Sussex Police have been forced to apologise to scores of motorists they told would be prosecuted after staff realised they did not have Government approval for the equipment they were using.
Oh, dear! Moved a bit too quickly, there…
Each of the drivers who was photographed will now have their fines quashed because the force has discovered evidence recorded by the new kit is inadmissible in court.
And it may not stop there…
Hugh Bladon, of the Association of British Drivers, said people on nine points, who might have lost their job because of an automatic driving ban, could be in line for compensation.
He said: “There is an awful lot more to it than paying back the money.
“The consequences could be awful for someone who needs their car.”
And people wonder why we aren’t keen to trust the government with our DNA?
A Home Office spokesman said the Concept 2 equipment was being tested by the department’s scientific development branch.
He refused to confirm whether the kit was likely to be approved or when a decision would be made.
Back to the drawing board, chaps!
It was only a matter of time before evidence would materialise to indicate some police departments have no 'fixers'.
ReplyDeleteLet's not forget that, although innocent in law, these drivers were almost certainly committing an offence and exceeding the speed limit.
ReplyDeleteI wonder how people would feel about them if they had, through excess speed, killed or maimed someone and then 'got off' on a technicality?
Bones:
ReplyDelete"I wonder how people would feel about them if they had, through excess speed, killed or maimed someone and then 'got off' on a technicality?"
But they didn't, did they! Not one of the "speeding" drivers was involved in a collision at that / those locations. Fact. That's why all they could be charged with was 'speeding'.
Speed does NOT kill; inattention by all road users does.
"I wonder how people would feel about them if they had, through excess speed, killed or maimed someone and then 'got off' on a technicality?"
ReplyDeleteWhat Joe Public said.
Also, we still expect a professional job from the police, no matter what.Don't we?
Similar case nearby, Police had trapped hundreds of motorists with speed guns going over a local 30 limit.
ReplyDeleteThen someone challenged them in court and proved that the speed limit itself was unlawful because there were no street lights, part of the definition of "urban road".
Hundreds had their fines reimbused, points retracted and compo paid out as in your post. The 30 signs are still there but still no street lights so presumably the default limit of 60 applies?