Unfortunately they’re is no magic formula to tell you ‘how to get off a speeding ticket’. A speeding ticket can be one of two things. If a vehicle alleged to have been speeding is stopped by the police at the time of the offence, a conditional offer of a fixed penalty of 3 points and a £100 fine (FPN) may be issued. If you are issued with an FPN, you may either accept it by sending off your licence and paying the fine, or await a Court summons for the alleged offence. In the event that a summons for speeding is issued you have the right to challenge the allegation by pleading not guilty. Alternatively you may plead guilty to the charge in which case it will be for the Court to decide the penalty to be imposed. Depending on the speed alleged, the fine and/or penalty points may be higher if a Court summons is issued than that offered as part of the FPN. If the speed alleged is high the police may not offer aà FPN and the matter may proceed straight to a Court summons.
The second type of speeding ticket is a Notice of Intended Prosecution (NIP) which has been sent by the police in the post. These are normally issued by the police where the driver of a vehicle has not been stopped at the time of the alleged offence for example where the offence has been detected by a fixed camera. A notice of intended prosecution is normally accompanied by a requirement for information as to the identity of the driver of the vehicle. If you receive one of these you have 28 days to complete it by either nominating the driver of the vehicle or providing all of the information that they have relating to the identity of the driver. See our NIP advice centre for more advice.
If you receive a requirement for information and were driving the car at the alleged time of the offence, you must complete your details, sign the form and send it back. By completing the form in this way you are admitting to being the driver NOT the actual offence which you may still challenge. You may then be sent a FPN of 3 points and a £100 fine in the post which you have the option of accepting. If you deny the offence, you may await a Court summons.
If you receive a requirement for information and are unable to identify the driver at the time of the offence you may be summonsed for failure to furnish information under s172 Road Traffic Act 1988 which carries an endorsement of 6 penalty points on conviction. See our section on failure to furnish information for more information
You may be offered the opportunity to attend a speed awareness course as an alternative to a fixed penalty or Court summons. These are offered where the driver of the vehicle has not attended any such course within the three years immediately preceding the offence and the speed is no more than 10% + 9 mph above the limit (eg. in the case of a 70mph limit no more than 86mph). These are available throughout the country, take half a day and cost around £80 to £120.
Call 0800 4334 678 for a simple, quick, free assessment of your case and we will get back to you within 24 hours.