You are *MUCH* more likely to get 'let off' if you are pulled over for speeding by a NORMAL Police officer (black hat, black uniform) than by a TRAFFIC officer (white hat, green overcoat).

It's a traffic officer's JOB to catch you, where as it can be an inconvenience for a normal Police officer to actually go through with prosecuting you. Also, it is highly unlikely that a normal officer (as apposed to a Traffic officer) will be able to make a case against you if you are armed with the information in this course.

If a Traffic officer has evidence against you (note: not necessarily ENOUGH evidence for a conviction), then they will attempt to fine / prosecute you. The situation with an ordinary Police officer is less clear cut. Often, if you are particularly courteous and try to strike up a friendly banter with a Normal officer, they will give you a 'slap on the wrist' and send you on your way.

It is extremely important to remember to distinguish between the two types so that you are able to plan your attack. If you are pulled by a Traffic officer, then do not concede anything otherwise this evidence will be recorded and damning.

AN EVEN LESSER KNOWN FACT

All speed pacing police cars have to have their Speedo's measured and certified. Typically, ONLY traffic police cars are calibrated, and the Speedo will have increments of 1 mph. If you are stopped by a NON-traffic officer, and told that he/she followed you, and you were speeding, simply ask as a matter of course when his Speedo was last calibrated. *It is likely he will let you go* when you ask this question since normal police (Beat) cars do not have certified Speedo's; theirs is the same as yours and mine!

DON'T BE BULLIED IN TO SIGNING THE DECLARATION

Not enough people who are 'caught' for speeding fight it in court, they simply accept it, get the points and pay the fine. If more than 10% fought the ticket, the judicial system dealing with this would be overwhelmed and brought down on its knees.

If in doubt, fight it! The worst thing that can happen is that you will be convicted of the original offence. You CAN get a heftier fine and more points in court, but unless you were doing silly speeds, it's very unlikely.

The first point to make is if you receive a ticket in the post, *DO NOT SIGN THE DECLARATION* because this is viewed as an admission of guilt. Rather, send the forms back with a signed covering letter. You should explain that none of the options presented on the form apply to you and you are therefore unable to sign it.

An excuse which has worked for many is to say that you have no idea who was driving the car - you are just sure it wasn't you because <insert reason>. It could have been any one of several friends or family members. Request the police send a photograph of the driver so that you can identify them to assist them with their enquiry.

They will most likely send a picture of the car from behind, unless you were caught on a Truvelo camera (a great way to protect against Truvelo's is by using ProtectorPlate spray, which doesn't allow static cameras to photograph your number plate! See this link http://www.beatthespeedtrap.co.uk/protectorplate.html).

The Police will demand that you sign the form, but do not back down - politely explain why you can not sign the form (because none of the options available to sign apply to you). They will continue to demand that you sign, but legally, you have no obligation to do so - so don't!

Try to avoid being too sarcastic or pompous in your communications in case it does go to court (please be aware that it is likely to actually go to court but you are extremely likely to win the case). You will want the court to recognise that you are sincere and reasonable. They will throw the case out if the Police can not PROVE you were driving.

THE BEST LOOPHOLE

When you are being reported for speeding, the Police Officer must tell you that:

"You will be reported for consideration of the question of prosecuting you for exceeding the speed limit."

It must either be given:

> verbally

> in writing at the time

> in writing within fourteen days (or a summons be issued within

> fourteen days)

Following this Notice of Intended Prosecution (NIP), he should then caution you by saying:

"You do not have to say anything, but it may harm your defence if you do not mention when questioned, something you later rely on in Court. Anything you do say may be given in evidence."

Under Section 1 of the Road Traffic Offenders Act, 1988, section 1, it states:

"A person shall not be convicted of an offence to which this section applies," (speeding, dangerous driving, careless driving, failing to conform to traffic lights, failing to conform to stop signs, continuous white lines in the middle of the road and other mandatory road signs) "unless the Notice of Intended Prosecution was given".

When being booked for speeding or any other offence, if possible switch on a tape recorder or Dictaphone so that you have a record of what the officer says. Be careful, some Police forces do have the N.I.P. printed on the HO/RT/1 producer form or on specially printed forms for speeding offences.

You may think that the Police would do this as standard practice, but we have heard of numerous examples from our customers of instances where people have 'got off' on this technicality, so make a mental note!

