Speeding Because Of Aggressive Driver

Question:

I am writing to you on behalf of my fiance who has just today received a Notice of Intended Prosecution for speeding.

The Notice specifies a penalty of £60 and endorsement of 3 points. The penalty is not an issue but we feel the endorsement is unfair as well as psychologically taxing for my fiance.

Her driving record of well over a decade is spotless here in the UK as well as in Canada, United States and Mexico (she has held a Canadian, US and Mexican driving licenses previously).

On this occasion she has been driven to drive at a higher than permitted speed (which she didn’t realize at the time but does acknowledge now) by an aggressive driver.

She drove at higher-than-usual speed for a very short course (of about 100 metres) until she was out of vicinity of the other driver. I may also add that she has been driving on the same route frequently for several years and if she had been in the habit of driving above the speeding limit the cameras would have caught her in the past.

As her licence is clean, endorsement of 3 points is not really an issue, but we still feel it is unfair and would like to resolve the matter without the endorsement. We will happily pay the penalty, of course. I understand that there is also the alternative option of attending a Speed Awareness Course in lieu of receiving the endorsement; if that is an option we may require some guidance.

I am wondering whether you are able to assist us in this matter and if so, what course of action do you suggest. I will appreciate if you can give me an idea of your fees/fee structure as well.

Louise Says:

Thank you for your question.

I’m afraid that the speed awareness course will not be available as an alternative to the points if it hasn’t already been offered the police. Its entirely at the discretion of the police and the speed was probably slightly too high.What was the limit for the road and the speed alleged?

The only way to avoid the points would be to take the matter to court and argue special reasons on the basis that that partner only drove that fast due to the aggressive behaviour of another driver.

We have won similar arguments in the past and sometimes we are able to persuade the prosecution not to take the matter further. If we do we are able to recover at least some of your legal fees.