so heavy handed? Have you told the full story ...

TX.

Edit - NEVER admit anything to the Police ... leave them to prove it.

Bubba po

Even if the charge is reduced to speeding, with your points you're looking at a ban unless you can prove to magistrates that you will suffer exceptional hardship by the loss of your entitlement to drive.

markjmd

iTrader: (11)

Sadly not true. Totting up is actually done over 3 years, but in any case it's from the date of each offence not the date of the conviction, so it wouldn't make any difference how long it drags out before going to court.

L.J.F

iTrader: (31)

As already mentioned dont admit a thing! i take it this was all done by the side of the road, so there is no recording of you saying any incriminating evidence to go against you in court Plus i doubt the copper will attend on the day. Its a shame these cars have a bad name attaced to them as this will make it look worse

Terminator X

iTrader: (7)

Of course it would, time waits for no one ...

TX.

markjmd

iTrader: (11)

It's a bit academic as we don't even know how long oj's points have been on his license, but a judge is definitely not under any obligation to go easy on you just because some of your points have gone over the 3 year limit between getting pulled over and going to court.

Terminator X

iTrader: (7)

If the OP has 3pts from 3 years ago & 3 from 2.5yrs ago then in 6mnths he'll be down to 3pts hence the suggestion of delaying tactics. Doesn't matter what the judge thinks as he can't stop time.

TX.

markjmd

iTrader: (11)

TX
If you won't take my word for it, see what the legal profession has to say on the subject:


"These rules apply to offences committed within a 3 year period. The dates when the points are awarded are not considered. So if points have expired since the offence, but before the court proceedings, then the disqualification is still applicable."

Totting Up - Penalty Points Disqualification

Terminator X

iTrader: (7)

Fair enough although when I looked it up it says:

"The Court will consider the number of points that you had at the time of the offence. If points expire before the Court hearing, they can still be taken into account if they were valid at the time the offence was committed."

Says can not will ... get a good lawyer

TX.

oj_wrx

thanks for all the good advice guys.

actually SP30 means exceeding statuatory speed limit, not necessarily a 30mph zone - neither of my convictions were in a 30mph zone, one was a 40mph and one a 50mph. The CU80 is using a mobile phone whilst driving. Very very petty i know.

the cop said to me i was doing 73mph, i asked if that was just me and he replied it was all of us which is impossible. tbh i probably did reach that, but yes i denied it to him. no, they guy in the vectra wasnt a cop and he got done as well.

i did say no to both, i have no idea why so heavy handed, we were also all given a section 59. I told the cop the full story which he wrote down, that the guy in the vectra tailgated me, then undertook me, however there was no arguement that i did then speed up, but as i said more to see what my friend was doing as tbh he was chasing him.

the catch 22 is my friend was racing, but unless i grass him up it will look like all 3 of us will get done for street racing.

Terminator X

iTrader: (7)

^^ No need to grass your mate up, just say nowt about him. Look out for yourself

TX.

SteveoSTi

iTrader: (2)

even if u were not racing u were still speeding, and obv it aint the first time, so maybe a ban would be good for you. may sound a lil harsh or u may just be unlucky u got caught 3/4 times. Hope u dont get banned but i bet its made u think if the opportunity to speed arises again

oj_wrx

aye, but the fact is my friend was racing him and since all 3 of us got pulled together it will look like i was involved.

i had no intention of racing the guy in the vectra, whereas my friend clearly did (just having bought his new car n all, "testing it out"). The reason i sped up was because i wanted to see what was going on. In all honestly, my friend and the vectra guy weren't far off a tun, so as i was at the back, i feel that the cop did clock me at 73mph but didnt get the speed of the other two as they were a fair bit ahead.

Yeah, been out tonight and stuck to the speed limits rigidly. I do think that the fact i have 8 years ncb can be taken into account to prove i am not a wreckless and dangerous driver, do you agree?

SteveoSTi

iTrader: (2)

im unsure of the legal terms, but if u are willing to pay some money a good brief/solicitor will surely help

SteveoSTi

iTrader: (2)

if he didnt get their speeds u may be the unlucky one, as he has no evidence on what speed they were going! that would just be damn unlucky

oj_wrx

Tell me about it, but if the copper was following for a while he would have seen the whole thing and hopefully i will be let off the racing charge. However, i'm guessing he didnt otherwise i would be sat here worrying about another speeding charge, not racing.

Out of interest, is there anyone on this forum who has been charged for racing? the code is MS50.

Terminator X

iTrader: (7)

How on earth can the "prove" racing though? If you don't admit, must be hard slog to prove it ...

TX.

SteveoSTi

iTrader: (2)

and he only has your speed, not the other drivers, so i recon they will get off with it and u will get 3 points. if this happens to be the case make your friend pay for the solicitor

oj_wrx

Thats a good point, cheers for that

If they get off and i don't i will be extremely angry to say the least. Haha, if thats the case i will certainly mention it to my friend! Even getting 3 points is really not the best outcome as i will still be banned most likely (due to totting up 12 points), though as said i will make a plee that i will lose my job if i cannot drive. Tbh, i would much rather pay a large fine and attend a driving course than lose my licence.

Would you guys definitely reccommend coughing up for a good solicitor?

Pink_Floyd

Hiya Mate,

I don't condone what you did, however........

I cannot see how anyone can ask you to pass comment on what your mate did, best line of defense with that one is that you weren't driving his car, not looking at what he was doing, nor are you a trained traffic cop etc etc.

As for the solicitor, well I used to be in the military and we had guys who you could call 'barrack room lawyers' Normally some salty old sea dog with too many years under their belts and a penchant for giving advice on all matters from legal to STD's and the like.

In the majority there was a grain or truth in their advice and indeed some logic in their thinking. It was however no substitute for qualified legal advice, or medical advice

Get on the blower to a lawyer mate