KEEP HOLD OF YOUR LICENCE

NEVER surrender your licence at the roadside, you will get a chance to take it to a police station at a later date. Although the latter option is a pain, surrendering you licence at the roadside is seen as an admission of guilt. This is obviously ridiculous, but true nonetheless.

By surrendering it at a police station later you will be seen to be just abiding by the law.

Not surrendering by the side of the road is very unlikely to prevent you from getting a ticket, but you can tell the judge at trial that you were not speeding and you checked the speedometer. It is important to make this clear at the scene so that you can have the officer confirm the statement in your cross examination of him.

This will serve to make your case much stronger. Consistency in what you say is key, so it's best to work out your story first. Of course, we do not recommend lying!

GET OUT OF MOBILE SPEED TRAPS

If you are caught on a Radar gun, be sure to ask to have a look at the radar gun and check that the gun displays the speed that you were stopped for.

If it does not, of course, they have no case. Admittedly, this is a long shot but we have heard of cases where the reading has not actually registered on the gun, so I would be amiss not to mention it :-)

Next, get the make, model and serial number of the radar gun. Ask the officer to demonstrate that the radar gun is calibrated (he will probably not do this).

If he refused to demonstrate, then it is reasonable to assume it is not calibrated. This is extremely powerful evidence. Any court will not regard self-diagnostics as accurate. Radar guns are calibrated with a pair of tuning forks, and ONLY this external test may be considered accurate.

If the officer refuses to demonstrate the calibration, ask him to prove that he has tuning forks in the car. He will probably not be too happy at this point, but do not let this deter you! He can't object, your requests are absolutely legitimate. If he doesn't, tell the judge (if it goes to court) because this suggests that that the gun is not calibrated. In this instance you will most likely be 'let off'.

If you were caught on a LIDAR (laser) gun, ask to have a look at the gun and check that it displays the speed that you were stopped for. Again, get the make, model and serial number of the laser unit and log these details.

Note the positioning of the unit in relation to the sun or any other bright red or white light. LIDAR uses infrared light and does not work as well when aimed into infrared light sources like the sun or high beam headlights. Ask when the unit was last calibrated. Ask to see a demonstration of the calibration. LIDAR guns are not tuned by forks (it is not public knowledge how they are calibrated).

Again, you should note the officer's responses to these requests for reference if it goes to court.

ACT!

OK, I admit that this is an obvious one, but the fact is that most of our customers admit going on the defensive when they get pulled over by the Police and I'm going to tell you why it's a bad idea...

However much you want to tell the police how they are a glorified parking attendant, you should avoid actually doing so.

If you really try to make the officer believe that you are GENUINELY remorseful, you might just get off (particularly if it is a normal 'Beat' Officer that you are talking to, as described in Tip #1). He will always have a cautionary tale of something gruesome that just happens to have occurred right next to where you are. They make these lectures often. They want to feel that by telling you they can 'make a difference'.

You should come across as being annoyed with yourself. Also, make sure you stop the very instant you know you are being pulled over... be on the pavement looking seriously glum. If your licence already has points on it, you are going to need talent :-) Go with the super-miserable, "Oh god, I of all people should know better by now," if you can raise a Hollywood tear you are Oscar material...!

I was talking to a friend of mine the other day who is a good looking girl. She told me how she had been pulled over a couple of weeks ago and by flirting with the officer, she was able to avoid having it taken any further, even though they had a speed reading on her.

Now, I agree with what you are probably thinking -- that is totally unprofessional and un-meritocratic ...but if you can pull it off, it's better than having to fight it the hard way!

Now I know that tip was a bit non-specific, so here's the next...

LOG EVIDENCE FOR LATER USE

YOU MUST MAKE NOTES AT THE SCENE. The officer certainly will. In court you may be asked if the notes were made while the events were still fresh in your mind. If you are using the notes as evidence, then the answer must be "yes".

You should note the following:

The answers to any questions you asked the officer
Positions of OTHER CARS. You may be able to claim that he/she
metered someone else, but stopped you (particularly if you were close
to a lorry or large van,( since radar is good at locking into a larger object)
The weather conditions
 The time and date
 Your direction of travel and the source and destination

The lane you were in and the name of the road, also the area
The officer's direction of travel and lane, or note if he was parked
A brief physical description of the officer so you recognise him in  court (take a PHOTO if possible)

Take the officer's number, and the unit number on his car

PREPARE FOR THE TRIAL

The police MUST send you a notice of intended prosecution within 14 days. If they do not, the case is null-and-void. In preparing for trial, examine the ticket. Look for mistakes on the ticket such as a wrong name, time, date, or location. If there are any, you should tell the magistrate because this is an easy way out if you are lucky.

However, assuming that you are not that lucky, here is what you should do...

Gather evidence -- you should write to the police and ask for the following items:

(*Send all correspondence by recorded delivery and keep the receipts*)

>> A Full copy of the Instruction manual for the RADAR/LIDAR device used

>> A copy (both sides) of the calibration certificate

>> Details of the training (copy of certificate if there is one) given

>> to the officer in the use of the PARTICULAR device

If these are not forthcoming tell the magistrate, and the case against you will be seriously compromised. I'll say again: keep copies of your written requests and the postage certificates.

We also recommend that you return to the scene and take pictures of the area, including any signs, which indicate the law. Make sure that your pictures are clear. DO NOT use a digital camera because it's not admissible.

The above comments are made on the assumption that you have been caught by a mobile unit. If this is not the case and you are defending a fine from a static camera such as a Gatso, your argument can be more straightforward; basically, if the Police cannot PROVE you were driving, then there is no case. So long as you have requested the photographs and they do not identify you as the driver, just play it cool, be respectful to the court and you should not have a problem.

IN COURT...

The prosecution may ask for an adjournment because the officer cannot appear on the trial date that was set.

If possible DO NOT agree to this, tell the judge that you had to take a day off work to appear or something (try not to lie). Make note of any irregularities in the procedure in your statement to the judge.

Irregularities include things such as:

> the wrong ticket number printed on the notice

> a silly reason for requesting adjournment (such as a planned holiday,

> which the police should have known about before setting the date),

> receipt of the adjournment notice too close to the trial date. It is possible that if you protest the adjournment, it will be denied. If that happens, the charges should be dropped since you can't have a case without the officer's presence.

Check in with the prosecutor and usher and make sure you are on the case list, and that they are aware that you have appeared for trial. This is just to make your presence known, and hope that they may offer a plea bargain at this point, which you could consider.

If the officer doesn't appear, the charges should be dropped. This is where it is handy to reference the physical description you should have taken at the scene. If the officer does appear, ask him to withdraw the charge. He won't likely do that, although it has been known to happen when there really is no evidence and it's clear that the prosecution will lose.

DO NOT indicate your strategy to him, or show him any notes or pictures. Keep this stuff in an envelope or briefcase so that it is out of view prior to the actual trial.

In court, *ask the officer questions about the day to establish whether he really remembers the incident and you*. If he doesn't seem to, ask him directly whether he really remembers what happened that day. Destroying the officer's credibility is an excellent way to get acquitted.

Note: Do not come across as 'cocky' when asking these questions as this will put you out of favour with the court.

Ask about the radar or lidar equipment. If the officer refused to demonstrate the calibration at the roadside, ask why and demand to know if the unit was truly calibrated. Each situation is different, but you should be able to use your notes to develop a strategy that insinuates that the equipment used to clock your speed was not accurate -- or at least that there is reasonable doubt that it was accurate. If you achieve this you will be acquitted.

Ask the officer about the laws in the area. This includes turn controls, signalling devices, speed limits, and so on. If he doesn't get it right, use your pictures of the area to prove that he is wrong. Showing that the officer does not understand the laws in effect in the area is another good way to reduce his credibility as a witness against you.

If all goes well, you may make the officer lose his cool and throw a wobbly. This will drop his credibility, vastly strengthening your case.

Do not underestimate the impression of a haircut, and nice suit and tie at the trial. You will look more innocent in this type of dress, and your chance of acquittal or fine reduction will be improved. You must also be courteous to the judge and officers of the court. If you irritate the judge, you will be convicted regardless of the evidence.

This may just seem like common sense but it is important to realise that even if there is no solid evidence against YOU (i.e. there is only evidence against a car which happens to have your registered number plate attached), the people involved in deciding the outcome of the case are human and if they feel that you are being dis-respectful to their system, then this will be reflected in their verdict.

It's really a pain, and a far less stressful way to avoid tickets is to do just that - *AVOID* getting them in the first place.

for further information look at

http://beatthespeedtrap.co.uk/